Doctoral funding radar ·
Doctoral and Early-Career Research Funding Calls Worth Preparing For
Funding calls tend to shape a research career well before the work they pay for begins, so it helps to read them early and with a clear sense of where you stand. The calls below cover doctoral training, postdoctoral fellowships and programmes, and support for researchers building an independent team, under the European Research Council and the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions. Read each one for what it funds and the kind of profile it values, then decide where your preparation time will count most.
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 66 days left
Who applies. The individual researcher applies directly, together with a chosen host organisation.
The Consolidator Grant funds Principal Investigators who are consolidating their own independent research team or programme, which makes it a natural target once your work has a recognisable direction of its own. The description emphasises evidence of research independence, so the proposal has to show a programme that is clearly yours rather than an extension of a supervisor's agenda. It also allows a request for additional funding for further costs, provided that request is properly justified in the proposal.
Preparation step. Sketch the research programme you would lead as a short outline, and alongside it list any costs beyond a standard budget (equipment, access, specialised personnel) with a sentence of justification for each; then confirm every eligibility condition on the official topic page before committing serious drafting time.
MSCA COFUND (doctoral programmes)
MSCA COFUND 2027
Opens on Closes on 150 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 is an institutional opportunity: organisations put forward doctoral programmes, and candidates are only brought in later, through separate vacancy calls, once a programme is funded. For a prospective doctoral candidate it is still worth knowing about, because the funded programmes aim to give their doctoral candidates a broader range of research and transferable competences and exposure to international, cross-sector and interdisciplinary work. It also signals which organisations are investing in the quality and sustainability of their research training.
Preparation step. Make a shortlist of universities and research organisations in your field that already run or have run COFUND doctoral programmes, follow their doctoral school pages and mailing lists so you see the positions they advertise if they are funded, and use the waiting period to strengthen your profile with a clear research interest statement.
MSCA COFUND (postdoctoral programmes)
MSCA Choose Europe for Science 2027
Opens on Closes on 150 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 call for postdoctoral programmes, run by organisations and not by individual researchers; positions are advertised separately after funding. Its stated focus for supported researchers is concrete career prospects and greater career stability, along with skills that build toward research autonomy. On the organisational side it ties funding to aligning recruitment and career progression practices with the European Charter for Researchers and the Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment, which tells you something about the working conditions these programmes intend to offer.
Preparation step. Watch for organisations in your discipline that publicly commit to the European Charter for Researchers and to research assessment reform, follow their careers pages for postdoctoral programme announcements, and keep your CV and publication narrative ready in a form that describes contributions beyond publication counts.
MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships
MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2027
Opens on Closes on 305 days left
Who applies. The individual researcher applies directly, together with a chosen host organisation.
The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowships let a researcher propose their own project together with a host organisation, so the research idea and the training plan are yours to shape. The description stresses new approaches to research and innovation through international, inter-sectoral and interdisciplinary experience, and wider communication with both peers and the public. For hosts it points to working conditions in line with the European Charter for Researchers and to quality of supervision, which is a fair basis for judging a prospective host.
Preparation step. Before drafting anything substantial, check the mobility rule and all other eligibility conditions on the official topic page; once that is settled, identify a supervisor and host whose expertise complements yours and open the conversation early with a one page outline of the project and the skills you want to gain.
MSCA Doctoral Networks
MSCA Doctoral Networks 2027
Opens on Closes on 381 days left
Who applies. Institutions or consortia apply. Individual positions are recruited openly after the grant is awarded.
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Networks are proposed by groups of participating organisations, and doctoral candidates join funded networks later through open vacancy calls rather than through this round's proposal. The networks aim to help their candidates develop competences that open careers inside and outside universities, and, where relevant, knowledge that turns ideas into products and services. The emphasis on cooperation and knowledge transfer between sectors and disciplines means these positions often involve time across more than one type of organisation.
Preparation step. Identify research groups and companies in your area that take part in Doctoral Networks, follow their websites and professional profiles so you catch the doctoral positions they post if their network is funded, and build up evidence of collaborative or applied work that would make your profile stand out when those vacancies appear.