Deadline: February 17, 2026
Applications are open for the Ghent University Doctoral Scholarships for Candidates from the Global South 2026. With support from its “Special Research Fund” (BOF) Ghent University grants 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 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.
Funding
- 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.
Eligibility
- 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 a candidate, a supervisor (promoter) at Ghent University and a supervisor at the partner university (South);
- No restrictions are imposed on the field of research, nevertheless preference will be given to topics that are relevant within the North-South 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 starts (1/10/2026), 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 maximum 2 candidates per call on condition they are both of a different gender.
Mobility Scheme of the Scholarship
The following mobility scheme is mandatory:
- Students need to start and end with a research stay of 3 -12 months in at Ghent University.
- The first research stay at Ghent University needs to be started between 1 October 2026 and 28 February 2027.
- At least 24 months of locally funded research in the South must be scheduled in between the first and last research stay at Ghent University.
Exceptions to the mandatory mobility scheme
- 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 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;
- 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 South can apply for an exception to the mobility scheme;
- Applicants who can demonstrate that they have successfully completed a full-time funded PhD study period (of up to 12 months) at the partner university/research center in the South can request to integrate this period in the required 24 months of locally funded research stay in the South;
- Applicants who can demonstrate that they have successfully completed a full-time funded PhD study period (of up to 12 months) at Ghent University can request to integrate this period in the required 24 months of researach period at Ghent University.
Applicants who want to make use of one of those exceptions have to request an approval from the research administration of Ghent University before 16 January, 2026. 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 [email protected].
Application
Application forms must be submitted (in English) electronically to [email protected].
In addition to the application form, the Ghent University supervisor must also submit the following 2 documents:
- An advice on the candidate, stating the supervisors opinion on the capability of the candidate as a future researcher.
- An advice on the ethical and biosafety context of the proposed research project
For more information, visit Ghent University Scholarship.
