Antwerp Doctoral School

Obligations during the PhD

  1. ​General PhD regulations​
  2. ​Annual re-enrolment​
  3. ​Creating your ORCID ID​
  4. ​Mandatory course 'Mind the GAP'​
  5. ​Submission progress report on the PhD research​
  6. ​Doctoral study programme​
  7. ​Submission annual progress report doctoral study programme​
  8. ​ADS Doctoral Day​

1. General PhD regulations

Read the general PhD regulations and the attachments carefully in order to be well aware of the content.

The general PhD regulations apply to all PhD researchers of the University of Antwerp. These regulations also contain:

  • the charter for PhD researchers: This describes the expectations and engagements from and towards all the different parties involved in the PhD process (including PhD researchers and PhD supervisors). Discuss this with your supervisor(s) at the start of your PhD trajectory!
  • the integrity charter for PhD researchers and supervisors affiliated with our university: UAntwerp subscribes to the Code of Ethics for Scientific Research in Belgium and the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity (ALLEA code). Each PhD researcher and supervisor are expected to be aware of these values and to take them into account in the implementation and supervision of PhD research.

The code of conduct transgressive behaviour is also a crucial document to read and applies to all students, PhD researchers and staff of UAntwerp.

2. Annual re-enrolment

All doctoral candidates must re-enrol each academic year.  
Tuition fees are only applicable in the first year of registration, and in the year of the PhD defence.

3. Creating your ORCID ID

All doctoral candidates have to create their own ORCID ID. The procedure is explained on the website of the University Library Office.

4. Mandatory course 'Mind the GAP'

From academic year 2022-2023 onwards, the course 'Mind the GAP' about research integrity is mandatory for all starting PhD researchers. It is strongly recommended to follow this course during the first year of your PhD.

5. Submission progress report on the PhD research

The progress of your doctoral research is managed by your faculty/institute and will be evaluated by your individual PhD commission (IPC). You have to submit the progress report of your doctoral research via ePhD in SisA.

The procedure for the submission differs per faculty/institute. Some faculties require an annual report, in others it may be less frequent. Consult your faculty PhD regulations or the administrative contact person for more information. They will notify you about what is expected and when it is expected. Make sure to keep an eye on your student email account! 

6. Doctoral study programme

The doctoral study programme is mandatory at the University of Antwerp, and has to be finalised before the composition of the doctoral jury. You can find more information on how the doctoral study programme can be finalised in Preparing the defence, step 1.

VIDEO: Progress report on the doctoral study programme (DSP)

7. Submission annual progress report doctoral study programme

The report regarding the doctoral study programme is managed by the Antwerp Doctoral School and evaluated by a peer review commission consisting of members of your faculty/institute.

! Please note: the following faculties/institutes manage this report independently. Consult the administrative contact person in case of questions. Also have a look at the faculty PhD regulations (deadlines may vary!):

  • Faculty of Law;
  • Faculty of Business and Economics;
  • Institute of Development Policy.

Each academic year, PhD researchers at the University of Antwerp must report on their progress of the doctoral study programme. This progress report needs to be submitted annually via ePhD in SisA. The undertaken activities need to be registered in SisA one by one. Even if you did not undertake any activities or do not wish to report on them this year, you need to submit a report in SisA (you can simply check the box "I do not wish to submit any activities this year" and this will also be considered a valid report). The progress report may contain 30 activities per year. If you want to submit more activities, please contact the Antwerp Doctoral School.

The deadline for this report is 1 May at 23:59h of the current academic year. After that date, it is not possible to submit your report anymore and you will need to submit your activities the next year. You will be contacted by the Antwerp Doctoral School (ADS) via email with regard to approaching deadlines, so please make sure to regularly check your student email account.  If you do not frequently look at this mailbox, you can create a rule in your account to forward emails automatically to another account. 

The progress report on the doctoral study programme is, for most faculties, managed by the Antwerp Doctoral School and evaluated in May-June by a peer review commission consisting of members of your faculty/institute.

STEP 1: registering activities in SisA

Consult the manual on the Helpdesk for a step-by-step guide for registering activities in SisA or the FAQs.

! Please note: ADS courses are added automatically to your overview so DON'T add these manually. (Depending on how many sessions are organized, it may take until the end of the academic year before certain ADS courses appear in your overview.)

Registering activities

  • continuous portfolio: you can register activities one by one all year round, so as soon as you have performed an activity, you can add it to SisA. You can submit the report at any time between January 1st and May 1st (keep the deadline of May 1st - 23:59 pm in mind!)
  • proof required (supporting documents), see below: You need to upload your proofs for the activity immediately in SisA. Without valid proof, the activity will be rejected. (Only include activities that have already happened.) Extra information to your activities can best be added in English
  • The procedure to insert your activities can be found in the Helpdesk.​
  • Don't forget to submit your report on time! (see below)

No activities yet?

