F.R.S.-FNRS - FRESH Doctoral Grants

FRESH Doctoral Grant

During your first funding period, you will receive gross salary of about 2,883 EUR per month (around 34,598 EUR per year). In the second period, this amount rises to approximately 36,241 euros per year. In addition to your salary, you will receive an operating grant to cover research costs, which will be managed by your supervisor. The funding is exempt from income tax; however, you will continue to pay social security contributions. Upon completion of your PhD, your salary will be increased in line with the salary scale for assistant professors. The grant is intended to fund a PhD in the humanities and social sciences, to be completed within 4 years. It covers two consecutive periods: an initial period of up to 27 months and a second period of up to 21 months. The scholarship is provided by the F.R.S.-FNRS, the Belgian Fund for Scientific Research in the French-speaking Community.

Who can apply

• Degree: You hold a Master’s degree comprising at least 120 credit points from a higher education institution in Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Estonia, Latvia or Lithuania, or another recognised Master’s degree obtained from another institution.
• How recent your degree is: You got your master's no more than 7 years before the call year. You get extra time if you have had or fostered a child.
• Field: Your field of research lies within the humanities and social sciences, for example in the fields of history, linguistics and literary studies, philosophy, law, economics and business administration, political science and social sciences, psychology and education, or art and communication studies.
• Where you study: You are undertaking your PhD at a university in the French-speaking Community of Belgium (UCLouvain, ULB, ULiège, UMons or UNamur) under the supervision of a supervisor employed there.
• Nationality: Open to all nationalities.
• No double application: You cannot apply for both FRESH and FRIA in the same year, and you may apply for a FRESH grant no more than twice in total.
• Full commitment: During the funding period, you must not hold a paid academic post or undertake any other paid work.

How to apply

Applications must be submitted online via the F.R.S.-FNRS’s ‘e-space’ platform, in French or English. For the annual call for applications, you must confirm your application by 25 August at 14:00. If this is your first grant application, you will then sit an oral examination at the F.R.S.-FNRS. A panel will assess your research project, your profile and your academic knowledge.

You can find more scholarships in our guide Scholarships in Belgium.