Special Research Fund - Cofunding for Chinese PhD candidates holding a CSC-preference scholarship 2025

Ghent University (UGent) has signed a cooperation agreement with the China Scholarship Council (CSC) to promote UGent as a host institution for Chinese PhD students. This cooperation agreement runs for five years, from November 30, 2023, to November 30, 2028. Under this agreement, UGent and CSC co-finance about 50 new CSC PhD students annually.

Students selected through the UGent-CSC preference program are exempted from paying tuition fees (tuition & bench fees). Additionally, selected students receive an additional grant from UGent (Special Research Fund), on top of their CSC scholarship, to ensure a minimum monthly income of 1,580 euros (cf. UGent policy on recommended financial support for PhD students).

*Nederlandstalige webpagina*

Who Can Apply for the Preference Program?

Degree Students

The preference program is only open to students who want to obtain a PhD degree at Ghent University. This includes candidates aiming for a joint PhD degree (*) at both Ghent University and their Chinese university.

(*) A Joint PhD degree (also known as a joint doctorate or co-tutelle doctorate) is a doctoral degree awarded by two or more institutions, sharing supervisory responsibilities and coordinating the PhD candidate's research trajectory, culminating in a jointly administered examination process.

Exchange or visiting PhD students who are only registered as PhD students at a Chinese university and wish to obtain their PhD degree solely at their home university in China are not considered joint PhD students by UGent and are not eligible for the preference program. Exchange students can apply for a personal CSC scholarship with the support of a UGent supervisor.

Master/PhD Students

Only students who have (or will obtain) a master's degree can apply for the preference program. Candidates must demonstrate that they have obtained a master's degree or are in the final year of their master's studies.

Students who are already enrolled as PhD students based on a bachelor's degree (in China) are also eligible to apply (cf. Joint PhD students).

PhD Admission Procedure must be started

Candidates for the Preference Program must have started the PhD admission procedure at the time of the UGent deadline (December 12, 2024).

The admission procedure does not need to be completed by the UGent deadline but must be completed by the CSC deadline (March 2025).

If already started a PhD at UGent

If you have already started as a PhD student at UGent and wish to participate in the preference program:

  1. You must not have previously received a CSC scholarship (personal or preference).
  2. You must have completed a maximum of one year as a PhD student by the deadline.

PhD students aiming for a joint PhD but not yet enrolled at UGent may be enrolled for more than one year at the Chinese institution by the deadline.

Selection based on Bachelor's Score and Institutions

Candidates are ranked primarily based on the institution(s) where they studied.

Candidates who studied at one of the universities or institutions listed in the Double First-Class University Project – list are placed in Rank 1.

Candidates who studied at other institutions are placed in Rank 2.

Then, candidates within both groups are ranked based on academic performance (bachelor's). This means that a candidate with a lower bachelor's result in Rank 1 will be ranked higher than a candidate with higher results in Rank 2.

  • Students are ranked based on their bachelor's score only. Therefore, students must attach a transcript (or another official document) that shows their weighted bachelor's score on a 100-point scale.
  • Students with only a GPA must always state the maximum achievable score (e.g., .../3, .../4, .../5) and provide an official certificate of the grading system used (credit system) + conversion scale to a 100-point scale.
  • Students must contact their Chinese university on time to provide this information if needed.

(!) Applications lacking this information will not be considered.

Pre-selection (UGent) and Selection (CSC)

UGent and CSC will jointly select candidates for the Preference Program.

UGent pre-selects the candidates, and CSC makes the final selection.

  • Application Deadline (UGent Pre-selection): December 12, 2024
  • Application Deadline (CSC Selection): March 2025

The pre-selection (around 55-60 candidates) will be announced by the end of February 2025 at the latest. These candidates will then be invited to submit their preference application to CSC (CSC deadline: March 2025). CSC will finally select around 50 candidates from this group for the preference program.

The final selection will be announced by UGent and CSC in the 2nd or 3rd week of June 2025.

How to Apply

1. Find a Supervisor at UGent:


All candidates must have the support of a UGent professor (ZAP) willing to act as the supervisor for their PhD. Students looking for a supervisor can consult the list of faculties and available research topics on the UGent research directory. UGent professors can decide whether or not to accept a PhD student.

  • UGent supervisors can support a maximum of one preference application from 2025.

2. Start the PhD Admission Procedure:


Candidates must have started the admission procedure for the PhD (‘admission procedure’) at the time of the UGent deadline (latest December 12, 2024).

The admission procedure is mainly an administrative process in which academic aspects (such as the equivalence of your degree, research proposal, and language skills) will be evaluated.

This admission procedure at Ghent University is initiated by the supervisor from Ghent University.

Note: It is not sufficient to register the student as a future student to officially start the admission procedure. The supervisor must also initiate the 'application for the first enrollment of a new PhD candidate' via OASIS.
Students must ensure that they submit all required information and documents on time according to the instructions provided (emails).

3. Application for UGent Pre-selection (Preference Program):

Application forms must be submitted electronically via email to BOFapplication@ugent.be. The supervisor (and possibly co-supervisor) must be listed as the sender or in CC in the email.

Prospective students with a joint/double PhD must attach a declaration from the Chinese partner confirming their willingness to negotiate a future joint PhD partnership agreement with Ghent University. Such a cooperation agreement is required for a joint PhD.

Additionally, the UGent supervisor must send a separate questionnaire about the ethical and bio-safety context of the proposed PhD research.

  • Deadline for UGent pre-selection for CSC Preference Scholarships: December 12, 2024.

4. Apply for the CSC Preference Scholarship in China:

After pre-selection, candidates will be invited to apply for a CSC scholarship through the preference program.

Two UGent documents must be added to this CSC application:

  • UGent Pre-selection Confirmation
  • Proof of Admission to the PhD (Letter of Admission*).

*After completing the admission procedure, the UGent student administration will email a 'Letter of Admission' (LOA) to the student.

This Letter of Admission confirms to CSC that, if the candidate is selected for a CSC preference scholarship, the student will be welcomed as a PhD student at UGent. The letter also confirms that CSC-preference scholarship students are exempt from additional tuition costs at Ghent University (i.e., tuition and bench fees). Additionally, the letter states the expected duration of the PhD study (average 4 years) and the language of instruction (English for international PhD students).

  • Deadline for CSC Preference Scholarships (China): March 2025 (check the CSC website for exact dates).

Deadlines

  • UGent Pre-selection Deadline: December 12, 2024

  • CSC Selection Deadline: March 2025

Selection

  • 2nd or 3rd Week of June 2025 (check the CSC and Ghent University websites for updates).

Starting Date

  • The earliest start date for these scholarships is October 1, 2025.

Contact & information

  • For questions about the Ghent University - CSC Preference Program, please contact: BOF@UGent.be


For more information on the PhD admission procedure and joint PhDs at UGent, see the following web pages:

Documents