Dutch PhD Offer: Salary, Contract and Start Date

Dutch PhD Offer: Salary, Contract and Start Date

You cannot negotiate the salary on a Dutch PhD offer. The collective labour agreement for Dutch universities (the CAO) places every PhD candidate on step P0 for the first 12 months, then P1, and caps the scale at P3. TU Delft's job 3871 says its pay is "in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities" and prints €3,204 to €4,051 gross per month on a full-time contract.

So the useful question is not "how much can I ask for?" but "what is still open?". Our view: spend your one round of questions on the start date, the visa and relocation support, and say no quickly and in writing if you are not taking the job, because a Dutch position is one funded post and the next candidate is waiting.

Every CAO article, salary table and vacancy quoted below was checked on 31 October 2026. The CAO text is in Dutch; the English renderings below are our translation, and the Dutch is quoted so you can check it.

What the collective agreement fixes

The CAO pages of Universiteiten van Nederland (UNL), the universities' association, were still headed "1 juli 2025 tot en met 30 juni 2026" (1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026) when we checked.

"Voor de promovendus gelden de salaristreden P0, P1, P2 en P3."

(The PhD candidate is paid on salary steps P0, P1, P2 and P3.) Article 3.9 then says the candidate "wordt bij aanvang van het dienstverband ingedeeld in salaristrede P0 voor de duur van 12 maanden" (starts on step P0 for 12 months), moves to P1 after that, and that "Elke volgende salarisverhoging vindt pas plaats na een jaarlijkse beoordeling" (each later rise follows an annual review). The top is fixed too: "Het eindsalaris van de promovendus is gesteld op salaristrede P3, die gelijk is aan salarisschaal 10, trede 2" (the final salary is P3, equal to scale 10, step 2) (CAO, Bezoldiging).

The contract is fixed in the same way. Article 2.3 says a PhD contract runs "in beginsel vier jaar bij een volledige werkweek" (in principle four years full-time), and that the first contract can be "eenmalig een dienstverband voor een termijn van maximaal 18 maanden" (a one-off contract of at most 18 months) "ter beoordeling van zijn geschiktheid" (to assess suitability) (CAO, Aangaan dienstverband). That article is the basis of the go/no-go clause in the ads quoted here. TU Delft's version: "An initial 1,5 year contract with an official go/no go progress assessment within 15 months."

Why three ads print three salaries

The scale is fixed, but the euro amounts move with each CAO. Three published ads for the same scale P show it:

The first row matches UNL's salary table dated 1 January 2025, which lists P at 2.901, 3.378, 3.537 and 3.707. The second row is that table after the 2025 rise. The CAO says salaries rose "structureel met 2,0 %" on 1 July 2025 and then every amount in the table "structureel met € 100,-" (CAO, Financiële arbeidsvoorwaarden). Our arithmetic: €2,901 × 1.02 + €100 = €3,059, and €3,707 × 1.02 + €100 = €3,881.

Unknown: the third row. Several Utrecht ads published from July 2026, and TU Delft's job 3871, print €3,204 to €4,051, but the UNL CAO pages we checked still show the 2025–2026 agreement. We could not trace the newer figure to a published CAO text. And one Utrecht ad published on 21 July 2026 (vacancy 5587) still printed €3,059 to €3,881. Use the number in your own offer letter.

The practical point: if two Dutch offers print different PhD salaries, check the publication dates before you compare. In the three ads in the table, the difference is the CAO year, not the university; the Utrecht ad above shows a date is a guide, not proof.

What you can ask for

The CAO leaves three things to the university or to the ad. These are the questions worth one email.

1. The start date. Ads state a preference, not a rule: "The preferred starting date is October 1st 2026" (Utrecht 5598); "The start date is flexible" (TU Delft).
2. The visa timeline. Two Utrecht ads warn that "international candidates that need a visa/work permit for the Netherlands require at least four months processing time after selection and acceptance" (Utrecht 5629).
3. Relocation costs. Article 3.20 makes each university set its own scheme for "reis-, verhuis- en pensionkosten in verband met indiensttreding" (travel, moving and lodging costs on joining). Ask which scheme applies and how to claim. Do not ask for a personal allowance outside it.

At Utrecht, housing is your problem, not the employer's. Utrecht says "Finding appropriate housing in or near Utrecht is your own responsibility" and adds "finding housing may also take up to four months" (vacancy 5598).

The countercase: a PhD funded by your own government scholarship, not by a Dutch employment contract, is not on scale P at all. Your sponsor's terms decide the money. The start-date advice below still applies.

Changing the start date

Put the ad's preferred date next to the visa rule. Utrecht's educational-inequality ad held its first round on "August 21" and named "a preferred starting date of September or October 2026". If you need a work permit and the four-month note in Utrecht's geosciences ads applies, a start in September or October was already too early (our arithmetic: 21 August plus four months is late December). A later start in that case is not a favour you are asking. It is what the university's own rule implies.

