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Deadline: 31 January 2018
Open to: students from developing countries
Scholarship: fully funded
Description
KU Leuven is inviting applications for Global Minds Ph.D. Scholarship Program. These scholarships are available for developing countries students to obtain their Ph.D. from the largest university of Belgium.
The aim is to give students the opportunity to conduct Ph.D. research in a ‘sandwich’ system, which means that 50% of the research takes place at KU Leuven and 50% at the home institution of the scholar, supported by a local co-promotor. The PhD-degree is awarded by KU Leuven.
KU Leuven is situated at about twenty kilometers from Brussels, the capital of both Belgium and Europe. It is the oldest university of the Low Countries. As such, it has a long-standing tradition of hospitality towards students and scholars from abroad
Eligibility
Before submitting a GM PhD application, candidates must:
- Have their own formal doctoral research topic proposal. The research proposal must be original and innovative. Moreover, it must be clear, goal-oriented and its completion must be feasible within a maximum period of four years (48 months). The topic is preferably related to one of the Sustainable Development Goals;
- The project should fit the ‘sandwich’ system which allows for 24 months of research at KU Leuven and 24 months at the home university. These periods should be divided according to the following principle: research stays of maximum 12 months at KU Leuven alternate with research stays of maximum 12 months at the home institution;
- All PhD research must be supported and supervised by a KU Leuven professor. Therefore, the first step is to engage a KU Leuven professor who has expertise on your research topic. You may directly contact a KU Leuven professor to discuss opportunities for PhD research in his/her research group. The KU Leuven Research Portal can be a good starting point to search for professors, topics and disciplines. Alternatively, you can also check the key research areas at KU Leuven;
You are responsible for contacting and agreeing on your research project with a professor at KU Leuven, taking into account the fact that this is a scholarship based on a ‘sandwich’ system. After you have found a professor whose research interests match yours, you may contact him/her by consulting KU Leuven’s Who is Who?
English Language Requirements: Students need to provide an official proof of English proficiency, the only accepted certificates are:
- IELTS: Academic;
- TOEFL: iBT, computer-based or paper-based. TOEFL ITP is not accepted;
- Cambridge: CAE or CPE. FCE is not accepted.
Scholarship
Scholarships will cover the followings:
- Monthly basic amount in Belgium;
- Tuition fee;
- Affiliation with a Belgian Health Insurance company;
- Professional and accident insurance coverage; third party liability insurance (study related matters and for professional liability);
- Airline tickets (for the scholar);
- Indirect travel costs (for the scholar) for each travel.
How to apply?
In order to apply, please fill the application.
University strongly advises you to attach the following documents to your email when contacting a particular faculty member or research unit in view of potential supervision:
- CV;
- A draft of GM motivation letter;
- A draft of your GM research proposal in which you give more detailed information about your Ph.D. project: research question, theoretical framework, methods of data collection and analysis, research schedule based on the ‘sandwich’-system;
- Have the support and agreement on the doctoral research proposal by a local co-promoter from the applicant’s home university. This ensures embeddedness of the research within the country’s context and contributes to capacity building. The local co-promoter must be affiliated with the university or research institute and must possess the scientific knowledge required to supervise the project as a promoter would do; therefore, being an authority in the matter and in the institution itself, according to the rules and regulations proper to the researcher’s university;
- You are responsible for contacting and agreeing on your research project with the person you want to cooperate with as your local co-promoter;
- The candidate must be formally affiliated to a university in the home country as an employee. In case the candidate has no such affiliation yet, he/she is eligible to apply to this scholarship programme but will only be granted the scholarship once such an affiliation is obtained;
- The applicant’s home university must demonstrate sufficient support for the doctoral project, guaranteeing that the candidate can dedicate himself/herself sufficiently to conducting doctoral research during the periods spent at that home institution;
- Candidates who are not yet affiliated to a university in their home country do not yet have to demonstrate that the university will offer sufficient support for the doctoral project. However, the Scholarship will only be granted once the candidate is formally affiliated to a university in the home country and when, consequently, that university can demonstrate sufficient support.
For more information, please visit the official web page.