Are you a national of a developing country? Do you already hold a master’s degree? Do you have professional experience and are you looking to further develop your skills in a development-related topic? Scholarships for masters and training courses offer you the chance to pursue a one-year specialised master’s degree programme or a 4-to-6-month advanced training course within a higher education institution of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, Belgium.

The call for applications for the academic year 2020-2021 is now open.

Deadline: 10 January and 7 February 2020.

Which trainings are eligible?

Are you interested in obtaining more information about the training courses available? Have a look at the list of master’s programs and training courses financed by ARES.

Specialized master’s programs for 2020-2021

You may also like:

Financial support

Each year, ARES grants an average of 150 scholarships as part of the master’s program, and 70 grants for training courses, to citizens from countries in the global South.

Amounts for a master’s scholarship
International travel costs Receipts must be provided Economy-class travel on an IATA-approved airline, with a maximum of one round-trip ticket per academic year.
Living allowance Flat rate 1150 €/month for a duration of 12 months.
Indirect mission fees Flat rate 150 €. This amount is given once per stay, upon arrival of the grantee.
Arrival allowance, tuition and return fees Flat rate 700 €. This amount is given once per stay, upon arrival of the grantee.
Registration fees   At the current rate for DGD grantees.
Insurance fees   Directly paid by ARES.
Travel costs that are part of inter-university training Receipts must be provided Reimbursed based on real costs incurred, with receipts provided.
Amounts for a training course grant
International travel costs Receipts must be provided Economy-class travel on an IATA-approved airline, one round-trip ticket.
Living allowance Flat rate 83 €/day for stays lasting 8 to 17 days
1400 €/month for stays lasting 18 days to 1 month (set amount)
1400 €/month for stays lasting 1 to 6 months, prorated to the number of days
Indirect mission fees Flat rate 150 €. This amount is given once per stay, upon arrival of the grantee.
Insurance fees Directly paid by ARES.
Travel expenses in the framework of inter university trainings Receipts must be provided Reimbursed based on the real incurred, with receipts provided.

 

Application process

Would you like to submit an application form and receive a grant? Are you unsure about your eligibility?

Follow these guides :

01/ Procedure for submitting applications

Fill out the application form:

  • It must be carefully completed and sent to ARES (rue Royale 180, 1000 Brussels, Belgium) BY POST or EXPRESS DELIVERY SERVICE ONLY, which must have received it by 7 FEBRUARY 2020* at the latest (we do not take into consideration the postmarked date; we only consider application files received on our offices by the deadline, at the latest);
  • NO return receipt for applications will be signed nor delivered;
  • Only applications presented on the relevant forms will be considered, in the language in which the training course is given;
  • All elements necessary for the application file (application form AND additional information requested) must be included in the same mailing AND correctly stapled or bound so that no documents are lost. No additional elements for the application sent later will be considered;
  • All applicants selected and on reserve status will receive an e-mail when selections are made (June 2020). Applicants who are not selected will receive an e-mail by the end of June 2020 at the latest;
  • Documents submitted to ARES will not be returned to applicants;
  • No response will be given to applications that do not follow the admissibility criteria clearly mentioned on the website (certified diploma, age, professional experience, etc.).
02/ Admissibility criteria

For a request to be valid, the applicant must:

  1. Be a citizen of a developing country. To be eligible, applicants must be residing and working in their country of origin when they apply;
  2. Only nationals of the following countries may apply for grants from ARES: Benin, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cuba, Ecuador, Ethiopia (only for training courses in English), Haiti, Madagascar, Morocco, Niger, Peru, the Philippines, the DR Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, and Vietnam;
  3. Be under the age of 40 for degree programs, and under 45 for training courses, at the time the training is scheduled to begin;
  4. Have earned a diploma comparable to a graduate-level diploma from Belgian university studies. Nevertheless, for certain training courses, different requirements may be requested, which will be specified below;
  5. Possess relevant professional experience in a developing country of at least two years after graduate studies, or of three years after their studies if the applicant has earned a post-grad degree from a university in an industrialized country;
  6. Have good mastery of written and spoken French. For training courses held in another language, it is essential to have a proper level in the course’s language, both written and spoken. We shall insist that the applicant commit to learning French in order to take part in daily life in Belgium;
  7. Apply for only one training course.

Applicants should not obtain prior admission to one of the Francophone universities in Belgium in order to be considered for ARES grants.

Application files will not be considered if they (are):

  • incomplete;
  • sent in by e-mail or fax;
  • arrive at ARES outside of the application period (indicated on this website within the section describing how to submit an application);
  • are not presented on the relevant form (downloadable from this website), and in the language in which the training course is given;
  • do not match a training course listed on this website as one of the international courses and training available;
  • refer to more than one training course;
  • do not include items that are required attachments (certified copy of diploma, etc.). Photocopies or scanned copies of certified documents are NOT accepted;
  • do not follow one of the admissibility criteria that are clearly stated on the form (certified copy of diploma, age, professional experience, etc.).

As part of the selection process among admissible applications, ARES considers the following criteria:

Academic curriculum

Judgement of the academic quality of applicants will be based on diplomas and lists of coursework completed, with results, teaching activities, or research and publications.

For coursework, priority will be given to applicants who have not yet completed a post-graduate degree, except under exceptional circumstances duly justified in the application file.

Receipt of previous grants

Priority will be given to applications who have not yet received a Belgian grant.

Professional experience

ARES places a priority on giving grants to applicants who, after their university studies, have been able to work in a professional field related to issues raised by development. The social impact of professional experience is considered an important element in evaluating an applicant’s file.

Part of a partner institution

Applicants who work within an institution that is a partner of ARES, whether as part of institutional support, or a development research project or global South training program, are automatically given priority, in case of all other selection criteria being equal.

The applicant’s commitment to development initiatives

Particular attention will be given to application files from candidates who, in addition to their academic qualities, have proven their commitment to the development field. Commitment is illustrated by having worked with the least fortunate members of society and having engaged with them to find efficient ways to defend and promote their interests.

Nationality criteria

ARES wishes to diversify the geographic origin of its grantees. It wants, for the totality of its international coursework and training courses as part of the “Training, Research & Outreach for Development” program, 50% of total trainees to be applicants from Sub-Saharan Africa.

Gender equality

ARES is particularly interested in encouraging the participation of women in the international coursework and training courses that are part of the “Training, Research & Outreach for Development” program.

The prospects for future reintegration

A maximum number of guarantees is required concerning the applicant’s return to their country of origin or to another developing country, as well as their reintegration into a field that will allow them to make use of the training acquired in Belgium in a development context (e.g. a work contract or a formal pledge) and to generate a multiplier effect that benefits their country of origin.
ARES reserves the right, through the selection process, to evaluate the compliance of files with selection criteria, whether individually or compared with other application files.

03/ Application form
Download the 2020-2021 form in English (15 pages – 258 KB) (for specialized master’s degrees in English).

Applying for an ARES grant is totally free. ARES does not charge fees at any stage of the application nor selection process. You may inform us via e-mail at scholarships-cooperation@ares-ac.be of any problems with individuals or companies who claim to represent ARES and request any payment.

Any application form containing payment will systematically be rejected.

For more information,please visit https://www.ares-ac.be/en/cooperation-au-developpement/scholarships/masters-and-training-programmes-in-belgium#02-amounts-for-a-training-course-grant

Please Share to