How long: there is no fixed legal duration – most universities aim for about 4 years. Only research universities award doctorates. In the French Community the thesis is worth 180 ECTS, plus up to 30 ECTS of doctoral training.
Your status: you are a registered student and a researcher. Funding comes from a doctoral assistant post (an employee with pay and social security; in the French Community up to 6 years full-time), research grants (in the French Community e.g. F.R.S.-FNRS) or a researcher contract. Grant holders from outside the EEA have more limited social rights.
How to get in: normally a master's degree (in the French Community a research master's of at least 120 ECTS). Each research university runs a doctoral school.
Where to look: doctoral positions and calls are published on the websites of universities and their doctoral schools and on EURAXESS. Programmes in Belgium in our database: Belgium – 130 doctoral programmes (as of November 2026) »
Sources: Eurydice – national description of third-cycle (PhD) programmes (updated Flemish Community 27 November 2023, French Community 21 June 2024). As of October 2026.
Sources: European Commission – Study in Europe (education.ec.europa.eu/study-in-europe), Eurostat, official national study and residence portals and authorities, Eurodesk, enic-naric.net, studentnews.eu. As of September 2026.
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