Global Minds Doctoral Scholarships Programme at KU Leuven

As one of its contributions to development cooperation, every academic year KU Leuven selects exceptional students from developing countries as scholarship candidates to obtain their PhD from the largest university of Belgium. The Global Minds Programme is managed by IRO, the university’s Interfaculty Council for Development Cooperation.

The aim is to give students the opportunity to conduct PhD 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-promoter. The PhD degree is awarded by KU Leuven.

The scholarship covers tuition fee, monthly allowance, insurance, travel costs, research allowance, etc. Refer to this link for full benefit list.

Citizen of one of the countries included in the VLIR-UOS scholarship country list.

• The applicant must be a citizen of one of the countries included in the VLIR-UOS scholarship country list.
• Candidates who have citizenship of the EU will not be selected. The same applies to applicants with a long-term EU residence permit.
• The candidate’s latest Master’s degree must have been awarded no more than ten years prior to 1 October 2020 (including the ongoing calendar year).
• The candidate must have been awarded an academic grade equivalent to High Distinction or higher. Degrees obtained with a final score equivalent to second class second/lower division will not be taken into consideration.
• The research project must be of excellent academic quality, with a special focus on the development relevance of the proposal.
• The research project must have a clear time frame that indicates how the research periods at KU Leuven and at the home institution will alternate (a maximum period of 12 months at the home institution should alternate with a maximum period of 12 months at KU Leuven).
• 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. All parties involved in the PhD proposal (candidate, KU Leuven promotor, local co-promotor and the home university of the candidate) should be able to comply with the stipulations contained in the scholarship contract, which can be consulted here.
• 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 the home institution. Candidates who are not yet affiliated to a university in their home country do not yet have to demonstrate the support of the home university. 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. All parties involved in the PhD proposal (candidate, KU Leuven promotor, local co-promotor and the home university of the candidate) should be able to comply with the stipulations contained in the scholarship contract, which can be consulted here.
• Candidates who are already enrolled as PhD-students at KU Leuven and who are financed by KU Leuven are not eligible for this programme. However, they might be eligible for the PhD Scholarships for Researchers from the South.
• Candidates who have been employed before in an EEA country other than Belgium are not eligible for this scholarship. They may be eligible for the PhD Scholarships for Researchers from the South though.
• The candidate must demonstrate a development-oriented motivation.
• The candidate must be supported by a KU Leuven promoter.
• The candidate must be supported by a local co-promoter at his/her home university.
• The candidate must be supported by excellent recommendations provided by relevant referees.
• The candidate must follow the application procedure and complete his/her file before 15 January 2020. Please make sure to fill in the application form with the following instructions:
  First name and last name EXACTLY as written on the passport.
  Type of programme: Doctoral Programme (diploma contract) or Predoctoral Programme. Select the doctoral or predoctoral programme in your field of study.
  Academic year: please select 2020-2021.
  Is this application also intended as a scholarship application? Yes.
  Name of the scholarship agency: Global Minds Doctoral Scholarship
• The candidate has read and agreed to the Regulations, Obligations and Conditions for Terminating the GM PhD Scholarship.
• Candidates are asked not to submit their application unless it fulfills the conditions enlisted above. Incomplete or late applications will not be taken into consideration; no exceptions will be made.

• The candidate must follow the application procedure and complete his/her file before 15 January 2021.
• It is important to visit the official website (link found below) for detailed information on how to apply for this scholarship.