Scientific Writing
In short
About this course- 2.0 ECTS
- Length: 6 lessons
- Reduced fee:€ 382,50
- External fee: € 810,-
- Location: WUR-campus or online
Do you struggle to write that perfect sentence or that flawless paragraph? Can’t make your text flow even though you’ve revised it countless times? Wonder why your text is flat, unappealing or rambling? Scientific Writing is a hands-on course that teaches you to tackle these problems and to write a structured and coherent academic text through lectures, in-class exercises, class discussion and detailed instructor feedback on your texts.
This course is offered in collaboration with Wageningen Graduate Schools (WGS).
Who is this course suitable for?
PhD candidates, WUR employees and writers from outside the university with little writing experience who are currently writing or about to start writing an article or their dissertation.
Scientific Writing is not suitable for PhD candidates in the first 18 months of their PhD programme or for those who have no results and/or are not in the process of writing since you will submit sections of your academic text every week during this course. The course is also not appropriate for PhD candidates who are writing their proposal. The maximum number of participants per group is 14.
Admission requirements
If you are a PhD candidate, you must fulfil one of the following requirements to participate in the course:
- You must have completed the first 18 months of your PhD.
or - You must have completed the first 12 months of your PhD AND fulfil one of the following:
- have enough analyzed results to write a paper or
- be in the process of writing a paper on your experimental results or
- be in the process of writing your dissertation.
Important: Students may not write a review during the course.
If no. 2 applies to you, you must email Wageningen in’to Languages (into@wur.nl) and request to be admitted to the course. Wageningen in’to Languages will check your eligibility with your Graduate School.
English language skills
All participants need to score at least 70 on the Oxford Online Placement Test (click here to read more about the OOPT) or to have an equivalent score on one of the following international tests:
- At least 6.5 in the IELTS exam
- At least an A grade on the Cambridge First exam
- At least an C grade on the Cambridge Advanced exam
- At least 87 on the TOEFL exam (internet-based)
- RATEr certificate with a "pass" for all 4 components
- A diploma from any English-taught Master’s programme.
If you are a WUR employee or someone outside the university, you must also have enough analyzed results or be in the process of writing a paper to follow this course. If you have questions about the requirements, please email us.
English language skills
All participants need to score at least 70 on the Oxford Online Placement Test (click here to read more about the OOPT) or to have an equivalent score on one of the following international tests:
- At least 6.5 in the IELTS exam
- At least an A grade on the Cambridge First exam
- At least an C grade on the Cambridge Advanced exam
- At least 87 on the TOEFL exam (internet-based)
- RATEr certificate with a "pass" for all 4 components
- A diploma from any English-taught Master’s programme.
What will you learn?
Course objectives
- Learn how to write a coherent article
- Develop good sentence and paragraph structure
- Identify and correct the most common and stylistic errors
- Learn to use powerful language and to write more succinctly
- Improve grammar and punctuation
- Edit your work more independently
Dates and times
Scientific Writing is offered 14 times per year, 7 times in the first semester and 7 in the second semester. Please click below for the course schedule.
If you would like to take this course but it is either full or does not list a starting date that suits you, please subscribe to our notification list by filling in the registration form. You will then be kept updated on new sign-up opportunities and dates.
Practical information
- Reduced fee*: € 382,50
- University fee**: € 765,-
- External fee: € 810,-
The fee includes study and training material.
Reduced fee*
- PhD candidates of Wageningen University with an approved Training and Supervision Plan (TSP) who are registered at one of the WU graduate schools (EPS, PE&RC, VLAG, WASS, WIAS, WIMEK).
- Postdocs of Wageningen University who are registered at one of the WU graduate schools.
University fee**
- All other PhD candidates / Wageningen University postdocs and staff.
The course consists of six 2.5-hour face-to-face lessons. You should also allow for 36 hours of self-study.
You may cancel free of charge up to four weeks before the start of the course. After this date you will be charged the incurring course fee. Unless:
- You can find someone to replace you in the course and supply the course coordinator with the name and contact information of your replacement. In this caseyou will only be charged a €50 cancellation fee.
- You (PhDs and postdocs of Wageningen University) have a valid reason to cancel (illness or death in the family 1st or 2nd degree). In this case you will be charged the reduced fee and your supervisor/PI must send a mail indicating the reason for cancellation.
We offer Scientific Writing both as an online course and as a face-to-face course on campus. In the schedule and during registration, you can see which course is offered in which format.
If you register for an online course, you follow the course entirely online using the Virtual Classroom in Brightspace. If you choose a face-to-face course, the classes will take place at our location: Forum, Wageningen Campus.
The course materials will be distributed online. The costs are included in the course fee.
To receive a certificate, participants must meet the following 4 requirements: (1) attend the first class, (2) attend at least 4 of the 5 remaining classes, (3) attend each session in its entirety and (4) submit all assignments on time.
Registration
Before registration, please consult the admission requirements on this page.
What others say about this course
“This course was an eye opener. I learned how to write down my thoughts in a structured manner and putting up connections between them, by simply following rules on how to structure a sentence and a paragraph.”
- Sabine Neuberger, PhD candidate Business Economics
Training Scientific Writing tailor-made
Contact us if you'd like to learn Scientific Writing through a fully personalized program, tailored to your needs and wishes!
More information?
Do you have a question? Or do you need advice? We're happy to help!
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