Doctoral funding radar ·
Doctoral and Early-Career Research Funding Calls Worth Preparing For
Planning a next application is easier when you know what each funding line pays for and how it fits a research career. The calls below cover doctoral training, postdoctoral research 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, consider where your own trajectory fits, and work backwards from its deadline.
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 64 days left
Who applies. The individual researcher applies directly, together with a chosen host organisation.
The ERC Consolidator Grant funds Principal Investigators who are consolidating their own independent research team or programme. The call expects evidence of research independence, so a proposal has to show a coherent agenda you already own, not a continuation of someone else's project. It also allows additional funding beyond the standard amount when the proposed work needs it and the request is properly justified.
Preparation step. Draft a short outline of the research programme you want to consolidate, setting out the independent results and team-building that already support it, and list any costs that might call for additional funding so you can start building their justification. Discuss the plan early with a prospective host organisation, and check every eligibility condition on the official topic page before committing serious time.
MSCA COFUND (doctoral programmes)
MSCA COFUND 2027
Opens on Closes on 148 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 co-finances doctoral programmes run by participating organisations, so the proposals come from institutions designing structured training, not from individual candidates. For a prospective doctoral candidate, the call matters because it creates programmes aimed at broadening research and professional competences and at building international, cross-sector and interdisciplinary experience. Its stated outcomes also include stronger communication with peers and with the public.
Preparation step. Make a shortlist of graduate schools and doctoral programmes that have run COFUND schemes before and follow their announcements, since any funded programme will open its own vacancy calls well after the award. Meanwhile, strengthen your profile with a clear research interest and some evidence of communicating your work to non-specialists.
MSCA COFUND (postdoctoral programmes)
MSCA Choose Europe for Science 2027
Opens on Closes on 148 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 line for postdoctoral programmes, which organisations design and propose. For researchers who are later supported, it aims at concrete career prospects, greater career stability and a wider base of academic and research competences that build autonomy. On the organisational side it pushes recruitment and progression practices toward the European Charter for Researchers and the Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment.
Preparation step. Follow universities and research centres that publicly commit to the European Charter for Researchers and to research assessment reform, as these are the organisations this call targets. Set alerts for the postdoctoral positions they advertise once a programme is funded, and keep a record of your contributions beyond publications so you can present them when those vacancies open.
MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships
MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2027
Opens on Closes on 303 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, which makes it a personal application built around your ideas. The call aims to widen your research and professional skill set and to shape new ways of working through international, inter-sectoral and interdisciplinary experience. It also emphasises the quality of training and supervision, and working conditions in line with the European Charter for Researchers.
Preparation step. Before investing time, verify the mobility rule and all other eligibility conditions on the official topic page. Then pick a prospective supervisor and host organisation, contact them early, and agree on a draft outline that covers both the research project and the training and supervision you will receive.
MSCA Doctoral Networks
MSCA Doctoral Networks 2027
Opens on Closes on 379 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 partnerships of organisations that build joint doctoral training, so the network members prepare the proposal and candidates join afterwards. For someone considering a doctorate, these networks promise training that crosses sectors and disciplines and, where relevant, knowledge for turning ideas into products and services. The call also aims to integrate research and training across partner organisations and to improve supervision arrangements.
Preparation step. Identify research groups in your field that work with industry or other non-academic partners, as these are typical members of such networks, and follow their news and vacancy pages. Positions in funded networks are advertised separately after the award, so a profile that already shows some cross-disciplinary or applied work will help when those calls appear.