Before starting your application, you may want to first have a look at the expertise of our PhD supervisors. You have the option to indicate your preferred supervisor in the application form. Please note that your supervisor will be appointed by the Academic Committee before your official enrolment.
Filling out and submitting the application form is the first step in a conversation, and doesn't commit you to anything yet. We are available to guide you through the application process. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our admissions office at admission@ihs.nl . You can also contact us by booking an online session with our admission officer or programme officer.
Application process
Application rounds and deadlines
Application rounds & result dates
We run five application rounds each academic year. Each round has a fixed deadline and a corresponding result date; applications are assessed after the round closes. Please plan your submission accordingly.
The Application Timeline for the full 5-round schedule
Round | Opens | Deadline | Result Date | Recommended for Scholarships |
1 | 1 September 2025 | 15 November 2025 | 20 December 2025 | Roberta Sykes Scholarship(Australia); LPDP (Indonesia); FirstRand Laurie Dippenaar (Sub-Saharan Africa); Inlaks Shivdasani Foundation (India); CSC (China); CONAHCYT- SECIHTI + FUNED (Mexico); UAE Ministry of Education Scholarship (UAE); COLFUTURO (Colombia). |
2 | 16 November 2025 | 1 February 2026 | 28 February 2026 | Mahmoud S. Rabbani Scholarship; Inlaks Shivdasani Foundation (India); CSC (China); CONAHCYT- SECIHTI + FUNED (Mexico); BECAS Chile ANID(Chile); National Overseas Scholarship (India); UAE Ministry of Education Scholarship (UAE); BECAL (Paraguay); COLFUTURO (Colombia). |
3 | 2 February 2026 | 31 March 2026 | 30 April 2026 | BECAL (Paraguay); John Monash Scholarship (Australia). |
4 | 1 April 2026 | 20 May 2026 | 20 June 2026 | GES China; John Monash Scholarship (Australia) |
5 | 21 May 2026 | 31 August 2026 | 15 October 2026 | Roberta Sykes Scholarship(Australia) |
*The same timeline applies to all applicants, for both self-funded or scholarship dependent candidates. The official start date of your PhD trajectory can be flexibly arranged in consultation with the PhD Programme Management team and your supervisors, based on your individual planning. Scholarship candidates should take into consideration the information below in the tab.
- Plan ahead: Select an application round that ensures your result date falls before your scholarship deadline.
- Conditional vs. unconditional letters: On the official result dates we can only issue a conditional admission letter. If your scholarship requires an unconditional admission letter, you must provide the necessary additional documents. Clearly indicate this in your application form so that the Admissions Office can advise you. Please find the requested additional documents in section Diploma Validation.
- Proposal requirement: To be considered within your chosen round, you must submit a complete research proposal (not only a research outline). If you submit only an outline, the Academic Selection Committee (ASC) will request a full proposal later, and cannot guarantee a decision by your scheduled round result date.
Application - How to apply for the PhD Urban Development & Governance
While submitting your online application, we require the following documents to be uploaded:
Please make sure you include the following compulsory documents as part of your application to our PhD programme
You can choose between submitting a research proposal or a research outline.
Research Proposal
The research proposal should consist of 5 to 10 pages. It is mandatory to use the template that you can download here (also provided at the bottom of this page). Make sure your proposal includes the following elements:
- Sound research question(s)
- Work plan, time schedule
- Methodology: research methods
- Theoretical framework: perspective
- The added value of the research for practice and science
Tip: watch our tutorial at the end of the page for an explanation on how to write your research proposal.
Research Outline
If you do not yet have a full proposal, you may submit a research outline to provide an overview of your preliminary ideas. It is mandatory to use the template that you can download here (also provided at the bottom of this page).
However, please note that the PhD Selection Committee (ASC) cannot make a final admission decision based on an outline alone. If your topic fits our research clusters, you will be requested to submit a full research proposal. In such cases, the ASC cannot guarantee that a decision will be issued on the scheduled result date of that round.
Kindly upload your CV as part of your application package.
A prerequisite for a doctorate in the Netherlands is the Dutch “Doctoraal Examen”/Master degree. For holders of non-Dutch certificates, the equivalent of the academic level has to be established before admission to the doctorate programme can be granted.
During the application stage, the IHS Admissions Office will conduct a preliminary check of your higher education diplomas. At this stage, we only need copies.
List of documents for the preliminary check by the IHS Admissions Office:
- A scanned copy of your Bachelor diploma, including the complete grade transcripts.
- A scanned copy of your Master diploma, including the complete grade transcripts.
- If you are still completing your Master programme, please provide:
- An official statement/certificate from your institution/university confirming your enrolment and the expected graduation date.
