I'm thinking about applying for a PhD studentship in the UK. I'll graduate at the end of this year, and I;ll be a (Dutch) Msc in medical engineering. Is this degree high enough to be admitted?
And another question: during a PhD, do you have to write a certain number of articles that get published?

I think your MSc would qualify you for a PhD admission. While you do not need to have published papers in order to be awarded a PhD, it's good if you can publish papers before your submission and viva. That way your work has already been peer reviewed and consequently, it makes it harder for examiners to fail you! I have heard it said that a PhD thesis should contain sufficient work to produce 3 full papers, but I have no official reference for that statement. Good luck with your applications :o)

The British PhD system is different from that in The Netherlands. Firstly it is usually between 3 and 4 years long, rather than the almost open ended Dutch system, and secondly there is no formal need for the student to have a number of publications before they are allowed to submit a thesis.

Your Dutch MSc combined with a good grade in your first degree should be sufficient for you to be accepted on a UK programme.

Thanks for the reply! One more question: what do you mean with 'first degree'?

A 'first degree' in the UK is known as a Bachelors, Honours or undergraduate degree. This is usually started at the age of 18 and finished at the age of 21. It is equivalent in status to a Dutch HBO.

If you have your 'Doctoraal', then this will be sufficient for entry into a British PhD programme (irrespective of any previous qualifications).