PhDData Dashboard

Dashboard design and development: Thomas Laloux

Data source: The data presented in this dashboard come from the “Future of PhD Holders” survey, conducted by the Observatory in December 2025. This survey concerns PhD holders who defended their dissertation in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation between January 2012 and May 2021 (earlier cohort) and between June 2021 and May 2025 (new cohort). The response rate is 45% for the new cohort and 33% for the earlier cohort. All data are self-reported, and participation in the survey is voluntary.

About the sample: The final sample consists of 2,389 PhD holders (42.9% women, n = 1,026) from French-speaking universities in Belgium and from all research fields. Their mean age is 39.6 years (SD = 6.4). The largest share of respondents (40.4%, n = 965) are PhD holders in Exact and Natural Sciences (ENS), compared with 32.4% (n = 772) in Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) and 27.2% (n = 649) in Life and Health Sciences (LHS).

About the survey: “Future of PhD Holders” is a longitudinal study on career trajectories, launched in 2019, integrating new cohorts of PhD holders graduating from universities in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation (FWB) every three years. Details regarding the methodology are available in the first report resulting from the survey (Bebiroglu et al., 2019).

Notes on variables: Salary: The salaries presented include only PhD holders working full-time. PhD holders working outside Belgium are also included in the data. Type of contract: Only PhD holders who were employed at the time of responding to the survey were included.

Abbreviations: ENS = Exact and Natural Sciences; SSH = Social Sciences and Humanities; LHS = Life and Health Sciences.

To cite the dashboard: Observatory of Research and Scientific Careers-F.R.S.-FNRS. (2026). PhDData [Dashboard]. https://www.en.phddata.be/dashboard

Example of how to cite a chart: Observatory of Research and Scientific Careers-F.R.S.-FNRS. (2026). Sector of work by PhD field [Graph]. In PhDData Dashboard. https://www.en.phddata.be/dashboard