GET YOUR PHD! University of Liège PhD guide

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Version 2 – October 2015 p. 7
THE DUAL ROLE OF THE PHD CANDIDATE
A PhD candidate is a student from the third cycle as well as an early stage researcher in accordance with
the Achievement of the PhD determines graduation. At the same
time, a PhD is also a professional experience: it is important to keep this in mind when drawing up your
CV. This dual role gives the PhD candidate a special status within the University. While all PhD
candidates have the status of student, not all of them are ULg staff members, but they all practise the
profession of researcher. In addition, different staff categories coexist:
- Some hold an assistant position. Their main task consists in pedagogical supervision, but a certain
amount of time is freed up for the completion of a thesis.
- Scholarships are also awarded by research-funding organisations (including European and
international funds), e.g. FNRS (National Fund for Scientific Research) and FRIA (Fund for Research
Training in Industry and Agriculture). Find a
- It is also possible to receive an income based on the implementation of a research contract having
been taken on by a professor (via credits or research projects specific to their research group).
- Certain types of funding from various organisations and foundations are possible as well. For this last
category, there is
A PhD scholarship holder at ULg receives a scholarship subject to social security contributions and
exempt from taxation, the amount of which is equal to an assistant’s salary. They can only benefit from
this status for a limited period of time (48 months). Should you have any specific questions, please feel
free to contact your Human Resources Administrator .
DURATION OF THE PHD PROGRAMME
From the start, PhD candidates have to keep in mind the duration of the thesis (maximum 48 months for
a scholarship holder). They are reminded of this limitation by their supervisor and the entire thesis
committee. Incidentally, this is the best way to demonstrate you have mastered a highly appreciated
skill: adherence to deadlines. Based on the thesis committee’s opinion, the doctoral college of the
domain in which the PhD candidate’s thesis is situated will annually ensure that the progress of the PhD
candidate’s work is sufficient to allow re-enrolment until submission of the thesis.
MYULG FILE & E-MAIL ADDRESS
 Consult your file at myULg: in pratice, every PhD candidate has a at myULg as soon as their
enrolment is effective. They input the activities performed within the scope of PhD training as well as
this annual progress report into this file. The supervisor may enter the annual opinion on the work
progress into the file on behalf of the thesis committee. The college inputs basic information (thesis
title, thesis committee, etc.) into the file and may allow annual re-enrolment until completion of the
PhD training and graduation.
 : every PhD candidate has an e-mail address ending in
which they can transform into an address ending in @ so as to
make their status of PhD candidate visible (to do so, go to Mes services/Services e-mail/redirection
mail in MyULg). This e-mail address has to be consulted regularly or, if this is not possible, be
redirected to an e-mail address that is used regularly. This e-mail address will be used by ULg staff
members to contact you, e.g. by your doctoral college, the PhD managers of your faculty or the ULg
Doctoral Affairs service, which will, for instance, propose to register you for training courses linked to
your PhD.
In case the PhD candidate is also an ULg staff member, they will have an e-mail address ending in
as well. In this case, it is advisable to redirect the address ending in @ to
the latter address.