Twente discontinues cum laude for PhDs

Twente is the first Dutch university to abolish the cum laude designation for PhD candidates. This will take effect on the first of January, U-Today reports.

Approximately 5 per cent of PhDs are awarded the distinction, which means "with honours". Research has shown time and again that women are less likely to receive it. The Dutch newspaper NRC first reported this in 2018, and the sociologist Thijs Bol later confirmed the problem. He also observed that the more men there were on the doctoral committee, the greater the difference.

A year later, the same pattern was visible at another university, and the difference could not be explained by the quality of the thesis, according to an article by organisational scientist Peter van den Besselaar.

PhD Network Netherlands
"It is nice that they're paying attention to the content and assessment of PhD candidates," reacts Martijn van der Meer, chair of the PhD Network Netherlands. According to him, there are more problems with the cum laude distinction than just gender bias.

"Some PhD students have to teach a lot, while others don't," he says. "Sometimes, PhD students don't even have an employment contract. Some get more facilities than others. Such differences can be magnified by making a distinction in the assessment."

Candidates are awarded a PhD when a committee of professors and experts is convinced that they are capable of conducting independent scientific research, Van der Meer emphasises. "But that is different from saying that a given candidate is better than the others. The question is whether a committee can make a fair comparison."

In any case, PhD programmes are being debated, says Van der Meer. “Can you only obtain a PhD with just a written text? Or can you also engage in science communication and make a social impact in a good PhD programme, for example?”

At Utrecht University, the desirability of the cum laude distinction for PhD programmes is also being debated. At the end of this month, the university will launch (link accessible only to those with a Solis ID, Ed.) a new vision for training researchers, entitled "Room for every PhD candidate".

This vision focuses on the principles of the new assessment policy, Recognition and Rewards. PhD candidates are encouraged, for example, to broaden their horizons and not to focus solely on research.

However, a spokesperson says that it will still be possible to get a cum laude distinction when obtaining a PhD at Utrecht University. "That will not change in the short term.”

Politics
Some bachelor's and master's programmes had already stopped awarding honours degrees because this designation was thought to impose unnecessary mental pressure. Some members of the House of Representatives view this trend in higher education with suspicion.

Right-wing party VVD, for example, believes that the pursuit of excellence should be a “personal freedom” and even submitted a motion last year stating that performance-based distinctions such as honours programmes and cum laude degrees should remain possible in education.

That motion received a majority, but that would no longer be the case today. In the new House of Representatives, the opponents (D66, CDA, GroenLinks-PvdA, SP, ChristenUnie, SGP and Partij voor de Dieren) have exactly 76 seats.