Special Research Fund - Doctoral Scholarships for Candidates from Developing Countries

With support from its “Special Research Fund” (BOF), Ghent University grants PhD scholarships to promising PhD students from developing countries who wish to carry out half of their PhD research at Ghent University and half in a university in a developing country. Duration and start date:
  • The earliest starting date of the scholarship at Ghent University is 1 October 2019;
  • The candidate obtains a scholarship for 24 months to study at Ghent university;
  • 24 months of the PhD research/study must be co-financed at the partner university;
  • Students are obliged to divide the Ghent University scholarship into minimum 2 different research stays in Ghent (North) and need to return at least once to their home university (South)  in between (= ‘sandwich- schedule’);
  • At least 12 months of the research stay in the South must be scheduled after the first BOF funded stay in Ghent (North) (earliest possible starting date of the BOF funding = 1 October 2019).
 Who can apply Before applying for a PhD scholarship at Ghent university students always need to find a professor from Ghent University who is willing to act as the supervisor ('promoter') of their doctoral research and who agrees to support their application. The best way to do this is by browsing the list of faculties and research topics available on via the University research directory
  • The proposals must be jointly submitted by a candidate, a promoter at Ghent University and a supervisor at the partner university.
  • No restrictions are imposed on the field of research, nevertheless  preference will be given to topics that are relevant for development
Development relevance relates to the extent to which the proposals’ objectives are consistent with beneficiaries’ requirements, country needs, synergy opportunities, global priorities and partners’ and donors’ policies.
  • Candidates need to come from – and have the nationality of – a developing country (see country list);
  • There must be a guarantee that the candidate will be able to work fulltime on the PhD project for a period of 24 months at the partner university in a selected developing country (South). This implies that the following conditions needs to be fulfilled:
  1. There must be a local PhD supervisor at the partner university or research center in the South;
  2. A written  statement is requested stating that the candidate is either a funded fulltime PhD student or a staff member at this partner university
  3. and will be sufficiently exempted from teaching or other assignments as to be able to fully concentrate on the PhD research in the South.
  4. This statement should also mention that the candidate receives a local PhD scholarship or salary for a period of 24 months when working on the PhD at the partner university in the South.
  • This co-funding is only intended for students who  want to obtain a (joint ) PhD degree at Ghent University .
How to apply
  • Applications must be submitted on the application forms provided for this purpose.
The Research Council makes a selection of the applications based in part on the recommendations obtained from members of the Council for Development Cooperation.
  • Selection criteria:
  1. the qualifications of the applicant;
  2. the doctoral project;
  3. the relevance of the research topic for development;
  4. the scientific/scholarly potential of the promoter’s research group(s);
  5. the partnership between Ghent University and the local institute;
  6. the scientific/scholarly potential of the local institute.
For further information, click here