Constructed example: a start-date request (81 words)

Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant's email.

Dear Dr Visser,

Thank you for the offer for the flood-risk PhD position. I am glad to accept in principle.

The vacancy names 1 October as the preferred start. As a non-EU candidate I will need a residence permit, and the vacancy notes that this takes at least four months after acceptance. Could we set the start date to 1 February 2027? If an earlier date matters for the project, I can begin remote reading from November.

Kind regards, Parisa Ahmadi

Why it works: it accepts first, cites the university's own processing rule, proposes one date, and offers something useful in the gap. It does not ask about salary. (Our count: 81 words including greeting and sign-off, 74 in the body.)

Declining a position offer

A position is one funded post. Our reading: until you decline, the group cannot move to its next candidate. Decline in writing, to the person who made the offer, as soon as you have decided.

Constructed example: declining a Dutch PhD position (61 words)

Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant's email.

Dear Dr Visser,

Thank you for offering me the flood-risk PhD position and for the time your team spent on the interviews. After careful thought I have accepted another position and must decline your offer. I wanted to tell you at once so you can contact the next candidate. I hope our paths cross at a conference.

Kind regards, Parisa Ahmadi

You do not need a reason beyond "another position". If you are comparing offers from the US as well, the timing rules there are different; how to decline a PhD offer covers the US April 15 resolution, and choosing between two PhD offers gives a side-by-side method.

Swedish and Danish offers in brief

The same logic applies: the salary comes from an agreement, not a negotiation.

• Sweden (KTH). "Doctoral student salaries are based on a salary agreement. They currently start at SEK 33,000 per month at the beginning of employment and can reach up to SEK 37,100." The "first employment contract covers a maximum period of one year", renewed "for up to two years at a time" (KTH). Our Swedish PhD cover letter guide covers the application side.
• Denmark (DTU). "As of April 2024, the monthly salary, including pension for a PhD student with no seniority amounts to approx. DKK 34,000" (DTU). That figure is dated April 2024 on the page; check your offer.

We did not find an ETH Zurich doctoral salary page that loaded when we checked, so this page states no Swiss figure.

Questions about Dutch PhD offers

Can I negotiate a higher step on scale P?

No. Article 3.9 starts every PhD candidate on P0 for 12 months and says "Aanloopschalen" (entry scales) do not apply to PhD candidates. Under that wording, prior work experience does not move you up the scale (our reading).

Is the 18-month first contract a sign they doubt me?

No. Article 2.3 allows it for every PhD candidate, and both universities quoted here print a short first contract: Utrecht offers "a position for 1 year, with an extension to a total of four years upon a successful assessment in the first year".

Does parental leave shorten my PhD?

No. Article 2.5 says the PhD contract "op diens verzoek wordt verlengd" (is extended on your request) by the length of maternity, parental and birth leave taken during the PhD.

What should I say in the interview if they ask about salary?

That you have read the scale in the ad. The interview stage is covered in what to expect in a European PhD position interview.

Get a free review of your PhD cover letter

Applying for another Dutch position while you decide? Get a free Quick Review of your PhD cover letter against GradPilot's PhD position cover and motivation letter rubric. It reads whether the letter explains why the specific research work interests you, shows preparation through your own actions, connects it to the work ahead, and follows the instructions the ad supplies. For the letter itself, our Dutch PhD motivation letter guide covers structure, and the general PhD statement of purpose rubric covers programmes that ask for a statement instead. More guides are on the PhD essays hub.

Sources

Retrieved 31 October 2026, except where noted.

• Universiteiten van Nederland, CAO Nederlandse Universiteiten: Bezoldiging, algemeen (CAO 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026): articles 3.9 and 3.11.
• Universiteiten van Nederland, CAO: Aangaan dienstverband (same CAO): articles 2.3 and 2.5.
• Universiteiten van Nederland, CAO: Financiële arbeidsvoorwaarden (Annex A): 1 July 2025 rise, 8.3% year-end bonus.
• Universiteiten van Nederland, CAO: Gratificaties, vergoedingen en tegemoetkomingen: article 3.20.
• Universiteiten van Nederland, Salarisschalen per 1 januari 2025 (PDF): scale P amounts.
• TU Delft, PhD Position Sustainable Generative AI for Digital Sovereignty (job 3871): salary, contract, flexible start.
• Tilburg University, PhD candidate in Accounting (published 19 December 2024, closed 1 March 2025): scale P amounts.
• Utrecht University, vacancies 5240, 5576, 5587, 5598, 5629 and 5455 (all closed, 2026): salary amounts, start dates, visa processing time, housing.
• KTH, Become a PhD student: Swedish salary and contract.
• DTU, Salary paid to PhD students (figure dated April 2024 on the page): Danish salary.