KU Leuven Global Minds Doctoral Scholarships Programme

What the KU Leuven Global Minds scholarship gives you

You get a monthly salary of at least 2,400 EUR while you are in Belgium. This equals the full net pay of a research assistant. The scholarship funds the KU Leuven part of a 4-year PhD, for up to 24 months spread across your stays in Leuven. If you first need a short preparatory phase, you get 1,900 EUR per month for up to 6 months. Tuition fees are waived, your Belgian health, accident and liability insurance are covered during your stays, and you get 4 return economy flights. The PhD runs as a sandwich: up to half your time is at KU Leuven (funded here) and at least half at your home university in your own country (paid for by that university). KU Leuven awards the final doctorate. In the 2026-2027 round, 4 extra Lovanium scholarships go to candidates from the Democratic Republic of Congo under the same conditions.

Who can apply

• Where you are from: You are a national and resident of one of the eligible countries, mostly in the Global South. You are not an EU citizen and hold no long-term or permanent EU residence permit.
• Degree: You hold a Master's degree gained no earlier than February 2017, so within 10 years of the deadline.
• Grades: Your final Master's result is a High Distinction or equivalent. A second-class lower division is not enough.
• Home university: A university in your home country formally takes you on and agrees to employ and fully fund you (including social security) for the home part of the PhD.
• Field and topic: All fields are open. Your research must be development-related, preferably linked to one or more Sustainable Development Goals, and doable within 4 years.
• Work history: You have not previously worked in a European Economic Area country other than Belgium. You are not already enrolled as a KU Leuven-funded PhD student.
• Supervisors: A KU Leuven supervisor and a co-supervisor at your home university both back your application.
• English: You prove your English with IELTS Academic, TOEFL (iBT, computer- or paper-based, not ITP), or Cambridge CAE or CPE.

How to apply

First get admitted to a doctoral or predoctoral programme at KU Leuven, ideally by November or December 2026. Once you are admitted, your KU Leuven supervisor submits the scholarship form online, not you. The deadline is 4 February 2027, 17:00 GMT. A committee scores each application on the candidate, the proposal, its development impact and local capacity-building. Results come by email in June 2027. You can apply at most twice in total.