Doctoral funding radar ·
Doctoral and Early-Career Research Funding Calls Worth Preparing For
Planning a European funding application usually starts well before any form is filled in, with a clear sense of which instrument fits your stage and how your project will grow from it. The calls below span doctoral training, postdoctoral career development and the consolidation of an independent research programme, under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions and the European Research Council. Read each one for what it funds and how the route works, then plan the next few months around that.
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 68 days left
Who applies. The individual researcher applies directly, together with a chosen host organisation.
The Consolidator Grant supports Principal Investigators who are consolidating their own independent research team or programme, so it suits researchers whose work already runs as a coherent line of inquiry. The funding covers a multi-year programme, and further costs in any category can be requested when they are needed for the proposed work, provided the request is justified. For an early-career researcher, it is a way to secure a team and a research agenda under their own leadership.
Preparation step. Sketch the programme you want to consolidate and list any costs that go beyond a standard budget, writing a short justification for each so the case for additional funding is ready when you draft the proposal. Before committing time, verify every eligibility condition on the official topic page.
MSCA COFUND (doctoral programmes)
MSCA COFUND 2027
Opens on Closes on 152 days left
Who applies. Institutions or consortia apply. Individual positions are recruited openly after the grant is awarded.
This Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions COFUND call lets organisations build or strengthen doctoral programmes, so the proposal comes from the participating organisations rather than from candidates. Once a programme is funded, it later opens doctoral positions through its own vacancy calls. Those positions aim to give doctoral candidates a broader set of research and professional competences, career options inside and outside universities, and stronger communication with peers and the public.
Preparation step. Make a shortlist of universities and graduate schools that run or are building cofunded doctoral programmes in your field, follow their announcements, and keep a draft project text ready so you can respond quickly when funded positions are advertised.
MSCA COFUND (postdoctoral programmes)
MSCA Choose Europe for Science 2027
Opens on Closes on 152 days left
Who applies. Institutions or consortia apply. Individual positions are recruited openly after the grant is awarded.
Choose Europe for Science is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions COFUND strand for postdoctoral programmes, and participating organisations propose these programmes, not researchers. Funded programmes later offer postdoctoral posts aimed at concrete career prospects, greater career stability and growing research autonomy. The call also asks organisations to align their recruitment and progression practices with the European Charter for Researchers and the Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment, which shapes how future candidates will be assessed.
Preparation step. Track which research organisations in your area have endorsed the Charter or the Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment, and rework your CV into a narrative format that describes your contributions in broad terms, so you are ready when their funded postdoctoral calls appear.
MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships
MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2027
Opens on Closes on 307 days left
Who applies. The individual researcher applies directly, together with a chosen host organisation.
With Postdoctoral Fellowships, researchers apply themselves, together with a host organisation, and the project is designed around their own research plan. The fellowship aims to widen the fellow's skills and career options inside and outside academia, often through work that crosses countries, sectors or disciplines. It also expects attention to public engagement and to the quality of supervision provided by the host.
Preparation step. Pick a prospective supervisor whose group complements your expertise and contact them early with a one-page outline of the project and the training you hope to gain. Check the mobility rule and all other eligibility conditions on the official topic page before you invest significant drafting time.
MSCA Doctoral Networks
MSCA Doctoral Networks 2027
Opens on Closes on 383 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 organisations working together, and the doctoral positions they fund are advertised through open vacancies only after a network has been awarded. For candidates, these networks offer training that draws on several partners, with an emphasis on moving knowledge between sectors and disciplines and, where relevant, turning ideas into products and services. The doctoral path they offer is embedded in shared training and research activities across institutions.
Preparation step. Find research groups in your discipline that have coordinated or joined earlier Doctoral Networks, sign up for their news or vacancy alerts, and build up experience that will strengthen a later application, such as a collaboration with a company or a partner from another discipline.