Leiden Ph.D. students face higher costs after dissertation subsidy cut
Young researchers at the University of Leiden will face higher personal expenses for their Ph.D. ceremonies starting in January, as the university ends a 500-euro printing subsidy for dissertations.
The university requires candidates to provide about 15 printed copies of their dissertation for the evaluation committee and the university library. “The university obliges us to deliver physical copies,” Jurriaan Heming, a chemistry Ph.D. candidate, confirmed to Trouw. “You can’t just hand in a digital version.”
The costs extend beyond printing. Ph.D. candidates must wear formal academic gowns and provide suits for their paranymphs, colleagues who assist during the ceremony. “You can’t realistically ask them to purchase a gown for a single event,” Heming said. Candidates are also expected to cover meals for their opponents and host a reception after the defense. All expenses combined can amount to “easily two months’ salary,” he added.
The university awards roughly 500 Ph.D. degrees annually. The elimination of the printing subsidy is expected to save about 250,000 euros. While this is a small amount compared with the university’s 800 million-euro budget, it represents a meaningful cost for individual students.
The university attributed the measure to budget cuts imposed by the outgoing national government, calling the savings “substantial.” It acknowledged that the announcement could have been communicated more clearly. “We regret that this Ph.D. candidate discovered this measure by chance. In hindsight, we could have communicated internally more carefully,” the university said.
