The Fully Funded Global Minds Doctoral Scholarships at KU Leuven in Belgium are open to citizens of selected countries. 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 in Belgium. The Global Minds Programme is managed by IRO, the university’s Interfaculty Council for Development Cooperation.

The aim is to allow students to conduct PhD research in a ‘sandwich’ system, meaning that 50% of the research takes place at KU Leuven and 50% at the scholar's home institution, supported by a local co-promoter. The PhD degree is awarded by KU Leuven.

The Fully Funded Global Minds Doctoral Scholarships at KU Leuven in Belgium will cover tuition fees, monthly allowance, insurance, travel costs, research allowance, etc. 

The eligibility criteria for the Fully Funded Global Minds Doctoral Scholarships at KU Leuven in Belgium are stated below:

1, The applicant must be a citizen of one of the countries included in the scholarship country list.

2. Candidates who have citizenship of the EU will not be selected. The same applies to applicants with a long-term EU residence permit.

3. The candidate’s latest Master’s degree must have been awarded no more than ten years ago, not before 2014.

4. 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 considered.

5. The research project must be of excellent academic quality, with a special focus on the development relevance of the proposal.

Application instructions:

The application procedure entails two steps: (1) first the candidate should obtain admission to a doctoral or predoctoral program. Applications from candidates who have started the application procedure for admission to a doctoral or predoctoral program too late may not be evaluated in time. So please start this procedure as soon as possible (2.5 months before the deadline). (2) Only once this admission has been obtained can the candidate apply for a Global Minds PhD scholarship. The scholarship application deadline is 22 February 2024 at 5:00 PM GMT