Doctoral training
Graduate students in biology, bio-engineering, chemistry, pharmacy, medical and biomedical sciences, can join a laboratory of the de Duve Institute to perform the experimental work of their PhD thesis. On average the de Duve Institute hosts about 100 graduate students at any given time.
PhD programs are run within the framework of the Health Sciences Sector (pharmacy and biomedical sciences, medicine and dentistry) of the UCLouvain. Doctoral formation can be acquired through interuniversity graduate schools connected with the Belgian FNRS. Administrative information about PhD thesis admission and rules can be found on the UCLouvain PhD program in Health Sciences web page.
Students willing to perform a PhD thesis at the Institute are encouraged to browse the our research pages of this web site to discover the research topics of the various laboratories of the Institute. Contact should then be taken with the group leaders of the selected laboratories.
PhD fellowships
Several funding sources are available to support PhD theses, depending on the research topic and on the host laboratory. The first step is to get in touch with the group leader of the selected laboratory to assess work and funding opportunities.
FNRS Research Fellow (annual deadline for applicants: mid-February)
Highly competitive four-year fellowships (2 years, renewable once). Only students who have obtained their master's degree in Belgium (or in Benelux or Baltic countries) may apply. Some very well-ranked candidates that did not obtain the fellowship may be given a FSR fellowship from the UCLouvain.
FRIA Doctoral Grant (annual deadline for applicants: end of August)
Highly competitive four-year fellowships (27 months, renewable for 21 months). Only students who have obtained their master's degree in Belgium (or in Benelux or Baltic countries) may apply. Practical work may start from October 1st, although funding decision is only available in December. Some very well-ranked candidates that did not obtain the fellowship may be given a FSR fellowship from the UCLouvain.
These fellowships are available from the UCLouvain for applicants who first applied for FNRS or FRIA fellowships but were not selected. Their application is then automatically examined by the UCLouvain Research Council. These fellowships have a maximum duration of 12 months.
Health Sciences Sector fellowships
"Bourses du Patrimoine" and other fundings. These fellowships are awarded by the Health Sciences Sector, often to enable PhD students to complete their thesis work.
Besides these PhD fellowships, other sources of funding are available through research projects conducted by the host laboratory. These include PDR (2 or 4 years), Télévie (2 years, renewable once), WELBIO (2 years, renewable once), ARC (48 to 60 months), FSR (2 years), Innoviris, MSCA Doctoral Networks, and ERC research projects, among others.