Applications for the 2021 UCLouvain South Partnership Scholarship for Developing Countries is now opened. This scholarship program is organized by the University of Louvain (UCLouvain) to award PhD scholarships to nationals of developing countries. Through this initiative, UCLouvain wishes to contribute not only to the reinforcement of the academic network of developing countries, but also to the establishment of new partnerships between UCLouvain and research or higher education institutions in these countries.
Founded in 1834, the University of Louvain is Belgium’s largest French-speaking university located in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. Since September 2018, the university has used the branding UCLouvain, replacing the acronym UCL, following a merger with Saint-Louis University, Brussels. The university has 43 bachelor’s degrees, 99 master’s degrees, 33 master’s degrees, 65 advanced master’s degrees, 23 teaching degrees, 23 PhDs. UCLouvain has 6 campuses: Louvain-la-Neuve, Brussels (Woluwe and Saint-Gilles), Mons, Tournai and Charleroi.
Program Details
- Host Institution: The University of Louvain (Catholic University of Louvain), Belgium.
- Fields of Study: PhD Programs at the University.
- Number of awards: Not Specified.
- Duration: up to 36 months.
- Target group: Open to citizens of the following countries: Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Comoros, Congo, Congo (Democratic Republic of), Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Djibouti, El Salvador, Ecuador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and South Africa, Ecuador, Eritrea, Eswatini (Kingdom of), Gambia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Kenya,
Kyrgyzstan, Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Micronesia (Federated States of), Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Uganda, Peru, Philippines, Central African Republic, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, South Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tunisia, Vanuatu, Uganda, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
UCLouvain South Partnership Scholarship Benefits
Selected candidates for this scholarship to study in Europe will receive a UCLouvain doctoral scholarship with monthly payments for a maximum duration of 36 months and, if necessary, the payment of one or more return air tickets between the international airport closest to their place of residence and Brussels airport.
UCLouvain South Partnership Scholarship Eligibility
To be eligible, the applicant must meet be:
- a national of one of the countries listed above;
- supported by at least one member of the academic staff of UCLouvain;
- admitted by the Doctoral Domain Commission (CDD) of the candidate's research field at UCLouvain;
- free of any commitment to return to the country with respect to a granting organization that has financed training;
- For students who have already started their doctorate and are regularly registered at UCLouvain, not be a recipient of a scholarship.
Nationals of a country eligible for this call who, because of their administrative status within the EU, are comparable to Belgian students in terms of residence and/or social rights, are not eligible for this competition.
Similar opportunities
- University of Brunei Darussalam Scholarships for Masters & PhD;
- Singapore University of Technology and Design Scholarships;
- UK Government Chevening Scholarships for Foreign Students;
- Amelia Earhart Fellowship of Zonta International;
- Equity and Merit Scholarships at the University of Manchester.
Selection criteria
The International Action Council (CAI) of UCLouvain will select the beneficiaries of the PhD scholarship on the basis of the following criteria:
- Academic quality: CV of the candidate
- Quality of the research project.
- Quality of the environment: Adequacy and quality of the teams at UCLouvain and in the partner institution(s) that supervise the PhD student.
- Partnership: it is expected that projects will directly involve a partner from a Southern institution (co-tutorship or other form of collaboration with a scientist from the South). At a minimum, the project will describe one of the following: the involvement of one or more scientists from an institution in the South in the supervision of the thesis, collaborations with other ongoing projects in the South or in the North, or dissemination, awareness-raising and/or networking activities that are planned at UCLouvain and in the partner institution(s) in the South with a view to transferring skills and knowledge.
- Relevance in terms of global development and societal issues: it is expected that scientific projects address development issues (in the sense of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals – SDGs), beyond the objective of quality (higher) education, or the development of skills that are relevant to the partner institution or at least the country of origin. The project should refer to at least one of the following elements: the link with one of the SDGs, the capacity building components for the Southern partner(s) or the relevance of crossing South-North views on the project theme.
- Values: The project is expected to respect, wherever relevant, the dimensions of human rights, ethics and integrity, academic freedom, gender equality, and plurality of Southern and Northern views.
Application instructions
The application (form + annexes) must be sent by e-mail (one PDF file only) by the UCLouvain promoter of the candidate to the President of the International Action Council (CAI) at the following address: [email protected] by the deadline. Please click here to download the form.
Independently of the constitution of the grant application, the candidate and the UCLouvain promoter must take the necessary steps to apply for admission to the Doctoral Commission of the field (CDD) at UCLouvain. The acceptance of the thesis project by the CDD must be annexed to the application, as well as the last report of the supervisory committee in case of a thesis that already started.
The deadline to submit applications for this scholarship program is . It is important to visit the university’s website for detailed information on the UCLouvain South Partnership Scholarship. To be the first to see latest opportunities, please follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.