{"id":3460,"date":"2026-02-17T12:09:45","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T11:09:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uni.lu\/lcel-en\/?post_type=testimonials&p=3460"},"modified":"2026-02-24T14:22:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T13:22:07","slug":"i-am-finshing-my-phd","status":"publish","type":"testimonials","link":"https:\/\/www.uni.lu\/lcel-en\/testimonials\/i-am-finshing-my-phd\/","title":{"rendered":"I am finishing my PhD!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

\nWhat is it really like to pursue a PhD in law \u2014 and how do you know if it\u2019s the right path for you?<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

In this interview, David Althoff<\/a><\/strong>, Doctoral Researcher at the Luxembourg Centre for European Law (LCEL) and external PhD candidate at Leiden University, shares insights from the final stage of his PhD journey. He talks about his research topic, what a typical PhD day looks like, how his academic path developed, and what helped him prepare for doctoral research already during his master\u2019s studies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether you are a prospective student, or currently studying at bachelor\u2019s or master\u2019s level and considering an academic career, David\u2019s story offers a first-hand inside perspective, including practical advice for anyone thinking about taking the next step into research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
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\n \u201f<\/span>\n You\u2019re thinking about a PhD? My advice is to pick the subject you want to research carefully. You will have to work on it for years and it helps if you are passionate about the subject.\u201d\n<\/blockquote>\n
\n \n\"\"\n <\/figure><\/div>\n\n
\n

David Althoff<\/p>\n\n\n

Doctoral Researcher at the Luxembourg Centre for European Law<\/p>\n\n

\n \n \n View profile<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/use><\/svg> <\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

\nDavid, in one sentence: what is your PhD about?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

My PhD is about the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in Dutch domestic Private International Law, which means that it concerns the legal effects of foreign judgments in private law judgments given by courts from countries that are neither EU-member states nor parties to a recognition and enforcement treaty that the Netherlands is also a party to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nWhat made you choose this topic?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The topic is part of one of the main subjects within Private International Law. Already during my time as a bachelor\u2019s student I was interested in Private International Law and more specifically in the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. However, I did not come up with the topic myself. I was informed that I could apply for a PhD position on this topic and got it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nWhen did you know you wanted to do a PhD?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

After writing my bachelor\u2019s essay I knew I wanted to do more research. I applied for the Talent Programme at Leiden University, which used to be a research programme in addition to the LLM. Part of that programme was to take research courses with PhD-candidates and developing your own research proposal. I combined the Talent Programme with an LLM in Civil Law and in Jurisprudence and Philosophy of Law. After having written a master\u2019s thesis in Civil Law and another one in Jurisprudence and Philosophy of Law, I knew that I wanted to continue doing research by writing a PhD-thesis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nWhat was your biggest doubt before starting?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The biggest doubt before starting was whether I should not go into legal practice first. I had done two student internships at two law firms \u2013which is something I recommend all students to do \u2013 and did not rule out that legal practice would be more suitable for me. Fortunately, I was able to do both as I became an external PhD-candidate at Leiden University and a Legal Counsel at the Stichting Internationaal Juridisch Instituut (IJI) in the Hague. Later, I chose to dedicate more time to my PhD-research which I am now conducting at the LCEL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nWhat does a \u201cusual\u201d PhD day look like?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If a \u201cusual\u201d PhD day means working on the PhD-thesis, then a usual day consists of collecting sources, reading and writing for most of the day. This is most of the job and it is good to realize that writing a PhD-thesis is an individual endeavor. However, within the LCEL there is a stimulating research environment with researchers at different stages of their career. There are events to attend, to organize and to participate in. You can present your work in internal meetings and there are opportunities to collaborate with the researchers of the LCEL to develop broadly as a legal researcher. This means that working on a PhD at the LCEL also means that you participate in the activities of the centre, which is different from the \u201cusual\u201d PhD day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nWhat opportunity did you get through the LCEL that you didn\u2019t expect?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You get a lot of opportunity to work on and to develop other projects outside of your PhD, including organizing events. If you have an idea and take initiative, the LCEL provides the right environment and support. I did not expect to get this many opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nWhat is the best way to prepare for a PhD already during your master\u00b4s?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Make a conscious decision about your master\u2019s thesis subject. I think that building on your master\u2019s thesis for ideas for a PhD-thesis helps a lot in the beginning. You are then already acquainted with the subject, which allows for a smooth start. Also, if there are opportunities to already do some research courses during the master\u2019s, I would recommend attending those.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nWhat do you wish you had known at the beginning?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I wish I had known in the beginning that reaching a deep understanding of your topic during the research also means that you will ask different questions about it, which in turn can change your entire research question. In addition, while you are doing your research the topic keeps developing, for instance because of new case-law. This means that you might have to change your research plan, slightly or more fundamentally depending on the developments, as you are working on your thesis. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In this interview, David Althoff, Doctoral Researcher at the Luxembourg Centre for European Law (LCEL), shares insights into the final stage of his PhD and offers practical advice for Bachelor\u2019s and Master\u2019s students considering doctoral research.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":125,"featured_media":3462,"template":"","meta":{"featured_image_focal_point":{"x":0.54,"y":0.27},"show_featured_caption":false,"ulux_newsletter_groups":"","uluxPostTitle":"","uluxPrePostTitle":"","_trash_the_other_posts":false,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"testimonials_person":"David Althoff"},"testimonial-type":[],"organisation":[568],"authorship":[125],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nI am finishing my PhD! 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