Question: Can I select the dates of the 6 weeks full-time presence of the first nine months?
Answer: The workshop periods are known – 2 weeks in March, 2 weeks in June, 2 Weeks in November – and indicated on the website. Also the higher year workshop periods are known, 1 week in June and 1 week in November. The weeks are communicated years in advance. You cannot choose your own workshop periods, and you cannot choose your own starting moment. We start 1 March, and you are expected to join the 3 workshops as indicated. If you cannot participate in these workshops, we recommend you not to apply.
Question: May I know when the GPAC2 workshops are scheduled??
Answer: http://www.merit.unu.edu/training/dual-career-training-programme-to-obtain-a-phd-in-governance-and-policy-analysis-gpac2/programme-information/programme-overview/
Question: Can I split the year one workshops over more years?
Answer: The way the programme is designed, we have 3 workshops of each 2 weeks, in March, June and November. The order is strictly chronological (you cannot start in June), and we cannot postpone participation of workshops to the next year. So, participation in GPAC2 requires 6 weeks attendance in one calendar year, followed by 2x one week in the next years.
In case this obligation is too hard, we would recommend you to look at our EPRM programme, allowing you to increase research skills in a less Maastricht based way. Course material in EPRM is similar to course materials in GPAC2 year one – but the programme does not link to a PhD. However, this programme will be informative on how to do research and will allow you to realize if you have the time to invest, and the interest to research. It also allows us to review your interest and performance, and we are able to advice you after the 14 weeks if we recommend you to apply for GPAC2 or not.
Question: How much time does the GPAC2 programme in year one take?
Answer: In year one of the programme, we slot 3 workshop periods in Maastricht. They are each 2 weeks, and during this period you will obtain classes, present your proposal and receive feedback. These weeks are not meant to draft your proposal, they are rather meant to offer you the skills and support to improve the proposal. The workload in those weeks if full time, every day from 08:30-18:00, and with homework for the weekend and evenings.
During the periods in between the workshops, we expect you to spend time on reading relevant academic literature, preparing your readings for classes, drafting the proposal in writing as well as your prepare your proposal presentation, and if needed take part in the online courses we offer (those are voluntary).
How much time you are able to work on the proposal and courses depends on your own time planning. On average we expect you will need at least a day a week to manage the workload (consistently for all years in the programme), but some people enter the programme more advanced than others and need less time. We will not evaluate you based on the hours you invested, we will evaluate your research proposal as output of the hours you invested.
Specialisation
Question: When do I select a specialisation?
Answer: The GPAC2 programme was initially developed by the Maastricht Graduate School of Governance, hence the programme name is oriented to Governance and Policy Analysis. After the merger of the School of Governance with United Nations University – MERIT, we added a specialisation track in the economics of technology, innovation and development.
The programme now offers a number of joint courses, a number of specialised courses and supervision facilities in the area of governance and policy analysis, as well as in the area of economics of technology, innovation and development.
In your application, you can indicate your preference for specialisation. In addition, from your submitted research proposal, we will also see what the area of your interest is. We will then automatically link you to a GPAC2 specialisation. During the course programme, we do allow for changes, so fellows are invited to join the classes they like best, as well as choose a supervisor that serves their needs best, independent of the specialisation track chosen.
