Special Research Fund - Doctoral Scholarships for Candidates from the Global South - call 2027

With support from its “Special Research Fund” (BOF) Ghent University grants annually 15 PhD “sandwich” scholarships to promising PhD students from Global South countries who wish to carry out half of their PhD research at Ghent University ('North') and the other half at a university in the Global South ('South'). Ghent University only finances the part of the research that will be carried out in Ghent (24 months). The candidate must have full-time funding for the other 24 months of research to be carried out in the South.

*Dutch version*

Who can apply for this scholarship?

  • Candidates need to come from - and have the nationality of – one of the selected Global South countries (see country list).
  • The proposals must be jointly submitted by the candidate, a supervisor (promoter) at Ghent University and a supervisor at the partner university (Global South country).
  • No restrictions are imposed on the field of research, nevertheless preference will be given to topics that are relevant within the South-North context. South-North context relevance relates to the extent to which the objectives of a proposal are consistent with beneficiaries’ requirements, synergy opportunities, global priorities and partners’ and donors’ policies.
  • Only degree students (students who intend to obtain a (joint) PhD degree at Ghent University) can apply. Exchange students cannot apply for this scholarship.
  • This program is meant for students at the beginning of their PhD. To a limited extent, PhD students are allowed to have already completed preliminary research. At the time the fellowship will start (1/10/2027), a minimum of 36 months of doctoral research must still be required to complete the PhD.
  • Ghent University wants to encourage more female researchers to apply for this scholarship. That is why a Ghent University supervisor can support a maximum of 2 candidates per call on condition they are both of a different gender.

Duration of the scholarship and additional conditions

  • 48 months: 24 months funded by Ghent University + 24 months funded by the partner institution in the Global South.
  • Co-funding is mandatory with this scholarship.

Consult the call documents below for more information on what kind of co-funding is allowed.

In general, the following conditions must be guaranteed by the partner in the Global South:

  1. There must be a local PhD supervisor at the partner university/research center in the Global South.
  2. A written statement from the partner university/research center is requested stating that the candidate will receive a fulltime local PhD scholarship or salary for a period of 24 months when working on the PhD at the partner university in the Global South.
  3. The candidate will be sufficiently exempted from teaching or other assignments as to be able to fully concentrate on the PhD research in the South. Applicants can dedicate maximum 10 % of their time (fulltime appointment) to other tasks (teaching and other tasks).
  • The following mobility scheme is mandatory:
  1. Students need to start and end with a research stay of 3 -12 months in at Ghent University.
  2. The first research stay at Ghent University needs to be started between 1 October 2027 and 28 February 2028.
  3. At least 24 months of locally funded research in the Global South must be scheduled in between the first and last research stay at Ghent University.

Exceptions to the mandatory mobility scheme mentioned above:

  1. Applicants who can demonstrate that they are unable to start their 4-year PhD research with a research stay at Ghent University because the partner university/research center in the Global South requires a successful completion of a PhD study program in their university before commencing further research activities, can request an exception to the mobility scheme.
  2. Applicants who can demonstrate that they are unable to start their 4-year PhD research with a research stay at Ghent University because they must first complete a period of field research in the Global South can apply for an exception to the mobility scheme.
  3. Applicants who can demonstrate that they have successfully completed a full-time funded PhD study period (of maximum 12 months) at the partner university/research center in the Global South can request to integrate this period in the required 24 months of locally funded research stay in the Global South.
  4. Applicants who can demonstrate that they have successfully completed a full-time funded PhD study period (of maximum 12 months) at Ghent University can request to integrate this period in the required 24 months of research period at Ghent University.

Applicants who want to make use of one of these exceptions have to request an approval from the Research Administration of Ghent University before 15 January 2027. To do so, they complete the form "Request exception funding and mobility scheme" form and submit it along with the requested supporting documents via email to BOF@ugent.be.

Budget

  • PhD scholarship at Ghent University (in total 24 months).

  • The Ghent University promoter receives a bench fee of € 310/per month of research in Ghent + € 8.000 travel budget to cover (part of) the operational costs, as well as part of the travelling costs of the student and both the Ghent University and the local promoter.

How to apply for this scholarship?

  1. Find a supervisor (promotor) at Ghent University. All candidates must have the support of a Ghent University professor (ZAP) who is willing to act as the supervisor for their PhD. Candidates looking for a supervisor can consult the list of faculties and available research topics on the Ghent University Research Explorer. Ghent University professors can decide whether or not to accept a PhD student. Without the support of a Ghent University professor the application is not eligible.
  2. Find a supervisor at a partner University/Research Center in the Global South who is willing to supervise the PhD.
  3. Make sure the partner University/Research centrer in the Global South is willing to provide a full-time appointment/scholarship for the part that should be caried out in the Global South (24 months co-funding) and guarantees the candidate will be sufficiently exempted from teaching or other assignments whilst executing part of the PhD at the Global South (official statement).
  4. Application forms must be submitted (in English) electronically to BOFapplication@ugent.be
  • In addition to the application form, the Ghent University supervisor must also submit the following 2 documents before the deadline:
    1. An advice on the candidate, stating the supervisors opinion on the capability of the candidate as a future researcher.
    2. An advice on the ethical and biosafety context of the proposed research project

Deadline(s) 

  • Only if applicable: In case an exception on the funding and/or mobility scheme is requested, the exception form must be submitted at the latest on 15 January 2027 
  • Application deadline: 9 February 2027

Evaluation and results 

  • From 12 May 2027 onwards, the result of the selection will be announced online.
  • All non-selected candidates will automatically receive feedback on their application within 6 weeks after the results are published.

Support

If you have any questions about the call BOF doctoral scholarships for candidates from the Global South, please email BOF@ugent.be

Forms