Go to the tab 'report activities', click 'to submit', then check the box 'I do not wish to submit activities this year', add a short motivation and confirm your submission.

1A. Crucial documents for adding activities in SisA

The following documents are crucial aids to help you fill in your progress report of the doctoral study programme:

1B. Valid proof for activities

To validate an activity for the doctoral study programme, clear proof needs to be provided (i.e. URL(s) or supporting document(s)).

  • From academic year 2018-2019 onwards, when new activities are inserted in SisA, the matching (electronic) supporting document needs to be uploaded directly into SisA, or a URL link needs to be provided to a webpage with valid proof. The activities that are approved by the peer review committee in SisA are already proven so when you are completing the doctoral study programme, no further proof needs to be provided.
  • For activities that have been included in progress reports during previous academic years, a valid supporting document must be provided when you are completing the doctoral study programme. Proof must be provided electronically (via ZIP file, Dropbox, WeTransfer, etc.). 

Valid proof

Every supporting document must clearly show what activity it is for, on which date(s) it took place and who participated. Your name must clearly be stated as a participant. Examples of valid supporting documents include (pdf files/scans):

  • lists of participants;
  • programmes and schedules (of conferences, events, ...);
  • received certificates;
  • attestations;
  • first pages of published articles or their DOI code;
  • a letter confirming the acceptance of articles that are not published yet;
  • academic bibliography/reference lists;
  • registration/application forms;
  • emails confirming the participation of e.g. conferences, events,... (save email as a PDF file);
  • signature from the titular of classes you have taught;
  • for research stays: email conversation with the host institution about your stay;
  • etc.

Please note:

  • Invitations and proofs of registration are not considered to be valid proof seeing as they don't automatically lead to participation to an activity.
  • Websites are subject to updates and changes, especially zoom links. Make sure to provide a second valid proof.
  • With regard to e.g. conferences, next to an URL, you can add a printscreen that clearly proves your participation. Make sure that your name and the context are clearly mentioned.
  • As an exception, if you can't provide proof for a certain activity, a signed confirmation from your supervisor can suffice. However, it is not possible to prove the whole doctoral study programme solely with the supervisor's signature.

STEP 2: submitting the annual progress report

Between 1 January and 1 May you can submit your progress report of the doctoral study programme in SisA. Please follow the required steps that as explained in the Helpdesk.

Make sure you only submit after you added all activities for the current academic year. If you submitted your report too early by accident, you can send an email to DoctoralSchool@uantwerpen.be.

STEP 3: Evaluation of progress report

After you have submitted your annual progress report of the doctoral study programme, a peer review commission consisting of members of your faculty/department/institute will evaluate the reported activities (are they relevant for the doctoral study programme? Is the number of suggested points correct? Is the competence category OK?). When they have fully checked your report, you will notice that the status of the report will change from 'Pending' to 'Finalized'. You can then consult the reviewed report in SisA for feedback, and will see that your points total has been updated (see STEP 4).

In case you want to be part of this commission, please send an email to DoctoralSchool@uantwerpen.be.

The evaluation takes place in the months of May/June of the current academic year. Afterwards, you are informed via email by the Antwerp Doctoral School (ADS) that the reports of your faculty/department/institute are evaluated. This email is sent to your student email account.

STEP 4: Consulting the progress report

Consult the manual on the Helpdesk for a step-by-step guide.

Download an overview of all inserted activities

  • Log on to SisA with your student account.
  • Click on 'ePhD', 'Doctoral training' then on 'manage activities'.
  • By clicking the button 'overview points until '17-'18' and Excel-overview including all your submitted activities is automatically downloaded (by the way, this list can also be used to complete your doctoral study programme).

Consult reports per academic year

If you would like to obtain an overview of the activities only for a specific year please go to the tab 'ePhD', 'Doctoral training' then click 'report activities'. Select the requested term and you can find the report of this term with a listing of the points and activities. Rejected activities will contain feedback.

You cannot download an overview of a separate year, only of the complete doctoral study programme as described above.

8. ADS Doctoral Day

Twice a year, the Antwerp Doctoral School hosts a Doctoral Day. Each PhD researcher is expected to attend at least once, preferably during the first year of the PhD. You will receive practical information on the PhD trajectory and the doctoral study programme, will have the opportunity to meet fellow PhD researchers and can follow seminars that could also be of interest for more experienced PhD researchers.