Join the Aria Lab

If you are interested in pursuing research in the areas of Virtual and Mixed Reality, the ARIA lab, located in one of the best universities in the heart of the European Union (World's Top 50), is the place for you!

We are looking for highly motivated candidates to join the lab as PhD students or Post-Doctoral researchers. If there are vacancies available, they will be listed here.

Funding Opportunities

There are multiple opportunities to fund your PhD or Post-Doctoral research at the ARIA lab.

Please select your career stage:

Citizenship

General Information

In Belgium a PhD has a duration of four years. In exceptional cases, it is possible to graduate before. In some circumstances, the Arenberg Doctoral School might ask a prospective candidate to attend a pre-doctoral course. A Masters' Degree is necessary to apply to the Doctoral program.

The first step is to consult the enrollment procedure of the KU Leven. Your eligibility to various PhD funding opportunities depends on your citizenship. Select your nationality from the choices below.

After you have identified a funding call for which you are eligible, please contact Prof. Adalberto L. Simeone.

EU PhD Funding Opportunities

FWO PhD Fellowships

The FWO is the Flemish Research Agency in Belgium. You must satisfy the following conditions to be eligible.

  • You have earned your Master's Degree in a university located in the European Union or the European Economic Area (i.e. Switzerland, Norway, or Iceland).
  • You have obtained your degree within the last three years.
  • You have less than eighteen months of scientific seniority (paid non-doctoral research work) from your graduation date.

If so then you qualify for the following two research opportunities.

In both cases, these grants award a two-year fellowship that is renewable once, to allow the student to complete their PhD.

Extra-EU PhD Funding Opportunities

IRO PhD Fellowships

Citizens of developing countries may qualify for an IRO fellowship. The research proposal must have a special focus on the development aspect. The deadline for this call is typically in January.

BAEF — Belgian American Educational Foundation Fellowships

The BAEF funds a fellowship for up to 12 months to American students willing to enroll in a PhD program in Belgium. Applicants must hold a Master's Degree. The deadline is usually in October.

Other funding

Unfortunately for non-EU citizens there are fewer opportunities. The above link provides other links and resources to funding calls who are aimed at specific nationalities or circumstances.

Post-Doctoral Funding

KU Leuven Postdoctoral Mandates

The KU Leuven provides a one year postdoctoral scholarship as a bridge towards a successive FWO or a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship.

FWO Post-Doctoral Fellowships

The FWO is the Flemish Research Agency in Belgium. The following programs are available.

  • Junior Post-Doctoral Fellowship (Deadline in December each year)
    You can apply to the Junior fellowships if your PhD was awarded no later than 3 years before October 1 of the year in which the fellowship would start (2019).
  • Senior Post-Doctoral Fellowship (Deadline in December each year)
    You can apply to the Senior fellowships if your PhD was awared between three and six years before October 1 of the year in which the fellowship would start (2019).
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

The European Union funds post-doctoral grants for researchers willing to move to Belgium from another country. The list of eligible countries include the EU member states, non-EU associated countries, and several other external countries. More information can be found in the general annexes of the specific funding call.

The MSCA actions are one of the most prestigious fellowships in the European Union. The KU Leuven provides funding to attend writing workshops.