Admission requirements
If you want to start a PhD at our faculty, you need to meet the following requirements (see also art. 6 of the doctoral regulations ):
- Either the candidate must hold a Flemish Master’s degree relevant to the doctoral research or an equivalent higher education degree, and have obtained at least a distinction or have distinguished him/herself with high-quality scientific publications or design-oriented achievements,
- Or the candidate must have passed the predoctoral exam with the degree of distinction.
For the PhD in criminological sciences, the phrase “Master’s degree relevant to the doctoral research” refers also to related scientific disciplines; these include in any case the study of law, social sciences, psychology and educational science.
In principle the doctoral committee also accepts a degree of Licentiate/Master’s in history for a PhD in the field of history of law, on the condition that the candidate has shown a particular scholarly interest in the history of law.
No suitable degree?
A candidate who does not have a degree in law c.q. criminology (or related discipline) will have to illustrate that he/she does have sufficient judicial c.q. criminological expertise and/or will develop such expertise.
This may be done at one of two moments.
When the candidate who does not have the required degree is appointed the doctoral committee or the faculty board additionally investigates if the candidate’s curriculum vitae, including his/her professional career, indicates sufficient knowledge of the judicial c.q. criminological field that he/she wants to study in the PhD. If necessary, the doctoral committee may decide to impose additional obligations on the candidate or to invite him/her to take the predoctoral exam. These measures will usually imply that certain courses need to be taken.
When deciding on the approval of the proposal for the doctoral training program, the doctoral committee may impose additional conditions. These conditions will usually imply that additional courses need to be taken. Consequently, candidates add to their doctoral proposal an account of their expertise and/or a concrete proposal for additional courses or other activities.
Application instructions for doctoral programmes
Starting a doctoral programme at ku leuven.
Interested in pursuing a doctoral programme at KU Leuven? This page will go over the necessary steps you need to take to start or continue your academic career at KU Leuven.
Step-by-step guide
This guide explains the different steps to apply for a doctoral programme at KU Leuven. There is no general application deadline. It is possible, however, that an individual supervisor or project does have deadlines.
- Step 1: Check if you meet the requirements
- Step 2: Choose y our starting point
- Step 3: Start your online application
- Step 4: Upload the required info and documents
- Step 5: Submit your application
- Step 6: Follow up on your application assessment
- Step 7: Outcome of your application
- Step 8: Admitted, now what?
Check if you meet the requirements
Every PhD candidate must meet the following requirements:
- Either you hold a Flemish Master’s degree relevant to the doctoral research or an equivalent higher education degree from abroad, obtained with at least the degree of distinction or have distinguished yourself with high-quality scientific publications or design-oriented achievements,
- Or you have passed the predoctoral exam with the degree of distinction.
- You also master the English language in order to be able to participate actively in the research.
Choose your starting point
A. find an open position.
The easiest way to start a PhD application is to find a vacant PhD position and apply online.
The PhD positions on the KU Leuven jobsite already have financing available (via the supervisor).
Please read through the details of the position very carefully and make sure you meet all eligibility criteria.
Open PhD positions
B. Find a supervisor and propose your own idea
If you did not find a vacant PhD position of your interest, you may directly contact a potential supervisor to discuss opportunities for PhD research in their research lab. Good starting points to look for a supervisor are:
- Key research areas at KU Leuven
- KU Leuven Organisational Chart
- Recent doctoral Defences
- Research Portal
C. Set up a Joint PhD
A third option is to set up a joint PhD with another university. Advance acceptance into the two universities is a prerequisite to get started. You need to fully comply with admission requirements and evaluation regulations at both locations.
More on Joint PhDs
Start your online application
You cannot initiate the application procedure yourself. Regardless of your starting point, your KU Leuven supervisor will start up the application procedure on your behalf.
You will receive an e-mail with a personal link to the application form. It is important that you use the link in this e-mail to start your application since it contains a unique code that will automatically link you to the PhD application that was created for you.
Any issues?
Upload the required info and documents
You have to complete your application by clicking on the 'Edit' button (pencil icon) which you will find on the right side of your screen in the “Applications” section.
Complete and save any additional information that is requested. The requested documents depend on the status and programme you applied for.
Requested documents for doctoral applications
Submit your application
- The submit button will only be activated after accepting the disclaimer.
- If a mandatory document is missing you will receive an error message. Please upload the missing documents before you submit your application again.
Follow up on your application assessment
After you have submitted your application, you will receive a confirmation e-mail. Your application will now be evaluated by our Admissions team and will go through a series of checks and evaluations. This is a timeconsuming process, where many internal and sometimes even external stakeholders are involved. For more information, check:
- Overview of the application process
- Processing time
- Checking your application status
More information about the admissions process at KU Leuven
Outcome of your application
When the admissions office and programme staff have made their assessment of your application file, there are several possible outcomes :
- Admitted without condition or on the condition of graduating
- Conditional admission
It is also possible that you first need to follow a predoctoral programme.
You will be informed via e-mail about the outcome of your application.
Admitted, now what?
Holding an admission letter does not mean that you are registered and thus does not imply any kind of obligation (regarding payment, enrollment …). It just allows the administrative process to continue. You will be informed by e-mail when you can register as a student.
Prepare your stay at KU Leuven
Do you have questions or are you encountering any issues? Do not hesitate to reach out for help.
All programmes
- English-language programmes of study
- Programmes en français
- Programa en español
- Afdruk Studiegids
Doctor of Canon Law (PhD) (JCD) (Leuven)
Programme summary.
- Doctor of Canon Law (PhD) (JCD)
Programme outline
Admission requirements, educational quality, doctor of canon law (phd) (jcd) education.
More information on the Doctoral Programme in Canon Law is available at the Faculty's website . The text of the Regulations concerning the attainment of doctoral degrees at the KU Leuven, supplemented with the Particulars of the Faculty of Canon Law is available on the University's website .
Educational quality of the study programme
Educational quality at study programme level.
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Educational quality at university level
- Consult the documents on educational quality available at university level.
- More information on the educational quality at KU Leuven
- More information on the available documents
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