Special Research Fund- Doctoral Scholarship

Through the Special Research Fund (BOF), Ghent University awards each year 50 PhD scholarships to predoctoral researchers, aimed at obtaining a doctoral degree within a time span of 4 years.

Please note that at Ghent university doctoral studies are only open toward students who have the explicit invitation of a professor at Ghent University to join his/her research group as future PhD student. As soon as you have secured the support of a Ghent University professor you can start a scholarship application.

BOF doctoral scholarship: 1st term

Startdate: 1 October 2018

Deadline: 3 May 2018 (23.59 Belgian time)

Funding and duration:

  • The BOF doctoral scholarships are initially awarded for 2 years. After an intermediate evaluation, for which the Research Council assesses the probability that the grant will lead to a PhD degree, a second term of maximum 2 years can be granted. Candidates who have to submit an application for the prolongation of their BOF doctoral scholarship will be invited by the BOF team in due time.
  • The amount of the scholarship is approximately € 2.070 per month, depending on the family status of the scholar. Based on the advice of the Research Council, a bench fee of € 7.440 (€ 310/month) will be awarded to the supervisor per term of 2 years.

Who can apply?

  • No restrictions on nationality, age or research topic.
  • Only for candidates with excellent study results during the entire study career.
This call is highly competitive. A high candidate score is an absolute requirement when applying for a BOF doctoral scholarship. To be taken into consideration, applicants preferably belong at least to the top 15% best students of the group of fellow students who took exams for the same degree (bachelor and master). Applicants with a lower candidate score have very little chance of getting a BOF doctoral scholarship.

During the past years, most of the candidates who achieved a BOF-doctoral scholarship belonged amongst the top 5% - 10% best students for all degrees.

Note:

  • At the start of the BOF doctoral scholarship candidates will receive a Dehousse scholarship (tax-exempted). This scholarship is limited to a maximum of 48 months during the entire academic career. When this limit is reached during the BOF fellowship, the PhD student can be appointed by BOF as WP (research staff) for a maximum of 12 months. This implies that PhD students who have already received a Dehousse scholarship for more than 12 months before the start of the BOF fellowship, will have their BOF fellowship reduced by the number of months that exceed the maximum term of 12 months of appointment as WP.
  • Parallel application at Research Foundation Flanders (FWO)
    • Applicants for an FWO PhD fellowship (“FWO Aspirantschap”) who want to compete for a BOF doctoral scholarship as well, have to apply separately for both fellowships. Applicants for an FWO PhD fellowship do not enter the BOF competition automatically.
  • Resubmitting at FWO
    • Candidates who achieved a BOF doctoral scholarship are strongly encouraged to resubmit their research proposal for a FWO PhD fellowship, if they meet the necessary conditions

How to apply?

  • Candidates have to fill in the application form (see below) together with their Ghent University supervisor(s).
  • Submit either in Dutch or English
  • UNU-CRIS label:

    • Within the context of the cooperation agreement between Ghent University, the Free University of Brussels and the United Nations University (UNU) - an independent Research Institute of the United Nations-, Ghent University allocates 2 BOF doctoral scholarships on an annual basis since 2017. Holders of a BOF doctoral scholarship with UNU-CRIS label will mainly (4 days/week) conduct their research in the United Nations University Institute of Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS), located in Bruges. On this campus, research is focused on regional integration processes and the role of regionalization in the globalized world.

    • Applying for a BOF doctoral scholarship with UNU-CRIS label requires a project proposal that is in line with the UNU-CRIS strategic vision note and the research themes mentioned in this vision note.

    • A statement by Prof. Madeleine Hosli, Director of UNU-CRIS, should be added to the application form, in which she supports your application.

    • More information about UNU-CRIS.

Evaluation procedure:

  • The PhD grant proposals will be evaluated by the Research Council. The Research Council will then make a motivated selection of the applications. The Research Council will base its recommendation on the evaluation of the qualifications of the applicant (study results) and the PhD project proposal; also the scientific potential of the Research Group(s) as well as the development of the scientific potential of the institution can be taken into account for this evaluation.

  • This results in three scores: (1) a score for the candidate, (2) a score for the project and (3) a score for the supervisor. The score for the candidate has the largest impact on the final evaluation of the application. The score of the candidate is calculated on the yearly study results of the candidate during the complete period of study and the ranking among fellow students of the candidate for all diplomas granted.

Results:

    • Online available from 28 August 2018 on the resultpage.

More information

  • , tel. 09/264.30.90
  • Contact person: Mrs. Cédrique Walthoff-Borm

Application forms

Prolongation of a BOF doctoral scholarship: 2nd term

After an intermediate evaluation, for which the Research Council assesses the probability that the grant will lead to a PhD degree, a second term of maximum 2 years can be granted. Candidates who have to submit an application for the prolongation of their BOF doctoral scholarship will be invited by the BOF team in due time.

Deadline: 6 March 2018 (23.59 Belgian time)

Start date: After a positive evaluation, the second term of the BOF doctoral scholarship will start immediately after the first term.

Result: Online available from 25 May 2018 on the results page.

More information

  • Contact person: Mrs. Cédrique Walthoff-Borm
  • , tel. 09/264.30.90

Application forms