Scholarship

Your PhD scholarship includes a monthly scholarship payment, which may vary depending on your personal situation. A PhD scholarship is offered for fulltime research, or can also be provided as a top up scholarship if you have some external funding available.

Factors that influence your net amount

The net fellowship amount depends on three elements:

  1. Seniority – previous relevant experience can increase your amount (to be proven with official attestations and approved by your supervisor).
  2. Family situation – whether you have children.
  3. Partner’s employment – whether your partner is working or not.
  4. The percentage of the scholarship: fulltime or top up scholarship.

If you have seniority or dependent family members your fellowship amount will increase. Your partner and children must live in Belgium and hold a valid Belgian residence permit to be taken into account for the calculation as dependent.

In case of family changes, please make sure to update your personal details and provide the required documents to HR:

  • When your child is born → a birth certificate.
  • When your partner or children move to Belgium →Belgian residence documents

Net monthly amounts

The net fellowship amounts per month (as of 1 March 2025) depend on your seniority and family situation.
(Detailed tables are available via your HR contact or on the internal HR portal.)

Net fellowship amounts per months (1/3/25)

Adding seniority to your scholarship payment

You may be able to increase your scholarship amount if you can prove relevant previous work experience. Follow the steps below to have your seniority officially recognized.

Step 1 – Check with your supervisor

Ask your supervisor whether your previous work experience is relevant for your PhD fellowship.

Step 2 – Request attestations

If your experience is relevant, contact your former employer or institution to obtain the necessary attestations.

Step 3 – Verify the information

Check that your attestations contain all required details (see list below).

Step 4 – Send attestations to your supervisor

Send your attestations to your supervisor for review and approval.

Step 5 – Supervisor approval

Your supervisor sends an approval e-mail to the HR file administrator.

Step 6 – HR validation

The HR file administrator verifies your documents and adds the seniority to your HR file.

If your attestations are incomplete or not compliant, seniority will not be added.

The required information on attestations

Your attestations must include the following details:

  • Your full name
  • Function and job description
  • Exact period of employment (start and end dates: day/month/year)

Contracts or dismissal documents are not accepted as proof.

  • Whether the activities were remunerated
  • The employment percentage (full-time or part-time, with % indicated)

Additional payments and benefits

In addition to your monthly fellowship, you are entitled to several benefits:

  • Holiday payment – paid in June.
  • End-of-year bonus – paid in December.
  • Connectivity fee – €20/month (for fellows with an employment percentage of 20% or higher).
  • Eco vouchers – up to max. €240 per year, to buy ecological products.
  • Bike allowance or commuting coverage by train and/or bus.