Overview
KU Leuven offers the Global Minds Doctoral Scholarships to outstanding students from developing countries who want to earn a PhD. The scholarship covers tuition, a monthly allowance, insurance, travel costs, and a research allowance. The programme is run by the Interfaculty Council for Development Cooperation (IRO).
Scholars conduct research in a sandwich system: half at KU Leuven and half at their home institution, with a local co-promoter. KU Leuven awards the PhD degree.
Awarded by
KU Leuven and your home institution
Subjects and level
PhD research in development-related topics.
Awards available
Not specified
Who can apply
You must be a citizen of one of these countries:
Africa: Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, D.R. Congo, Ethiopia, Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe, South Africa
Asia: Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, Palestinian Territories, Vietnam
Latin America: Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, Haiti, Nicaragua, Peru
What the award covers
The scholarship covers tuition fees, a monthly allowance, insurance, travel costs, a research allowance, and more. For the full list of benefits, see this link.
Eligibility requirements
- You must be a citizen of one of the eligible countries listed above.
- EU citizens and applicants with a long-term EU residence permit are not eligible.
- Your most recent Master's degree must have been awarded no more than ten years ago, meaning not before 2015.
- You must have an academic grade equivalent to High Distinction or higher. Degrees with a final score equivalent to second class second/lower division will not be considered.
- Your research project must be of excellent academic quality, with a strong focus on its development relevance.
READ THE FULL ELIGIBLITY CRITERIA AT THIS LINK.
How to apply
Applications are currently closed.
There are two steps. First, you must gain admission to a doctoral or predoctoral programme. Start this procedure as soon as possible, ideally 2.5 months before the deadline, because applications started too late may not be evaluated in time. Second, only after you have been admitted can you apply for the Global Minds PhD scholarship. The scholarship application deadline is 27 February 2026 at 5:00PM GMT.
Read the application procedure and visit the official website (link below) for detailed information on how to apply.
Official website