Doctoral funding radar ·
Doctoral and Early-Career Research Funding Calls Worth Preparing For
Planning a next application usually means thinking several steps ahead: about the doctoral training you want, the postdoctoral position that would follow, and the research programme you hope to run eventually. The calls below span that path, from structured doctoral training and postdoctoral programmes under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions to a European Research Council grant for consolidating your own research line. Read each entry for what the call funds and what you can do in the months before it matters to you.
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 65 days left
Who applies. The individual researcher applies directly, together with a chosen host organisation.
The Consolidator Grant funds a Principal Investigator who is consolidating an independent research team or programme. Its value lies in the scale and duration of support it offers for building a coherent line of work under your own direction. The call also allows a request for additional funding for further costs, provided the proposal duly justifies why that work needs it.
Preparation step. Sketch a one-page outline of the research programme you would consolidate, noting where extra costs (equipment, access, fieldwork) would be genuinely necessary and how you would justify them. Open an early conversation with a prospective host organisation, and check every eligibility condition on the official topic page before committing time.
MSCA COFUND (doctoral programmes)
MSCA COFUND 2027
Opens on Closes on 149 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 supports doctoral programmes run by participating organisations, so it is an institutional opportunity rather than one a candidate enters alone. If funded, those programmes aim to give doctoral candidates a wider range of research and professional competences, interdisciplinary and cross-sector experience, and stronger communication with peers and the public. For prospective doctoral candidates, it signals where structured, funded doctoral positions may appear later.
Preparation step. Make a short watchlist of graduate schools and universities in your field that have run Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions COFUND doctoral programmes before, follow their news and vacancy pages, and watch for the positions they advertise once a programme is awarded. In the meantime, sharpen a draft research interest statement you could adapt quickly when a vacancy opens.
MSCA COFUND (postdoctoral programmes)
MSCA Choose Europe for Science 2027
Opens on Closes on 149 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 participating organisations rather than by researchers themselves. Its stated aims for supported researchers are concrete career prospects, greater career stability and the competences that build research autonomy. On the organisational side it emphasises recruitment and progression practices aligned with the European Charter for Researchers and the Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment, which gives you a lens for judging future employers.
Preparation step. Track research organisations in your area that publicly commit to the European Charter for Researchers and to research assessment reform, since these are the kinds of bodies the call expects to strengthen. Follow their careers pages for postdoctoral openings that appear after funding is awarded, and keep your CV ready to show the independence and teaching experience such programmes value.
MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships
MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2027
Opens on Closes on 304 days left
Who applies. The individual researcher applies directly, together with a chosen host organisation.
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowships fund a researcher's own project, prepared together with a host organisation. The intended outcomes for fellows include broader research and professional competences, better career prospects in and outside universities, and fresh approaches forged through international, cross-sector and interdisciplinary work. The description also stresses quality supervision and fair working conditions at the host, which makes the choice of supervisor central to the application.
Preparation step. Before investing time, verify the mobility rule and all other eligibility conditions on the official topic page. Then approach a prospective supervisor with a brief project idea and ask specifically how training and supervision would work in their group, since the call puts weight on both.
MSCA Doctoral Networks
MSCA Doctoral Networks 2027
Opens on Closes on 380 days left
Who applies. Institutions or consortia apply. Individual positions are recruited openly after the grant is awarded.
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Networks fund doctoral training programmes developed jointly by participating organisations; doctoral candidates are not part of the proposal and are hired once a network is funded. The expected outcomes highlight cooperation and knowledge transfer between sectors and disciplines, and, where relevant, turning ideas into products and services. For someone considering a doctorate, these networks point to training that combines research with exposure to non-academic partners.
Preparation step. Identify research groups in your field that collaborate with companies or other non-academic partners and have taken part in Doctoral Networks, and follow them so you notice the doctoral positions they advertise after an award. Use the waiting period to gain experience that shows you can work across disciplines or with an external partner.