- Your most up-to-date transcripts.
- You will be required to submit the official Master diploma and final transcripts at a later stage.
Please make sure your copies are either in English or in Dutch, and the original documents should be attached to the translated copies. We cannot conduct the preliminary check if your documents are in a language other than these two languages.
After your conditional admission, you are required to submit the certified documents (scanned copies)for the official diploma validation. It can take considerable time and effort to obtain the certified documents, so we strongly encourage you to start preparing them early to avoid delays later in the process. You are not required to submit these documents yet at the application stage.
For Chinese candidates only: certified copies from notary offices will no longer be recognized/accepted. Please find the EUR guidance of how to provide an Online Verification Report instead via this link.
In order to be enrolled, you need to be able to prove your fanancial plan, funding scheme. The financial plan needs to cover the full 4 years of the programme. For more details, please visit our page on Fees and Costs.
We accept TOEFL or IELTS as official language tests. Please note that TOEFL ITP is not accepted as proof of English proficiency for IHS. For details, please refer to the admissions requirements.
Minimum required scores:
Certificate | Requirement |
TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language)* | Score: 600 (paper-based) / 250 (computer-based)/ 100 (internet-based) More information: www.toefl.org |
IELTS (International English Language Testing System) | Score: min. 7.0, no subtest lower than 6.0 More information: www.ielts.org |
⚠️Proof of English language proficiency is not mandatory at this stage, but will be required to finalise your enrolment.
Please note that the following documents are optional.
You have the option to submit a reference letter, The reference letter can be from a supervisor, manager, professor or any other person who can attest to your skills. Please ensure that the contact details of the referees are clearly stated within the letter.
Support letter from home organisation/employer (if applicable)
Financial support from home organisation/employer/scholarship (if applicable)
Diploma Validation
- After the result date of each round, if you are conditionally admitted, you will be invited to complete the registration form for official diploma validation at the Central Admissions Office of Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR).
- This validation process can take 4-8 weeks. To avoid delays, we strongly advise you to submit, already at the application stage, the same documents required by the Central Admissions Office.
List of documents required by Central Admissions Office:
- Valid passport
- Legalised/ certified copy of secondary school diploma if available (but not compulsory)
- Legalised/ certified copy of Bachelor diploma, including the complete grade transcripts
- Legalised/ certified copy of Master diploma, including the complete grade transcripts
Important note:
- Take care that the copies of your documents are legalised, well readable and fit for further scanning
- In case your documents are not in Dutch, English, French, German, Italian or Spanish, a translation by a sworn translator in one of these languages should be attached to them. Please upload both the translated pages and the original pages.
It can take considerable time and effort to obtain the documents required for the official diploma validation. You are not required to submit these documents at the application stage. However, we strongly encourage you to start preparing them early to avoid delays later in the process.
The criteria used in our assessment include but are not limited to your degree(s), academic records, motivation and funding plan, and proposal(s)
The following factors are also equally considered during the assessment :
- The academic performance during your previous higher education
- The authenticity of all the documents
- The originality of the research proposal and/or outline (Plagiarism & use of AI chatbots not appreciated!)
- Command of English language – the quality of language and grammar used in CV and application
- Presentation of your application package
Once you have all the required documents ready, you can submit your application via our Online Application Form. It is an online form with 9 pages where you need to fill in the following information:
Programme information
Personal information
Educational background
Professional background (if applicable)
English language proficiency
motivation to apply for this programme.
Funding information
Attachments: upload the application documents described in Step 1.
Acceptance to terms of service
Please provide the most important publications and a short description of your employment history over the last 10 years (please upload your CV separately).
What happens after submission?
After submission, the PhD Admissions team will conduct a preliminary check of your application within 2 weeks.
If your application is incomplete, you will receive a reminder to submit the missing documents.
Please note that only complete applications submitted before the round deadline will be assessed in that round.
After the preliminary check, all eligible applications are forwarded to the PhD Academic Selection Committee (ASC) once the application round closes. During this stage, the ASC will review your research proposal in detail. You may be invited for an interview to further discuss your research interests and proposal with potential supervisors. If you wish, you can also request a conversation with one of our academic supervisors to explore your research ideas further before or during the selection process.
Your application will be evaluated by the PhD Academic Selection Committee. Assessment outcomes are released according to the official result dates of each admissions round. Please note that on the official result dates, we issue a conditional admission letter.
