This is the edition of 8 October 2026. The dates and statuses below are as they stood on that day and may have changed since. Read the current edition.
European research funding spans a wide spectrum of career stages and disciplinary contexts, and knowing which calls align with your trajectory can shape the direction of your doctoral or postdoctoral path. This radar brings together calls from Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions and the European Research Council so you can plan your next move with the full landscape in view.
Of the five calls below, three are applied for by institutions or consortia, with individual positions recruited after the grant is awarded, and two are applied for directly by the individual researcher, together with a host organisation.
MSCA Doctoral Networks 2026
Open, closes 24 November 2026. MSCA Doctoral Networks.
Who applies. Institutions or consortia apply. Individual positions are recruited openly after the grant is awarded.
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Networks bring together universities, research institutes, and non-academic partners to design and deliver structured doctoral training at the European level. The programme is built around expanding the research and transferable skills of doctoral candidates while deepening cooperation and knowledge transfer between the sectors and disciplines involved. For a researcher at or approaching doctoral level, the positions that eventually emerge from funded networks tend to offer structured supervision arrangements and deliberate exposure to multiple participating organisations. Watching which consortia receive funding in this round helps you anticipate where competitive doctoral vacancies will be advertised once grants are awarded.
Preparation step. Identify research groups and institutions in your field that have previously participated in Doctoral Networks or similar collaborative training programmes, follow their news channels and vacancy pages, and begin strengthening the profile elements, such as publications, conference contributions, and cross-sector experience, that will make you a competitive candidate when recruited positions are advertised after the grant award.
Official topic page: HORIZON-MSCA-2026-DN-01-01
ERC Consolidator Grant
Open, closes 12 January 2027. ERC Consolidator Grant.
Who applies. The individual researcher applies directly, together with a chosen host organisation.
The ERC Consolidator Grant is designed for researchers who have already demonstrated independence and are in the process of consolidating their own research team or programme. The grant supports a sustained period of work, giving a principal investigator the resources to pursue an ambitious, self-defined research agenda. For an early-career researcher approaching this stage, understanding the Consolidator Grant's expectations around demonstrated independence is essential for planning the trajectory of your outputs and team-building activities.
Preparation step. Draft a concise outline of the independent research programme you would propose, map it against the scope described on the official topic page, and open early conversations with a prospective host organisation about institutional support and the feasibility of the proposed work.
Official topic page: ERC-2027-COG
MSCA COFUND 2027
Opens 8 December 2026, closes 6 April 2027. MSCA COFUND (doctoral programmes).
Who applies. Institutions or consortia apply. Individual positions are recruited openly after the grant is awarded.
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions COFUND for doctoral programmes co-funds national or institutional doctoral schemes, enabling participating organisations to broaden the international reach and interdisciplinary character of their training offer. The expected outcomes for candidates include a deeper and more diverse set of research-related competences and the kind of cross-border, cross-sector experience that shapes new approaches to research and innovation work. Because the programme explicitly targets enhanced quality and sustainability of research training at the organisational level, the doctoral positions it eventually produces tend to sit within programmes that have been deliberately designed with those goals in mind. Monitoring which institutions secure COFUND funding gives you early visibility of where structured, internationally oriented doctoral programmes will be opening recruitment.
Preparation step. Map the universities and research institutes in your target field and region that have run COFUND doctoral programmes in previous cycles, subscribe to their doctoral school newsletters or vacancy portals, and use the intervening period to develop language skills, international experience, or inter-sectoral exposure that aligns with the cross-border profile these programmes typically seek in recruited candidates.
Official topic page: HORIZON-MSCA-2027-COFUND-01-01
MSCA Choose Europe for Science 2027
Opens 8 December 2026, closes 6 April 2027. MSCA COFUND (postdoctoral programmes).
Who applies. Institutions or consortia apply. Individual positions are recruited openly after the grant is awarded.
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Choose Europe for Science is a COFUND instrument aimed at postdoctoral programmes, and its framing is notably oriented toward career stability and concrete career prospects for supported researchers. The call also asks participating organisations to align their human resources and recruitment practices with the European Charter for Researchers and related European frameworks for attracting and retaining research talent, which signals that the positions it eventually funds will sit within institutions that have made explicit commitments to researcher career development. For a postdoctoral researcher thinking about where to build the next stage of their career, institutions that secure this funding are signalling investment in the conditions and progression systems that support longer-term research careers.
Preparation step. Research which institutions in your field have previously run postdoctoral COFUND programmes or have publicly committed to the European Charter for Researchers principles, note them as priority targets for your postdoctoral job search, and prepare a concise statement of your research direction so you are ready to respond quickly when recruited positions are advertised following the grant award.
Official topic page: HORIZON-MSCA-2027-COFUND-02-01
MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2027
Opens 7 April 2027, closes 8 September 2027. MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships.
Who applies. The individual researcher applies directly, together with a chosen host organisation.
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowships support individual postdoctoral researchers working with a host organisation, with the programme aiming to broaden research and transferable skills and to foster international, inter-sectoral, and interdisciplinary experience. The call also emphasises alignment of working conditions with the European Charter for Researchers, which means the host organisations involved are expected to meet defined standards for supervision and researcher support. This is a scheme where the researcher drives the project concept, making it well suited to someone who has a clear research direction and wants to pursue it in a new environment.
Preparation step. Begin developing a focused research proposal outline around a question you are genuinely positioned to answer, identify two or three prospective host organisations whose expertise complements yours, and contact potential supervisors well before the deadline to gauge interest and fit; also verify the mobility rule and all eligibility conditions on the official topic page before committing time to a full application.
Official topic page: HORIZON-MSCA-2027-PF-01-01
Deadlines, statuses, and call identifiers are drawn from the
EU Funding and Tenders Portal and were verified against it on the date shown above. Confirm each call's current status on its own topic page before you rely on it. These calls close at 17:00 Brussels time on their stated deadline. Clau is a free companion for doctoral candidates and early-career researchers that helps with the project text and application materials behind calls like these.