PhD Competence Model
PhD Competence Self-Assessment Tool
Based on Empower your PhD project and UU Graduate School of Life Sciences
Which is an updated version of: https://phdcompetencemodel.nl/
PhD Competence Model Overview
The PhD Competence Model visualizes the core competency areas essential for PhD candidates:
Image based on the original PhD competence model: https://phdcompetencemodel.nl/
The model shows the interconnected competencies across research, personal effectiveness, professional development, leadership, communication, and teaching domains.
How to use this tool?
The PhD Competence Model helps you to reflect on various competences, which could be relevant for your future career (academic / non-academic). The self-evaluation tool is comprised of six different competency domains:
- Research skills and knowledge
- Personal effectiveness
- Professional development
- Leadership & Management
- Communication
- Teaching
To track your own development, you are encouraged to use this tool at least on an annual basis.
After completing the self-evaluation, your results will be visualized in a graph. This allows you for instance to compare your different competencies and your development.
Goal of this tool
The purpose of this tool is not to achieve a high score on (all) domains. Rather, this tool can help you to reflect on your competences and help you decide which competences you want to further develop in the coming year. What you strive for as developmental goals is also very personal and context-dependent.
For the tool to be useful, it is recommended to choose 1 or 2 competences after each evaluation that you would like to further develop in the coming year. Based on your choice(s), you can work on a personal development plan following the steps as provided in this tool.
Finally, the tool could be helpful in preparing for the annual evaluation with your supervisors and reflective conversations with your mentor, PhD coordinator, a professional coach, or anyone else like your peers, family and friends. Involving others in this process can provide you the support you need and enrich your personal development and PhD trajectory.
This self-evaluation is not an official performance assessment and is not aimed in any way to form judgement or criticism regarding competences. You also do not have to share the self-evaluation with your supervisors, although doing so could help start a conversation to discuss your personal development.
Fill Evaluation - Instructions
In this evaluation, you will be posed with a set of competences divided in different categories.
Read the definition of all competences carefully and decide for yourself, on a scale of 1 to 10, how well you think you master them. Keep in mind that the goal is not to score a 10 in each category, but rather to find out in which areas you excel.
Per item 10 point scale: 1 very weak - 10 excellent
You will be shown the following categories:
- • Research skills and knowledge
- • Personal effectiveness
- • Professional development
- • Leadership & Management
- • Communication
- • Teaching
You are encouraged to complete the self-evaluation periodically (at least) once a year. We have created 8 self-evaluation sheets for you (#1 through #8).
If you have completed 8 self-evaluation sheets already and you want additional sheets for self-evaluations, you can export your data and start fresh, or use the same sheet multiple times by exporting data between uses.
Toggle years on/off to compare. Switch between viewing modes below.
Complete Results Table
Progress Over Time
Empower your PhD with 4 Steps - Personal Development Plan
You are advised to copy the 4 steps below to a document in which you can elaborate on each step.
Work on your personal and career development using these 4 steps:
Map your strengths and weaknesses with the help of the self-assessment tool.
Complete the self-assessment tool. Briefly state the "strengths" and "weaknesses" that the self-assessment highlighted for you. What are your findings/what did you notice?
Make conscious choices about which competence(s) you would like to strengthen further in the coming year.
Which competence(s) would you like to develop further in the coming year? Choose 1 or 2 competences. Importantly, strengths are also an option! Substantiate your choice(s): why did you choose these competence(s)? In what way are they important to you?
Make a plan of action to reach your goals.
Related to your chosen competence(s):
- What would you like to strengthen further or do better? What is/are your most desirable goal(s) in terms of your own development on this competence(s)?
- What will you undertake to achieve this? What are (small) steps that you can take to get closer to your goal(s)? (e.g. taking a course or training at HRM Learning & Development)
- What do you need to accomplish this? Who could you involve in the process? (e.g. think about involving your supervisors, co-worker, mentor, PhD coordinator, a professional coach, or peers, family and friends)
- What qualities do you possess to achieve your goal(s)? What might be holding you back?
- When does your action plan start and end? Make concrete how the trajectory looks like along the way. Divide bigger goals in smaller subgoals. What are small actionable steps that you can take? What is the timeline for those actions? What can you do to motivate yourself and maintain/manage your goals along the way? Who can help you with what aspects?
- Describe when you consider you are successful and how you will evaluate this during the course/process. Describe how you can celebrate (small) successes during the process.
Make concrete how you and possibly others could evaluate your progress after a year.
Following up on STEP 3f, how might you and others evaluate you a year from now? What criteria might you and possibly others use to evaluate you?
In these four steps you translate the self-evaluation results into a concrete personal development plan: your personal choice is central in the translation from self-evaluation to the development plan.
References & Resources
The original idea was implemented as an HTML application by AcademicTransfer
Primary Sources:
- • NFU (2016). PhD Competence Model. Nederlandse Federatie van Universitair Medische Centra
- • Utrecht University - PhD Competences and Skills