See the application Timeline* below for the full 5-round schedule:
Round | Open Dates | Deadline | Result Date |
1 | 1 September 2025 | 15 November 2025 | 20 December 2025 |
2 | 16 November 2025 | 1 February 2026 | 25 February 2026 |
3 | 2 February 2026 | 30 March 2026 | 20 April 2026 |
4 | 1 April 2026 | 20 May 2026 | 20 June 2026 |
5 | 21 May 2026 | 31 August 2026 | 15 October 2026 |
*This timeline applies to all applicants, whether self-funded or on a scholarship. Your PhD starting date is flexible and can be coordinated with the PhD Programme Management and your supervisors to best suit your personal schedule.
When the ASC completes its review, you may receive one of three outcomes:
Revise your research proposal
If necessary, the ASC may return your proposal with feedback for improvement. In such cases:You are expected to resubmit a revised proposal within 4 weeks for fast-track review, which may allow you to receive your outcome earlier (even if the official result date has passed).
If you submit the revision later than 4 weeks, your application will be moved to the next admissions round, and your outcome will follow that round’s result date.
Conditional admission
You are accepted to the PhD programme, provided that you meet specific conditions (e.g., document validation, language requirements, funding confirmation). A conditional admission letter will be issued on the result date. The next steps to fulfil these conditions are described in Step 4.Rejection
Your application does not meet the requirements for admission. In this case, no conditional offer will be issued.
If you receive a conditional admission, the Admissions Team will issue a conditional admission letter that specifies the requirements you must fulfil in order to obtain your unconditional admission letter. These usually involve three aspects:
Documents for Diploma validation
Funding proof (e.g. scholarship award letter, private financial sponsorship letter, self-funded)
Personal documents (e.g. valid passport) for the next assessment stage
You will receive detailed instructions from the Admissions Team regarding the specific documents and information to be submitted.
Deadline for submitting documents
You are required to submit the requested documents within 4 weeks of receiving your conditional admission. Late submission may delay or jeopardise your final admission.
We understand that it may not always be possible to obtain all required documents within this timeframe. In such cases, please inform the Admissions Team promptly, explain your situation and challenges, and the team will provide guidance and, where possible, the necessary support to help you complete the process.
Importance of Diploma Validation Process
After the result date of each round, if you are conditionally admitted, you will be invited to complete the registration form for official diploma validation at the Central Admissions Office of Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR). Check details of Diploma validation process as below:
For Chinese candidates only: certified copies from notary offices will no longer be recognized/accepted. Please find the EUR guidance of how to provide an Online Verification Report instead via this link. You can find a checklist of the required Online Verification Reports in the download section at the end of this page.
- After the result date of each round, if you are conditionally admitted, you will be invited to complete the registration form for official diploma validation at the Central Admissions Office of Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR).
- This validation process can take 4-8 weeks. To avoid delays, we strongly advise you to submit, already at the application stage, the same documents required by the Central Admissions Office.
List of documents required by Central Admissions Office:
- Valid passport
- Copy of English language certificate (IELTS/TOEFL or equivalent)
- Legalised/ certified copy of Bachelor diploma, including the complete grade transcripts
- Legalised/ certified copy of Master diploma, including the complete grade transcripts
Important note:
- Take care that the copies of your documents are legalised, well readable and fit for further scanning
- In case your documents are not in Dutch, English, French, German, Italian or Spanish, a translation by a sworn translator in one of these languages should be attached to them. Please upload both the translated pages and the original pages.
Important for scholarship applicants
Conditional vs. unconditional letters: On the official result dates we can only issue a conditional admission letter. If your scholarship requires an unconditional admission letter, you must provide the necessary additional documents. Clearly indicate this in your application form so that the Admissions Office can advise you.Please find the requested additional documents in section Diploma Validation
Once you have met all conditions and successfully completed the diploma validation, congratulations! You will receive the final formal admission from our PhD programme!
Please note that together with the admission letter, you will also receive an online admission acceptance form (AAF). You decide to join the IHS PhD programme by completing and submitting the admission acceptance form (AAF), please take note of the deadline mentioned in the form. Upon submitting the AAF and financial settlement, you will move to the enrolment stage.
At the enrolment stage:
Supervisor appointment: Your supervisors will be formally appointed once your funding is secured and confirmed with the Admissions Team (completion of tuition fee payment).
Programme registration: You will proceed with registration in the PhD programme. The PhD Programme Management team will arrange practical matters such as visa application, agreements, and onboarding procedures to ensure a smooth registration at IHS, Erasmus University Rotterdam, and in the Netherlands.
Planning your start: It is flexible to plan your own start date, together with the Programme Management team and your supervisors, you will discuss your travel arrangements, official start date, and project details.
After these steps are completed, you will officially begin your 4-year PhD journey at IHS.
PhD Urban Development and Governance
Online Application Form
Research Proposal and Research Outline Template
Research Proposal Tutorial
Questions? Reach out to us!
- Email address
- admission@ihs.nl