PhD Education Programs between GSCAAS and Wageningen University
The Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences(hereinafter referred to as GSCAAS)is one of the earliest degree conferral institutions for master’s degree and doctoral degree in China. To comply with its philosophy of open-minded education, the GSCAAS favors collaboration and mobility by exchange programs for students and lecturers, implementation of cooperative education programs, reinforcement of international scientific partnerships. This global outlook has already become practice through a series of strategic cooperation agreements. At present, GSCAAS has two collaborative PhD programs, approved by Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China. The applicants of these two programs shall be Chinese citizens.
1. Introduction of the Cooperative Sino-Dutch PhD Program between GSCAAS and Wageningen University.
1.1. This PhD Program in Agriculture and Life Sciences is cooperatively run by GSCAAS and Wageningen University (hereinafter referred to as WU), the Netherlands.
1.2. This program has been approved by the Chinese Ministry of Education in 2015 (No.: MOE11NL1A20151701N).
1.3. In 2017, GSCAAS and WU plan to start up to 20 projects under this program, and recruit up to 20 PhD students.
1.4. WU was established in 1918 and was the successor of the Agricultural School founded in 1876. As the pioneer of educational institution, the university has been evolving throughout the years. “To explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life” is the mission of Wageningen University. A staff of 6,500 and 10,000 students from over 100 countries work everywhere around the world in the domain of healthy food and living environment for governments and the business community-at-large. The strength of WU lies in its ability to join the forces of specialized research institutes. It also lies in the combined efforts of the various fields of natural and social sciences. The scientific quality of WU is affirmed by the leading position they occupy in international rankings and citation indexes. The research domain of WU consists of three related core areas as follows: Food and Food Production; Living Environment; Health, Lifestyle and Livelihood.
2. Cooperative areas for the PhD program
Projects in this program will be in the following fields:
All candidates who successfully complete this program, will be awarded a WU PhD degree. For the award of the PhD degree, a candidate must meet all requirements as described in the Doctoral Degree regulations of Wageningen University and in accordance with Dutch legislation.
4. Training and Supervision
4.1. Each individual PhD project will be carried out in a “Sandwich Model”, which means that candidates of the program will spend:
a) Approx. 2.5 years at a CAAS institute to conduct their research
b) Approx. 1.5 years at a WU Chair Group, divided into several visits of different amount of time, upon supervisors’ approval from both the CAAS and WU-chair group. During their stays at WU, candidates will work on their research proposal and –plan, and complete and defend their final thesis.
4.2. Supervision of each individual PhD project will be through a “Dual-tutor System”, which means that daily supervision of each candidate will be the joint responsibility of the WU chair group and the CAAS institute. Formal supervision and final responsibility lies with the WU promoter of the candidate.
4.3. The candidates shall conduct their research at a CAAS institute.
4.4. Each candidate is required to spend up to 18-months at a WU chair group, divided into several visits of different amount of time, upon supervisors’ approval from both the CAAS and WU-chair group. During their stays at WU, candidates will work on their research proposal and –plan, and complete and defend their final thesis.
4.5. According to Wageningen University PhD regulations, a formal Go/No-Go decision shall be made by the supervisors, after approximately 12 months, to decide whether the candidate can continue the research project.
5. Selection and Admission of the PhD candidates
5.1. The selection and admission of candidates for this program is the joint responsibility of GSCAAS and WU. The procedure for selection and admission meets the administrative procedures of both GSCAAS and WU.
5.2. The selection of candidates will be a three-step procedure:
a) Step 1 is a pre-selection, based on a joint assessment by GSCAAS and WU of the eligibility of the applicants with regard to the admission requirements and the applicant’s academic background and experience.
b) In step 2, eligible applicants are asked to react to one or two proposed collaborative project topics. These topics will all be provided by a combination of a CAAS institute and a WU Chair Group. GSCAAS will inform the eligible applicants about the list of collaborative project topics, from which each applicant can select up to 2 topics. For these topics, the applicant has to submit a draft research proposal of up to 400 words (step 2). The intended supervisors from the CAAS institute and the WU chair group will jointly select one candidate for their collaborative project.
c) Last step in the selection and admission procedure is the formal approval of the applicant’s admission by the joint GSCAAS-WU Steering Committee for this Cooperative Sino-Dutch PhD Program.
6. Financial arrangements
6.1. Fees
· As candidates are considered by GSCAAS as Full-time Doctoral Students, they will pay the relevant fees to GSCAAS in accordance with the Charge Standards released by MOE.
· WU will not charge the standard tuition fee of €1000 per month spent in Wageningen.
6.2. Allowances
· CAAS (through institute or supervisor) will provide a basic monthly allowance to every PhD student in this program for the duration of 4 years (≥¥3000 per month), and pay for two round-trip international flights (for study and/or thesis defense).
· The total required monthly allowance available for each candidate should meet the minimum as set by Dutch Immigration Service. (momentarily, this amount is €1165). Without an up-front guarantee that this amount is available for the number of months that the candidate will spend in the Netherlands (i.e. the total of approx. 18 months), a candidate cannot start in a project under this Program.
6.3. Other financial matters
· The WU chair group will provide (and pay) for:
- the candidate’s visa(s)
- at least one visit to China by the WU supervisor
- € 2,500 for PhD training and education activities
· Registration, accreditation, insurance, etc. shall be arranged and covered by the students themselves.
7. How to apply
To apply for this program applicants must submit hard copies as well scanned copies of the following documents to GSCAAS (address and contact person below):
a) A completed GSCAAS Sino-Foreign PhD Program Official Application Form
b) Certified Copies and certified English translations, of the applicant’s Master & Bachelor Diploma, degree certificates and transcripts;
c) Proof of proficiency of English language by providing a valid certificate of English Language Proficiency (IELTS 6.5, with minimum sub-score 6.0 for speaking; TOEFL internet-based 90, with minimum sub-score 23 for speaking), test results must be dated within 24 months prior to the application. In case the MSc degree was obtained with English as the language of instruction, the above mentioned language certificate is not needed. If a student does not yet possess a language certificate when applying, he/she should present such a certificate before June 30 at the latest. Without a language certificate that meets the requirements, an applicant cannot pass the second selection phase (section by supervisors).
d) At least 2 recommendation letters from professors/associate professors.
e) An abstract of the applicant’s Master thesis (in both Chinese & English)
f) Academic achievements (papers published, certificates of awards, patents, etc.)
g) A copy of the applicant’s ID.
h) The applicant’s choice from the themes mentioned under section 2 of this announcement.
8. Application deadline and contact details
a) Application Period: Now – 15th April 2017
b) Contact details:
Mail hard copies of the required documents to GSCAAS (attn. Grace LIU, address below), and send scanned copies to: liuweixia@caas.cn
For more information, please contact:
Grace LIU
International Education Office of Graduate School
Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences
Add: 12 Zhongguancun South Street, Haidian District, Beijing, China, 100081