Guides: funding your studies in Belgium

The ARES scholarship and Belgian public funding for international students.

By the Studacy team · Published on June 12, 2026 · Updated on June 20, 2026

In short

The ARES development cooperation scholarship funds young professionals from partner countries each year to follow a specialised master, a specialised bachelor or a continuing-education programme in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. It is highly selective: you must live and work in one of the 31 eligible countries at the time you apply, have held the required diploma for no more than 20 years at the start of the programme, prove at least two years of relevant professional experience in a partner country, and aim for a development-oriented programme. It is neither a standard study scholarship nor the Wallonia-Brussels Federation study allowance, which follow entirely different logics.

What is the ARES development cooperation scholarship?

ARES (Academie de Recherche et d'Enseignement Superieur) is the body that brings together the universities, university colleges and schools of the arts of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. As part of its development cooperation work, it funds a cohort of scholarship holders from partner countries every year so they can train in Belgium for one year, then return home to put those skills into practice.

The goal is not to attract students: it is to strengthen professionals who are already in post, seen as future agents of change in their country of origin. That is what explains the unusual conditions (required professional experience, the obligation to reside in the partner country, programmes targeted at development challenges).

A key point often misunderstood: these scholarships are aimed at candidates who live and work in their country at the time they apply. A student already settled in Belgium, or preparing a standard bachelor's or master's degree, does not fit this scheme. For the vast majority of international students, funding their studies rests on other sources (family support, blocked account, student jobs, study allowance under strict conditions).

Who can obtain an ARES scholarship?

The criteria are cumulative: you must meet all of them. They are set each year in the official reference document for the call for applications.

Residence and work: live and work in one of ARES's 31 partner countries at the time of application (an exception exists for people of Palestinian nationality).
Recency of the diploma: have held the required academic degree for no more than 20 years at the start of the programme (this period is extended by one year per childbirth or adoption).
Professional experience: prove at least two years of relevant professional experience acquired in a partner country, after obtaining the diploma (Bac+3 for a specialised bachelor, Bac+5 for a specialised master or continuing education).
Diploma: hold a diploma comparable to a first cycle (bachelor, around 180 credits) for a specialised bachelor, or to a second cycle (master, around 300 credits) for a specialised master or continuing education.
Commitment to return: a pledge to put the acquired skills at the service of your country of origin's development.

Real selectivity: a limited number of scholarships is awarded, spread across all partner countries and programmes. Competition is fierce, and academic admission to the targeted programme never guarantees the scholarship. Conversely, the list of eligible countries and open programmes changes from one call to the next: always check the current year's call.

Which are the 31 eligible countries?

The list of ARES partner countries for the 2026-2027 call. It may be revised with each new five-year call, so cross-check it against the official reference document before applying.

Region	Partner countries
Africa	South Africa, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Guinea (Conakry), Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Uganda, DR Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Tunisia, Zimbabwe
Latin America and the Caribbean	Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, Haiti, Peru
Asia and Southeast Asia	Cambodia, Indonesia, Nepal, Philippines, Vietnam
Special case	Palestinian Territory (with a residence exception for people of Palestinian nationality)

Appearing on this list does not mean having priority: Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal or DR Congo feature there on the same footing as the other partner countries, each competing for a limited quota of scholarships.

What does the scholarship cover and how much is it?

The ARES scholarship is described as fully funded: it is not limited to an allowance, it covers the bulk of the study stay. The exact amount of the monthly living allowance is set each year in the call's regulations and paid throughout the programme.

Monthly living allowance (amount set by the current call, paid during the programme).
Return international travel costs.
Student visa fees (covered according to the terms of the call).
Insurance during the stay.
Depending on the case, travel or settling-in costs related to the programme.

We do not publish a fixed figure for the monthly allowance, because it is reassessed with each call and any outdated value would mislead. The detail of what is covered, including how registration fees (minerval) are handled depending on the institution and the call, can be read in the reference document for the relevant year, on the ARES website.

What is the timeline and how does the application work?

The timeline is annual and strict. As a reference point, for the 2026-2027 academic year, applications closed on 19 September 2025 at 12:00 (Belgian time), for an autumn 2026 intake. Applications are submitted online through the ARES GIRAF platform.

1Choose a programme from those open in the year's call (specialised masters, specialised bachelor or continuing education).
2Check that your country appears in the eligible countries list for the current call and that you meet the diploma-recency, experience and diploma criteria.
3Gather the file: diplomas, proof of professional experience, evidence of residence and work in the country, a motivation letter geared toward development.
4Submit the application online on the GIRAF platform before the deadline (generally in September of the year preceding the intake).
5Wait for the selection: pre-selection on file, then a final decision, several months before the intake.

A single missed deadline closes access for the whole year: there is no catch-up session. A call's timeline does not automatically repeat the previous one's dates; we check the call published by ARES each time.

ARES scholarship or other Belgian public funding: how to avoid the mix-up?

Many students confuse three distinct schemes. They do not target the same audience or the same objective, and they cannot be combined the way people imagine.

Scheme	For whom	Logic
ARES scholarship (development cooperation)	Young professional living and working in a partner country, aiming for a development-oriented programme	Cooperation scholarship, highly selective, full funding, obligation to return home
Wallonia-Brussels Federation study allowance	Student established in Belgium meeting strict conditions of nationality, residence and income	Social study support, not an international scholarship: requires, for a non-EU national, several years of legal residence in Belgium
Scholarships from other countries or bodies	Students targeted by a national programme, a foundation or bilateral cooperation	Conditions specific to each funder, independent of ARES

Bear in mind: the Wallonia-Brussels Federation study allowance is not designed to fund an international student's arrival from abroad. It assumes an existing footing in Belgium (household composition in Belgium, and for non-EU nationals, several years of legal residence). A newcomer filing their student visa cannot rely on it for their arrival.

Our role: we help identify the scheme that is genuinely relevant to your profile, check fine-grained eligibility against the current call, build a complete and credible file, and align the funding with the documents required for the visa and the enrolment. We do not carry out the procedure for you on the public portals: we secure the outcome.

Official sources

Information verified against official Belgian sources. Procedures and amounts change every year, so always check the date before acting.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Does the ARES scholarship cover a standard bachelor's or master's degree?

No. It funds specialised bachelors, specialised masters and continuing education lasting a year or a few months, geared toward development challenges, not a standard five-year bachelor or master programme. For a standard programme, you need to look for other funding sources.

Can I apply for the ARES scholarship if I already live in Belgium?

No. The scheme requires you to live and work in one of the partner countries at the time you apply, with an exception provided for people of Palestinian nationality. A candidate already settled in Belgium does not meet this basic condition.

What is the exact amount of the ARES scholarship?

The scholarship is fully funded: monthly living allowance, international travel, visa fees and insurance. The precise allowance amount, along with the detail of the costs covered, is set each year in the official reference document for the call and must be checked there, because it is reassessed regularly.

Can an international student obtain the Wallonia-Brussels Federation study allowance?

It is possible but under strict conditions. For a non-EU national, you must notably prove several years of legal residence in Belgium and a valid residence permit, on top of income conditions. So it is not a tool for funding a first arrival from abroad.

When should you apply for the ARES scholarship for the 2026 intake?

For the 2026-2027 academic year, applications closed on 19 September 2025 at 12:00 (Belgian time), through the GIRAF platform. The timeline is annual and has no catch-up: always check the exact dates of the call published by ARES for the relevant year.

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