The GS certificate is restricted to courses and training targeted at the professional development of the PhD candidate (if offered by RU or equivalent) and which are specific for doing a PhD project. In short, it is about core scientific skills for being a PhD candidate (either extra technical or scientific skills, or a capability which is directly applicable to doing a PhD project).
18 ECTS (504 hours)
The 18 ECTS part (proof of attendance required) covers courses and/or events for which a certificate or a measure of assessment is granted to the PhD candidate (see below which courses and events count). This equals 504 hours on courses/events.
12 ECTS (336 hours)
The 12 ECTS part (no proof of attendance required) covers local and (inter)national scientific events that all PhD candidates are expected to attend throughout their PhD trajectory: Donders Session, Donders Lectures, (inter)national lectures, symposia, conferences, summer and winter schools, and journal clubs.
Note that organization of events and meetings (e.g. conferences, journal clubs, courses) is also included in the 12 ECTS part and cannot count towards the 18 ECTS part that is reserved for courses you take yourself. Similarly, teaching activities, including supervision of students cannot be included for the 18 ECTS part of the certificate. It is however recommended to include these activities in the portfolio of the thesis and your CV. And if listed in the Hora Finita portfolio (with zero hours registered to them) they will be listed on the Graduate School Certificate under a separate category.
What do I need to do in order to receive the GS certificate?
Attend obligatory courses
Make sure you follow the obligatory Donders Graduate School Courses. In Hora Finita, enter the date that you attended the obligatory course in your portfolio.
Complete your portfolio in Hora Finita
Make sure that all information (i.e. names of the courses, proof of participation, overview signed by your supervisor) is uploaded in Hora Finita and set the hours for conferences, teaching activities (including supervision of students) and other non-course activities to 0 hours. See Managing your portfolio.
Apply for GS certificate
If you have gathered the 504 hours (18 ECTS), send a request to dgcn [at] donders.ru.nl (dgcn[at]donders[dot]ru[dot]nl), or request a portfolio check through the Hora Finita checklist.
Receive GS certificate
After approval of your thesis by the manuscript committee, the GS coordinator and Donders scientific director will sign your GS certificate. You will receive the Graduate School Certificate on the day of your defense.