Completing a PhDat the Faculty of Theology and Religious StudiesKU Leuven

About the information in this powerpoint-presentation

This presentation is meant to give an idea about opportunities and challenges while completing a PhD, but it does not claim to be complete.

Some of the information provided may be subject to regular up-dating and modification.

Workload• Dissertation to be completed within 4 years (including the defence; but may take longer in case of illness, maternity leave, …)

• PhD study entails additional work such as completion of required course work, paper contributions to congress(es), writing of article(s), potentially faculty service, etc.

• Potential side-job (part-time) if needed

• Unpaid teaching, when desired and available

FinancesCOST• University fees: € 319,90* first registration and the year of defence, no fee for in-between years

• Living expenses: around € 750,- (including rent); with partner around € 1350,-

• Added costs: e.g. study material, travel expenses (conferences, visiting home, etc.)

INCOME• Faculty support for doctoral students: one-time amount of € 750,-

(of which € 350,- are set aside for reception and printing cost at the time of the defence; the remaining € 400,- reserved for traveling, proof reading, buying books, etc. to cover minimum of research related costs)

* Valid for academic year 2014-15

Opportunities• Immersion in a theological/religious topic

• PhD degree

• Acquisition of skills and competences such as: organization skills, time management, editorial skills, communication/presentation skills, language skills, networking, inter-cultural/inter-denominational competences, self-discipline

• Engaging in creative, innovative, original work

• Contributing to Church, society, and academic world

• Personal and identity development; growing in self-awareness

• Opportunity to perfecting language, writing and research skills through formation courses

• Teaching opportunities, if available

• Participating in international and local conferences

• Relatively free and independent life-style

• Potentially opportunities for maternity leave (see: https://admin.kuleuven.be/personeel/intranet/statuten/overzicht_bursalen)

Typical challenges• Limited income (see funding opportunities)

• Can be lonely

• Can require hard work (especially if you have to juggle academic work plus a part-time job on the side, or if other unforeseen difficulties arise)

• Academic environment as strongly competitive

• Language barriers

• Uncertain future (not obvious that you will find an academic job after the PhD)

• Emotional ups and downs; ups and downs in research success

Finding help• Doctoral promoter is there to help, answer questions etc.

• Ombuds for PhD students

• Career Center of the KU Leuven (https://www.kuleuven.be/personeel/careercenter/intranet/English/index)

• Spiritual help outside the faculty (University Parish, … )

• Theo Writing Lab

• ‘Buddies’ in research unit

• Peers, fellow researchers on same topic (in research group, abroad, etc.)

• Friends, communities, parish, family etc.

Questions to ask yourself• Do I really want to do a PhD? Do I have an intrinsic motivation for it such that I can tackle the challenges?

• Why do I want to do this? Be realistic about expectations (uncertain job future, etc.) – and focus on the process and personal development

• What kind of a person am I?• How do I work?• What are my main interests and what is my typical working method? To what kind of topics and methods do I feel most attracted?

• What are my work/life priorities?• What kind of promoter could I see myself working with (consider their personality type, research expertise, work method, communication style)?

• What kind of information do I want to exchange with my promoter (mutual exchange about expectations is recommended)

Funding opportunities

Funding bodies FWO (Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek): individual doctoral fellowships (assigned solely on basis of merit for students with an initial European Master’s degree) or projects via promoter

IRO: awards scholarships for doctoral research focused on development of the Global South for students from specific underprivileged countries

Anonymous sponsor: awards scholarships for students from Central and Eastern Europe (currently on hold – no further information available)

MWI Missio: awards doctoral scholarships for students from specific underprivileged countries

Flof: Faculty support mostly for 1 year and depending on current financial resources – step-up fellowships to enable successful application with FWO or other funding

Financial assistance program of the faculty

Projects by the promoter, funded by other bodies: KU Leuven Internal Funds, FWO etc.

