Check if you meet the registration requirements (see below). If you don’t meet the requirements the application will not be given a reading.
Before a PhD candidate can become a member of ICO, the PhD project has to be approved by ICOs Scientific Committee. The supervisor is responsible for checking the proposal (also see ICO Form for Project Proposals) before sending it in to the Executive Secretary at ICO@uu.nl.
It is recommended to submit the research proposal several months prior to the start of the project, but no later than nine months (based on full time employment) after the project has started. After submission of the plan, the scientific committee will assess whether the proposed research has sufficiently been elaborated, and whether it fits the ICO research themes.
Deadline for sending in proposals for new ICO PhD members, is always 2 weeks before the next meeting date of the Scientific Committee.
Example of an approved Project Proposal
To give you an indication what a good Project Proposal entails, see the attached ‘project proposal – example‘.
ICO Introductory Course
As soon as you have send in your project proposal, you can register for the ICO Introductory Course at the ICO Course Registration form.
ICO distinguishes three categories of PhD candidates, divided into Full time and Part time PhD Members:
Full time PhD candidates who wish to register in ICO, have to meet the following criteria:
Full time PhDs with a research masters degree:
Full time PhDs with a regular master degree:
Part time PhD Candidates who have a part-time appointment (<0.8 fte) or who have no appointment within one of the ICO universities, who wish to register in ICO, have to meet the following criteria:
ICO PhD members pay an annual fee for their membership. This fee depends on the expenses of ICO in the past year. The invoice for the participation fee is always sent in the early spring of the following year (for more information, see below). As a rule the fee will not be exceeding € 750,- per year per full time PhD member. Part time PhD members pay 60% of the full time membership fee. Membership of ICO lasts until the PhD dissertation has been approved of by the reading committee. Please inform the executive secretary if you have reached this point.
Annual invoice
Each year ICO will send one invoice for the ICO membership of it’s PhD’s to each participation university. It is up to the universities itself if and how they charge the ICO membership fee to their PhD’s or local research departments.
Set up of the ICO Educational programme | EC |
Introductory course: a three day course, in which candidates present an overview of their PhD research proposal and the first study, review other proposals, review a PhD thesis, simulate an editorial board meeting and acquire insight in how to manage their supervisor. Candidates learn about the ten themes of ICO’s research programme, about the scholarly process and about scientific integrity and data management. | 5 |
Thematic courses: at least two thematic courses are part of the educational programme, (3 EC each), in which candidates acquire knowledge about recent developments in various research fields representing the ten themes comprising ICO’s research programme. | 6 |
Methodology courses: PhD candidates participate in at least one methodology course (3 EC), related to quantitative or qualitative methodologies. | 3 |
Two conferences are to be attended: 1) ICO National Spring School: a national two-day conference (1 EC) in which PhD candidates present their work and receive extensive feedback from ICO staff members and their peers; 2) ICO International Spring School: an international five-day conference (3 EC) in which PhD candidates present their work, receive feedback and attend thematic and methodology workshops offered by ICO staff and international well recognized experts in the field. The two conferences are offered bi-annually. The international conference is offered in collaboration with other European universities who conduct high quality research within the field of educational sciences. The two conferences are organized alternatingly in March of every year. | 4 |
Total EC of ICO’s educational programme | 18 |
For more information on the programme, the courses, exemption regulations, and registration go to the pages on Education.
Congratulations! You have reached the final stage of your PhD project. ICO would like you to take the following steps to conclude your ICO trajectory:
ICO Dissertation Series (MS Word)
ICO Dissertation Series (PDF)
ICO Logo (black) (PDF)