To study for a PhD you must first have the desire to spend several years contributing to scientific knowledge.

In addition, you will need solid scientific skills (your Masters dissertation can be used to assess how well you meet this criterion), an enquiring mind, and the ability to work alone and on your own initiative. Even though your thesis is an individual piece of work, you must also be able to work as part of a team as you will be assigned to a research centre and often called upon to work with other colleagues from the ULB and other Belgian and foreign universities.

No, many people pursue a career outside academia after completion of their PhD or postdoctoral studies. We estimate that 10%-20% of all people with a PhD spend their full career in academia.