Explaining differences between scholarships• Why should not everyone be encouraged to apply for FWO funding?• What are the key differences between the scholarship funds?• What are the challenges of each specific scholarship program? These questions are addressed belowNB: Each funding body has its own criteria and decision-making processes, such that a student considered excellent by the Theology faculty’s doctoral committee may nonetheless be refused funding from a given funding body

FWO (Research Foundation – Flanders)Availability and conditions of individual fellowships• Typically 1-3 doctoral stipends each year (depending on quality, number of applications, …)

• Benefits

o around € 1900,- depending on family situation

o scholars employed by the faculty ( receive bench fee, e.g. for purchase of computer, travel expenses, translation work, etc.)

• Responsibilities

o to complete a dissertation within 4 years

o high expectations regarding academic output such as international publications, etc.

o 8 hours of faculty service a week (e.g. ombuds service, editorial work, teaching assistance, setting up conferences, etc.)

FWOSelection criteria

• Eligibility: outstanding students of all nationalities and with an initial Master’s degree from a European faculty (see FWO guidelines for further restrictions)• Strong competition: based solely on merit (grades, research proposal, references)• Time-consuming application; must be submitted with support of doctoral promoter before 1 February

Further information: http://www.fwo.be/en/

MWI MissioAvailability and conditions

• Number of scholarships: variable, depending on varying internal priorities

• Benefitso around € 9 000,- a year (amounts to minimum Belgian wage but may mean that you want/need to get a part-time job; scholarship holders are the first to be contacted to do paid student jobs for the faculty)

• Responsibilitieso Complete dissertation in 4 years

MissioSelection criteria

• Eligibility: doctoral students from specific underprivileged countries as determined by MWI Missio• Competition: excellent marks, excellent doctoral proposal and promoter’s recommendation that the student can finish in 4 years• Age limit• The Committee for Study Allowances is in charge of the selection and nomination of the candidates

IRO (Interfaculty Council for Development Cooperation)Availability and conditions

• Number of scholarships: usually max. 1 for theology faculty per year

• Benefits: 75 % of the salary of a university-assistant and the possibility to stay in cheaper housing of the university

• Responsibilities:

* 8 hours of faculty services per week (to promoter, research unit, faculty, …)

* Complete dissertation within 4 years

IROSelection criteria• The applicant must be a citizen of one of the countries on the OECD DAC table that are listed under the following categories: Least Developed Countries, Low Income Countries or Low Middle Income Countries. The applicant must not possess dual citizenship, where the second citizenship is from an EU country.

• The time period between the date of completion of MA degree and the date of submission of scholarship application can be no more than ten years.

• Excellent academic results

• Excellent research project, with clear relevance for development cooperation

• Motivation in the framework of development cooperation: local co-promotor needed, etc…

• Excellent recommendations

Further information: http://www.kuleuven.be/english/international/funding/iro/

FlofAvailability and conditions

• Availabilityo Normally one or two per yearo For one year – under the condition that candidate and promoter apply for other financial resources

• Benefitso around € 1900,- depending on family situation

• Responsibilitieso Complete dissertation within 4 yearso 8 hours of faculty service per week (e.g. ombuds service, editorial work, teaching assistance, setting up conferences, etc.)

FlofSelection criteria

• Eligibility: outstanding students of all nationalities

• Competition: based on merit (grades, research proposal)

Financial assistance of the faculty Limited resources for students with excellent results who do not fit in any of the previous categories and show enough potential for completing a PhD. The Committee for Study Allowances is in charge of the selection of the candidates.

Information on (partial) financial support can be found on lots of webpages such as:

- http://www.kuleuven.be/research/support/

- http://www.kuleuven.be/english/international/funding/home

- http://theo.kuleuven.be/en/research/research_grants

- http://ghum.kuleuven.be/phd/practical_students/youreca_dshss.html

Projects funded by the promoter• Varies from time to time, depending on what projects the promoter is working on and has funding for

• Promoter him- or herself will decide (faculty only intervenes with regard to admission to the doctoral program)

• Mostly full salary comparable to FWO-scholarship

• Responsibilities: 8 hours faculty service a week (service to promoter, research unit, faculty); completing a PhD (usually in no more than 4 years including defence), other possible duties related to the project