The PhD programme in Social Protection Policy (ESPP), is offered by the Maastricht Graduate School of Governance and is supported by the EU Marie Curie EST Programme. The ESPP programme trains promising young researchers in social protection and social policy from a multidisciplinary perspective. The programme finds its strengths in pooling the resources of eleven top research institutes and universities in nine EU-countries. The supporting institutes all cooperate in providing the PhD students with advanced training modules and excellent assistance and supervision of the students at an individual level.

The European Graduate Programme in Social Protection Policy is a three year programme. Participation in this programme entails: � A basic training programme provided in Maastricht by leading scholars from the own faculty and from the supporting institutes; � A personal training programme; � A 6-12 months international visiting researcher position at one of the ESPP partner universities; � Bi-weekly research and tutorial seminars; � Participation in summer schools, conferences and career-oriented workshops.

The Marie Curie programme finances the participation of seven students in the ESPP graduate programme for the 2006-2009 PhD programme. Please refer to our website for information about scholarship eligibility.

The scholarship includes tuition payment, an employmnet contract with the Maastricht Graduate School of Governance (salary and secondary conditions will be according to the PhD standards established by law in the Netherlands), and administrative support from Universiteit Maastricht and the host university during the international mobility period.

Deadline for application: 1 March 2006

For more information visit: www.governance.unimaas.nl or send an email to info-gov at governance.unimaas.nl