Doctoral funding radar ·
Doctoral and Early-Career Research Funding Calls Worth Preparing For
A strong funding plan starts with matching the instrument to your career stage. The calls below run from structured doctoral training, through postdoctoral fellowships, to grants for consolidating your own research team. Read each description for the outcomes it expects, then work backwards from the deadline to plan realistic preparation time.
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.
ERC Consolidator Grant
ERC Consolidator Grant
Open Closes on 70 days left
Who applies. The individual researcher applies directly, together with a chosen host organisation.
The Consolidator Grant is aimed at Principal Investigators who are consolidating their own independent research team or programme. For a researcher a few years past the doctorate, it is a way to turn a body of work into a sustained programme with its own people and resources. The description also allows a duly justified request for additional funding when the proposed work requires further costs, which matters if your project depends on substantial equipment or infrastructure.
Preparation step. Draft a two page outline of the research programme you want to consolidate, setting out the team roles it needs and any additional costs you would have to justify. Then open a conversation with a prospective host organisation and check every eligibility condition on the official topic page before you commit further time.
MSCA COFUND (doctoral programmes)
MSCA COFUND 2027
Opens on Closes on 154 days left
Who applies. Institutions or consortia apply. Individual positions are recruited openly after the grant is awarded.
This call supports doctoral programmes that organisations design and co-finance, so the proposal is prepared at institutional level rather than by candidates. Doctoral candidates benefit later, once a funded programme opens its positions through its own vacancy calls. The expected outcomes describe a broader skill set for those candidates, international and interdisciplinary experience, and stronger communication with peers and the general public.
Preparation step. List the universities and graduate schools in your field that run or are building co-funded doctoral programmes, and follow their announcements so you see the positions they advertise if they are funded. In the meantime, build evidence of public communication or outreach, which the description names as an expected outcome for supported candidates.
MSCA COFUND (postdoctoral programmes)
MSCA Choose Europe for Science 2027
Opens on Closes on 154 days left
Who applies. Institutions or consortia apply. Individual positions are recruited openly after the grant is awarded.
Choose Europe for Science funds postdoctoral programmes run by participating organisations, which later open researcher positions through their own selection rounds. For researchers, the described outcomes focus on concrete career prospects, greater career stability and growing autonomy. The call also expects organisations to align recruitment and career progression with the European Charter for Researchers and the Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment, which shapes how future candidates will be assessed.
Preparation step. Read the European Charter for Researchers and the Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment, since the description names both as reference points for recruitment and progression. Then follow the postdoctoral programmes at organisations you would like to join, and watch for the positions they open once their programmes are funded.
MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships
MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2027
Opens on Closes on 309 days left
Who applies. The individual researcher applies directly, together with a chosen host organisation.
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowships let a researcher propose their own project together with a host organisation. The expected outcomes centre on widening your research and professional competences, broadening your career options inside and outside universities, and building networks with scientific peers and the public. Participating organisations are expected to offer quality supervision and working conditions in line with the European Charter for Researchers, so your choice of host carries real weight.
Preparation step. Identify one or two prospective supervisors and contact them early to discuss how their group would support your training and supervision. Before investing serious drafting time, verify the mobility rule and all other eligibility conditions on the official topic page.
MSCA Doctoral Networks
MSCA Doctoral Networks 2027
Opens on Closes on 385 days left
Who applies. Institutions or consortia apply. Individual positions are recruited openly after the grant is awarded.
Doctoral Networks are proposed by groups of participating organisations working together, and the doctoral positions they fund are advertised only after a network is awarded. For prospective candidates, the outcomes describe new research competences, better prospects across sectors and, where relevant, knowledge that turns ideas into products and services. The networks are also expected to deepen cooperation between disciplines and sectors, so the training typically extends beyond a single lab.
Preparation step. Follow research groups and companies in your field that take part in Doctoral Networks, and set up alerts so you catch the doctoral vacancies they publish once a network is funded. Use the waiting period to gain experience that crosses disciplines or sectors, such as a collaboration with an industry partner.