PhD funding

Grants

Some funds, such as the Fund for Scientific Research - FNRS, the FRIA and the UCL assistantship, are awarded specifically for the completion of a PhD thesis. They are given for a sufficient length of time to allow researchers to pursue their doctoral studies through to the defence of thesis stage.

Special Research Fund (FSR) grants and projects top up this funding but are awarded for shorter periods.

The FIRST DEI grants (2 years + a 2-year extension) awarded by the Walloon Region also enable recipients to complete a PhD thesis in partnership with a company.

The Prospective Research for Brussels grants (2 years + a 2-year extension) awarded by the Brussels-Capital Region allow recipients to complete a PhD thesis on topics of interest to the Region.

UCL “development cooperation” PhD grants and governmental grants (awarded by the Directorate-General for Development Cooperation (DGCD) or the communities) are given to students from countries that are the targets of Belgian or community international cooperation.

Projects

Other forms of funding, because of their duration, are suitable for the completion of a thesis, but PhD students who receive them are bound by the research topic chosen by their supervisor. These types of funding come under the coordinated research project (ARC) and interuniversity attraction pole (IAP) structures, which bring together researchers from several university teams within a single research programme. Other examples include projects paid for by related funds (FRFC – Fund for Collective Fundamental Research, FRSM – National Fund for Medical Research, IISN - Interuniversity Institute for Nuclear Sciences) and the Télévie programme run by the Fund for Scientific Research - FNRS.

At European level, the Marie Curie Initial Training Networks of the Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP7) support doctoral candidates in their work for up to three years.

Students can also start working towards a PhD using other sources of funding, such as the thematic programmes of the Belgian Science Policy Office, incentive programmes operated by the Walloon Region or the Brussels-Capital Region, or the European Union’s research programmes. However, after two or three years they will need to find another source of funding to complete their PhD.

See the Overview for a summary of possible sources of PhD funding.