Programme Guides
Top European grant programmes
In-depth guides to the most competitive early- and mid-career funding schemes in Europe. Each page covers eligibility, budget, success rate, live deadlines, and the questions applicants actually ask.
European Research Council
ERC Starting Grant
Up to €1.5M for early-career researchers 2–7 years post-PhD conducting ground-breaking frontier research.
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European Research Council
ERC Consolidator Grant
Up to €2M for mid-career researchers 7–12 years post-PhD consolidating their independent research team.
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Dutch Research Council (NWO)
NWO Veni
Up to €320,000 over 4 years for researchers in the Netherlands within 3 years of PhD completion.
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Dutch Research Council (NWO)
NWO Vidi
Up to €850,000 over 5 years for mid-career researchers in the Netherlands establishing an independent group.
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Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship
Monthly stipend of €5,080+ for 12–36 months of international mobility for postdoctoral researchers.
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Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)
DFG Emmy Noether Programme
Up to 6 years of funding for early-career researchers to establish an independent junior research group in Germany.
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European Research Council
ERC Advanced Grant
Up to €2.5M for established research leaders with a 10-year track record of significant achievements.
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European Research Council
ERC Synergy Grant
Up to €10M for groups of 2–4 principal investigators tackling ambitious problems that need complementary expertise.
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European Research Council
ERC Proof of Concept
€150,000 top-up for existing ERC grant holders to explore the commercial or societal potential of their research.
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Dutch Research Council (NWO)
NWO Vici
Up to €1.5M over 5 years for senior researchers in the Netherlands building their own research line.
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Dutch Research Council (NWO)
NWO XS
€50,000 for exploratory proof-of-concept research at Dutch knowledge institutions. Pilot studies and early-stage ideas.
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Dutch Research Council (NWO)
NWO Open Competition
Curiosity-driven research funding across all disciplines, typically €300K–€800K for Dutch research teams.
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Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MSCA Doctoral Networks
Multi-partner consortia training cohorts of PhD researchers in joint doctoral programmes across Europe.
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Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MSCA Staff Exchanges
Short-term secondments for staff between academic and non-academic partners across countries and sectors.
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Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MSCA COFUND
Co-funding for regional, national, or international doctoral and postdoctoral fellowship programmes.
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European Innovation Council
EIC Accelerator
Up to €2.5M grant + €15M equity for deep-tech startups and SMEs scaling market-creating innovations.
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European Innovation Council
EIC Pathfinder
Up to €4M for visionary early-stage research on breakthrough technologies that don't yet exist.
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European Innovation Council
EIC Transition
Up to €2.5M to mature early-stage technologies from lab proof-of-concept to market-ready prototypes.
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Wellcome Trust
Wellcome Discovery Award
Up to £2.5M over 8 years for mid-career and established researchers pursuing transformative discovery science.
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Wellcome Trust
Wellcome Early-Career Award
Salary + up to £400,000 over 5 years for researchers establishing their own independent research programme.
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Swiss National Science Foundation
SNSF Eccellenza
Professorial fellowship with salary + up to CHF 1M research budget over 5 years for prospective Swiss professors.
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Swiss National Science Foundation
SNSF PRIMA
Fellowship + research budget for excellent female researchers aiming for professorial careers in Switzerland.
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Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)
DFG Heisenberg Programme
Up to 5 years of senior funding to prepare researchers for leading academic positions in Germany.
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Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)
DFG Walter Benjamin Programme
Postdoctoral fellowship for international mobility — conduct your project in Germany or abroad.
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European Molecular Biology Organization
EMBO Postdoctoral Fellowship
2-year fellowship for postdocs in the life sciences moving internationally to conduct research in Europe.
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European Molecular Biology Organization
EMBO Young Investigator
Recognition + networking + €50K budget for outstanding early-career group leaders in molecular life sciences.
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Human Frontier Science Program
HFSP Postdoctoral Fellowship
3-year fellowship for postdocs pursuing bold interdisciplinary life-science research with international mobility.
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Human Frontier Science Program
HFSP Research Grant
Multi-country collaborative grants for interdisciplinary life-science teams across the HFSP network.
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Novo Nordisk Foundation
Novo Nordisk Foundation Challenge Programme
Up to DKK 60M (~€8M) for research consortia tackling specific grand challenges in biomedical and health sciences.
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Leverhulme Trust
Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship
3-year fellowship with salary + research costs for early-career researchers at UK institutions.
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