Ghent University BOF Doctoral Grants for Global South Candidates (DOS) — Call 2027

Ghent University's Special Research Fund (BOF) offers doctoral grants for candidates from the Global South, run as a sandwich PhD: you split a four-year doctorate between Ghent University in Belgium and a partner university in your home country. Research topics must be relevant to development; joint PhD degrees are encouraged.

What is funded

• Ghent University funds 24 months of PhD research in Ghent
• Your Ghent supervisor receives a €310 bench fee per month you work in Ghent, plus an €8,000 travel budget
• Co-funding is mandatory: your home partner institution must fund the other 24 months and give a written statement on full-time funding and teaching exemption

Who can apply

You must hold the nationality of, and come from, one of these 87 countries — Cameroon is eligible: Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, DPR Korea, DR Congo, Djibouti, Ecuador, Egypt, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Honduras, India, Iran, Jordan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Micronesia, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Rwanda, Samoa, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tokelau, Tunisia, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vietnam, West Bank and Gaza, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

• You must be doing (or about to start) a (joint) PhD at Ghent University, with at least 36 months of doctoral research left on 1 October 2027
• The proposal is submitted jointly by you, a Ghent supervisor and a home-university supervisor. Without a Ghent supervisor the application is not eligible
• A Ghent supervisor can back at most two candidates per call, of different genders

How to apply

1. Find a supervisor at Ghent University — start now, this takes time
2. Secure a supervisor and co-funding at your home partner university
3. Send the English application form to BOFapplication@ugent.be
4. Your Ghent supervisor separately submits an advice on you and on the ethics/biosafety of the project

Key dates

• Exception requests (funding or mobility scheme): 15 January 2027
• Application deadline: 9 February 2027 (the page gives no time — we show 23:59 Brussels time; submit earlier)
• Results online from 12 May 2027 · grants start 1 October 2027