PhD graduates; experiences and duration PhD track
| Sex | Margins | PhD characteristics | Periods | Average time required for obtaining PhD (Months) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total male and female | Value | 02 Design, arts, language and history | 2025 | 77.3 |
| Total male and female | Lower bound 95% confidence interval | 02 Design, arts, language and history | 2025 | 74.2 |
| Total male and female | Upper bound 95% confidence interval | 02 Design, arts, language and history | 2025 | 80.5 |
| Male | Value | 02 Design, arts, language and history | 2025 | 75.9 |
| Male | Lower bound 95% confidence interval | 02 Design, arts, language and history | 2025 | 71.5 |
| Male | Upper bound 95% confidence interval | 02 Design, arts, language and history | 2025 | 80.4 |
| Female | Value | 02 Design, arts, language and history | 2025 | 79.3 |
| Female | Lower bound 95% confidence interval | 02 Design, arts, language and history | 2025 | 75.0 |
| Female | Upper bound 95% confidence interval | 02 Design, arts, language and history | 2025 | 83.6 |
| Source: CBS. | ||||
Table explanation
This table shows figures on how PhD graduates experienced their PhD-track and the duration of their PhD-track, by sex and PhD characteristics (time since receiving PhD, discipline and type of PhD).
The figures come from the periodically recurring Careers of Doctorate Holders survey. The study has been ongoing since 2010, and data are available from 2019 onward due to comparability. The target population consists of all individuals who have obtained their PhD at a university affiliated with the Universities of the Netherlands (UNL) since the academic year 1990/’91, who were under the age of 70 at the time of the survey, and who were residing in the Netherlands according to the Basic Registration of Persons (BRP) at that time.
Data available from: 2019.
Status of the figures:
The figures in this table are definite.
Changes as of March 25, 2026:
This table has been replaced with an improved version. Due to a labeling issue, incorrect counts were shown in the breakdown between “Time since PhD: 5 years or less” and “Time since PhD: more than 5 years”. This has now been corrected.
When will new figures be published?
It is not yet clear when the next survey will be carried out, and therefore it is unclear when new data will be published.
Description topics
- Average time required for obtaining PhD
- Gross time required to complete a PhD, in months. This refers to the time between the start and end of the PhD program.