PhD Courses 2026
Many PhD candidates in criminology work on the edges of different disciplines: social sciences, humanities, and even natural sciences. Across different institutions they have common needs and interests. By joining forces, we will broaden their educational opportunities. Therefore, from 2024 onwards, the criminology departments of Leiden University, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Erasmus University, Utrecht University and the NSCR will organize tailormade PhD courses for future criminologists. Our additional goal is to strengthen the community of PhD candidates.
Follow the PhDs in Criminology on LinkedIn.
In 2026, we will offer the following courses.
How to Conduct a Scientific Interview?
Would you like to learn or improve your qualitative research skills? In the course “How to Conduct a Scientific Interview,” you’ll learn the tools for designing, conducting, analyzing, and reporting on interviews.
Course Content
The course covers the following topics:
- Structuring and asking effective questions.
- Various qualitative methods, such as focus groups and ethnography.
- Advanced interview techniques: listening, summarizing, and nonverbal techniques.
- Ethics and data management.
- Different types of respondents, such as professionals and sensitive topics.
- Atas.ti analysis software.
- (Narrative) analysis methods and reproducibility.
Finally, all participants will present what they have learned and how they are applying it in their research.
Practical information
The Graduate School course is for PhD students and junior researchers in law and criminology and will be held in the fall of 2026. The course takes place in person at VU University Amsterdam and is conducted in English. You will receive 4 ECTS credits for active participation in at least 6 of the 8 sessions. The course is taught by guest speakers from the NSCR and VU Amsterdam, all of whom are experts in the art of interviewing. The maximum number of participants is 20.
Registration
Register by sending an email to Mijke de Waardt (MdeWaardt@nscr.nl) with Tessa de Jong (t2.de.jong@vu.nl) in the CC.
NSCR is part of the Institutes Organisation of the Dutch Research Council (NWO).