PhD Survey

Satisfaction of PhD candidates

On this page you can find your personal results of the VUB PhD Survey 2023. This survey is annually organized by the Researcher Training & Development Office and the Research Group TOR, and aims to measure the satisfaction of PhD candidates with the doctoral trajectory and perceived support at the VUB. Through the response of 727 candidates, divided over all faculties, we gained insight into what aspects contribute to the job satisfaction of PhD candidates at the VUB.

At the bottom of this page you can log in and get your personal feedback.

Goals of the survey

1. The PhD survey is a monitor-instrument to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the PhD trajectory at the VUB. It enables the university to implement a data-driven policy.
2. It gives PhD candidates the opportunity to anonymously identify where support is lacking or insufficient and to provide input for innovations and adjustments to the doctoral policy at VUB and faculty level.
3. It gives PhD candidates the opportunity to reflect on their PhD trajectory and to compare their own answers to that of other VUB PhD candidates.
4. It informs PhD candidates on which services and actors to contact in case of concerns or problems.

Your participation is essential

Doing a PhD is an important phase in someone’s career and, by extension, in someone’s life. The VUB wants to do everything to guide you through this process as well as possible.

Your experiences as a newcomer are probably not the same as what they are in later stages of your PhD. Certain aspects that have an impact on your work satisfaction will probably change over the years (E.g., new colleagues, a leaving supervisor, failing experiments etc.). Transitions like these are very interesting for us to be aware of.

In order to draw meaningful conclusions, it is important that the results of the survey are representative and comparable over time. This means that a high number of respondents is essential, as well as your recurring participation throughout the years. This is why we would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your valuable participation in the survey of last year and to warmly invite you to participate again in the survey of 2024, coming next spring.

Log in below to consult your personal results.