The AMC PhD Course Program is international, demand-driven, elective, modular, and tailored to AMC PhD research. The courses are small-scale, interactive, and 'just-in-time'. They are offered as blended learning: e-learning when possible and/of face-to-face when needed.
The course program offers training to PhD candidates to develop their scientific skills, acquire transferable skills and broaden and deepen their scientific understanding. Each AMC PhD candidate follows an individual training program. The course program can help PhD candidates in conducting independent, original and scientifically significant research, and critically evaluating their own work and that of others. Prior registration as an AMC PhD candidate is a requirement for participation in the course program.
The AMC Graduate School currently offers about 50 courses. See an overview of all courses.
PhD candidates and their supervisors should select the most relevant courses, while considering the candidate's prior training, the content and methods of the planned PhD research and future career development. This will result in a personalized, modular training program for the entire period of doctorate studies.
Registered AMC PhD candidates may apply at any time for one or more courses using the application form.
Unless stated otherwise, the AMC Graduate School courses are offered free of charge for registered AMC PhD candidates. Employees of the AMC or AMC Medical Research BV can participate provided slots are available. All other participants are charged a fee.
The general introductory course “The AMC World of Science” is compelled for all new AMC PhD candidates. This course should preferably be taken during the first year of research. The other courses can be taken in any order.
| Transferable skills | Scientific Methods | Laboratory skills | Research Topics |
|---|---|---|---|
| The AMC World of Science | e-BROK | Laboratory Safety | Infectious Diseases |
| PubMed Basics | Research Data Management | Radiation Protection | Advanced Immunology |
| Zoeken voor een CAT | Practical Biostatistics | Lab Animals Science | Cardiovascular Diseases |
| Searching for Evidence | Computing in R | DNA Technology | Lung Diseases & Lung Research |
| Embase/Medline via OVID | Advanced Topics in Biostatistics | Crash Course | Oncology |
| EndNote | Randomized Clinical Trials | Mass Specrometry, Proteomics & Protein Research | Amsterdam Gastroenterology & Metabolism |
| Citation Analysis & Impact Factors | Observational Epidemiology | Mouse Morphology Genetics & Function | |
| PsychInfo via OVID | Evaluation of Medical Tests | Advanced qPCR | |
| Correct Citation (e-learning) | Systematic Reviews | Basic Microscopy | |
| Burn-In (well-being) | Qualitative Health Research | Advanced Microscopy | |
| Scientific Writing for Publication | Genetic Epidemiology | Cellular Imaging: From Pixel to Publication | |
| Writing a Scientific Paper (e-learning) | Bioinformatics | Cellular Imaging: Basic course on Electron Microscopy | |
| Project Management | Bioinformatics Sequence Analysis | ||
| Entrepreneurship | E-Science | ||
| Communication with Patients | Data Analysis in MATLAB | ||
| Didactical Skills | Unix | ||
| Career Development | Systems Medicine | ||
| FameLab | MRI: Basic Understanding | ||
| Language Courses | |||
| Peer to Peer Group Coaching |
Compulsory courses
The AMC Graduate School does not impose compulsory courses for AMC PhD candidates. Some courses are compulsory for other reasons, though:
- Clinical researchers that conduct research that is subject to the Medical Research Involving Human Subjects Act (WMO) are obliged by law to take the BROK course.
- The course Laboratory Animals must be taken by all researchers conducting tests or experiments on animals.
To pass these courses, participants must pass the corresponding national examinations.
- The Laboratory Safety course is obligatory for researchers who work in a laboratory within the AMC.
- The Radiation Protection course is obligatory for researchers who work with radiation or radionuclides within the AMC.
Collaborations
Most of the courses are provided by the AMC Graduate School and are taught by AMC researchers; they are open only to registered AMC PhD candidates. However, several courses are provided by other institutions and organizations, such as the Dutch Heart Foundation, or by medical research schools operating under the auspices of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). Other courses in the program are provided by AMC Clinical Research Unit (CRU), AMC HR department, the AMC Career Center or the University of Amsterdam Career Advice Centre (Loopbaan Advies Centrum).
ECTS Credits
The AMC Graduate School recommends that PhD candidates take 20-30 ECTS of training and teaching during their PhD project. There is no formal requirement for a minimum number of courses, hours or ECTS.
Each course description specifies the number of ECTS credits. This expresses the estimated study workload required to achieve the objectives (learning outcomes) of the corresponding course. The workload of one academic year of full-time study is 60 ECTS. Bear in mind that the PhD Course Program itself is not formally approved for ECTS credits nor ECTS grades.
Overview of study load per course:
Enrollment
The courses of the AMC Graduate School have grown rapidly in popularity. The AMC Graduate School now has more registered PhD candidates and offers more courses than ever before. Courses are scheduled once or several times per year. Due to limited capacity, some popular courses have a priority list.
We are working hard to increase the capacity so that all registered PhD candidates can attend courses within their preferred time schedule. These solutions take time, and, much to our disappointment, they sometimes cannot be implemented in the subsequent course program. In the meantime, we kindly request PhD candidates to notify the Graduate School as soon as possible if they must cancel their registration for a course, so we can offer their place to another candidate.
Attendance and cancellation
After confirmation of your registration, attendance at all sessions is compulsory. In the event of unavoidable absence from a session, you must notify the Secretariat of the AMC Graduate School in advance. Participants must make up missed sessions through independent study; missed sessions cannot be taken in a subsequent course.
Cancellation without consequences is possible until two weeks before the start of the course. After this period, a warning will be given in case of cancellation or no-show. Participants who have received two warnings are excluded from any further courses of the AMC Graduate School.
Course Regulations and Code of Conduct
The AMC Graduate School has a set of Course Regulations. The complete document can be found on the AMC Graduate School website. Below a number of general rules are summarized.
- Pagers have to be switched off during course sessions; cell phones must be switched to silent;
- Participants are expected to arrive on time for all sessions;
- Attendance is registered; participants must sign the attendance list upon arrival at each session;
- A certificate will be issued based on sufficient attendance;
- At the end of the course or session an evaluation form must be filled in.
Examination
A few courses have compulsory examinations. In case of a failing grade, PhD candidates are allowed only one re-examination (resit).
More information
The application is confirmed by return e-mail within a few days. Three weeks before the start of the course, PhD candidates registered for the course are sent a formal invitation by e-mail to participate. From then on, attendance at all sessions is compulsory; see the course regulations.
To avoid unnessecary priority lists and cancellations, we ask you to apply only for those courses you are sure you can follow in the upcoming months / year.
In the event of unavoidable absence from a session, the PhD candidate must notify the Secretariat of the AMC Graduate School in advance.
Unless stated otherwise, all sessions are held at the AMC.