Financed postgraduate and Ph.D. Programs at Ghent University

Have you decided on a career and field of interest? Have you taken your master’s and are pursuing your Ph.D.? Do you want a chance at a financed Ph.D.? Then consider Ghent University.

Ghent University is an internationally-recognized university in Flanders, Belgium. With its 200 years of experience, it is home to 41,000 students and 9,000 employees. It is included in the top 100 universities around the world and is known for its programs in biotechnology, aquaculture, microelectronics, and others. It currently has 11 faculties with 117 faculty departments, offers 230 high-quality courses and has 4 major campuses, one of which is a global campus based in South Korea.

Its rich history gives you the opportunity to immerse yourself in various cultures. It started as a Latin-speaking state university, transitioned into French and became the first Dutch-speaking university in Belgium. As a result, all of its bachelor programs are taught in Dutch but its Master’s and Ph.D. programs are taught in English. A complete list is available on their website.

Postgraduate studies and permanent training in Ghent University (UGent) are available to those who’d like to further their masters or bachelor program. Postgraduate studies have a study volume of at least 20 credits and the completion of the course will generate a postgraduate certificate or diploma that can yield a proper occupational title.

One of the available scholarships and grants in the university is the Belgian Technical Cooperation Scholarships. The BTC scholarship unit will cover a student’s registration fees, travel expenses, insurance and finance the third cycle postgraduate course for about 1-2 academic years. For Ph.D. students, the unit also awards Mixed doctorate scholarships where grantee receives a maximum of 16 months monthly living allowance including registration fees, travel expenses, and insurances to be used for research purposes for a 4-year maximum stay in Belgium). Internship scholarships are also available for experts who will be working in the technical field (BTC-driven) and will cover daily living allowance for 1-6 months, fees, travel expenses, and insurances. This award, however, is only offered to BTC partner countries. List is available here: https://www.ugent.be/en/research/funding/devcoop/btc.htm

Ph.D. candidates have other scholarship programs to consider based on research/field of focus/location. The university itself provides special research fund (BOF) or Ph.D. grant to any eligible student committed to pursuing research based on his/her field of expertise or interest. Students from China, Asia, and Africa may consider the special research fund allocated based on country and citizenship status, Researchers in Japan may consider the funding offered by the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) and the Canon Foundation and US students may consider the Fulbright Scholarship Programme. You may also watch out for the VIB International Ph.D. Program in Life Sciences. This one is closed for the current academic year but normally offered annually and opens towards the tail end of the year. A complete list is found here:

https://www.ugent.be/en/research/funding

You may also explore Fellowship and Exchange programs offered by Ghent University. You will not run out of options. International students are welcome and they have their own unit to assist you. Knowing that this is a Dutch university, they make sure that language will not be a barrier in your studies. They offer wide services for international students alone and all of these can be arranged by sending an email and maximizing all the information they have available online.

Your Ph.D. program does not have to be on halt anymore and you can pursue your education.