The VU Doctorate Regulations specify the VU requirements for the dissertation in Article 21. In addition to these requirements, the School of Social Sciences has formulated .
Towards the end of the PhD trajectory, several steps are required before the PhD title can be obtained. Before the PhD candidate can upload their final manuscript for assessment, the following documents must be submitted and approved by the Graduate School:
- The plagiarism check of the full manuscript (submitted by the candidate)
- The final PhD portfolio (submitted by the candidate)
- The proposal for the designation of the Doctorate Committee (submitted by the first supervisor)
Plagiarism scan & portfolio
All PhD candidates must perform a plagiarism scan of their (nearly) final manuscript in iThenticate. The results of the scan are discussed with the supervisors, and subsequently, the PhD candidate fills in the . The report is sent to ithenticate.fsw@vu.nl (or as part of the PhD portfolio to graduate.school.ssw@vu.nl).
Before the manuscript can be uploaded to Hora Finita, all PhD candidates must also fill in and submit the . This document is submitted to graduate.school.fsw@vu.nl. When submitting the portfolio document, the PhD should also make sure that all their course ECs have been uploaded to Hora Finita and that the training requirements have been met.
The Graduate School reviews the plagiarism scan report, final portfolio, and ECs. The SSC Data Steward reviews the ethics and data management sections of the final portfolio.
Data management, ethics & authorship
The PhD portfolio serves as a checklist to make sure all requirements for obtaining a PhD are followed. The portfolio was adopted by the School Board on 22 March 2021 and has been a mandatory requirement for all graduating SSC PhDs since 1 January 2023.
The final portfolio must be approved before the thesis can be sent to the doctorate committee for assessment. PhDs should check the requirements specified in the portfolio in due time before finishing their manuscript. Start preparing the final portfolio well in advance of the thesis being ready to be sent to the committee, as the data management aspects can take time. Important requirements include the safe storing of research data (including uploading their data in and generating a DOI). For questions on and assistance with research data management, please contact SSC Data Steward Emily Barabas, e.k.barabas@vu.nl. For questions on authorship, plagiarism check, or other parts of the portfolio, contact the Graduate School.
Doctorate Committee
Before uploading the manuscript to Hora Finita, a Doctorate Committee (assessment committee) must be appointed. This is the responsibility of the first supervisor and should be done in due time before the hand-in of the manuscript.
The supervisor fills in the and submits it to the Graduate School, graduate.school.fsw@vu.nl, for a preliminary check. Once the manuscript has been uploaded to Hora Finita and approved by all supervisors, the first supervisor fills in the composition of the committee in Hora Finita for approval by the Dean.
Manuscript and assessment procedure
Once the plagiarism scan and portfolio have been approved in Hora Finita, and the Doctorate Committee has been pre-approved, the PhD candidate can upload their manuscript in Hora Finita. The supervisor will then be requested to fill in the details of the Doctorate Committee, which will be approved by the Dean in Hora Finita. Once approved by the Dean, the manuscript is automatically sent out to the Doctorate Committee members for assessment.
The Doctorate Committee receives 30 (calendar) days to make its assessment. An extension of another 30 days is possible. Approval by the Dean is needed. Please contact the Graduate School if an extension is needed.
Defense
When the manuscript is approved by the Doctorate Committee and the Dean, the PhD candidate and the supervisors start planning the defense, together with the Beadle's Office. See Dissertation submission & defense for instructions. The candidate will also receive detailed instructions for the ceremony and planning from the Beadle's Office via Hora Finita after approval of the manuscript.