European Research Council
ERC Starting Grant
Up to €1.5M for early-career researchers 2-7 years post-PhD conducting ground-breaking frontier research.
About the ERC Starting Grant
The ERC Starting Grant is one of Europe's most prestigious awards for early-career researchers. Administered by the European Research Council under Horizon Europe, it funds up to €1.5 million over 5 years, with up to an additional €1M for eligible costs such as major equipment, access to large research infrastructures, or major experimental and field-work costs, extended to up to €2M for Principal Investigators relocating to the EU or an Associated Country from elsewhere to take up the grant, to pursue ground-breaking research across any field of science, engineering, the humanities, or social sciences. The scheme is bottom-up: there are no thematic priorities, no consortium requirements, and no obligation to deliver applied outputs. The single criterion is scientific excellence as judged by international peer review. Applicants must have 2 to 7 years of research experience post-PhD at the call deadline and be hosted at a legal entity in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe associated country. There is no nationality requirement, a Brazilian or Australian researcher hosted at a German institution is just as eligible as a German national. Since 2024 the evaluation is a two-stage process: a panel review of an extended synopsis (Part B1, max 5 pages plus the 4-page CV and track record), followed by a full proposal (Part B2, max 7 pages) and a panel interview for shortlisted candidates. Overall success rates typically range from 10-15%, with Life Sciences panels usually the most competitive. The ERC specifically funds research that goes beyond the state of the art, incremental, hypothesis-confirming science rarely scores well. Panel feedback consistently identifies "high-risk / high-gain" framing and a single, sharp central question as the strongest predictors of success. A Starting Grant is widely seen as a career-defining award: it carries weight far beyond its monetary value because it certifies the recipient as an independent investigator capable of leading a frontier research programme, and it is a near-mandatory stepping stone for later ERC Consolidator and Advanced calls.
Key facts
- Career stage
- 2-7 years post-PhD
- Maximum budget
- €1.5M (+€1M start-up)
- Project duration
- 5 years
- Evaluation
- Two-stage (since 2024)
- Time to decision
- ~9-11 months
- Success rate
- 10-15% across all panels
Who is eligible?
- •2 to 7 years post-PhD at the call deadline (extensions possible for career breaks, parental leave, military service, clinical training, long-term illness)
- •Hosted at an institution in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe associated country
- •No nationality requirement, researchers of any citizenship are eligible
- •Must devote at least 50% of their total working time to the ERC project
- •Must demonstrate scientific independence (typically through at least one major publication without their PhD supervisor)
How to apply
1. Choose your panel
Select one of three domains (Life Sciences / Physical Sciences & Engineering / Social Sciences & Humanities) and one panel within it. Cross-panel proposals are allowed but rarely successful, panels score against their own disciplinary norms.
2. Confirm host institution support
Your host signs a commitment letter guaranteeing space, infrastructure, and the 50% time commitment. Start this early, some institutions require internal review weeks before the funder deadline.
3. Draft Part B1 (extended synopsis, ~5 pages)
Stage 1 evaluation reads only B1. It must convey the central question, ground-breaking nature, feasibility, and your independence in a tight 5-page format. This is the highest-leverage writing in the entire proposal.
4. Submit via the EU Funding & Tenders portal
Single submission window per year, no extensions. Portal closes at the deadline minute. Submit the full Part B1 + B2 + CV + track record at this stage; B2 is only reviewed for B1-passing proposals.
5. Stage 1 panel review (~4 months)
Remote panel reads B1. Scores A (invited to interview), B (proposal will not be funded this call but may reapply next year), or C (cannot reapply for 2 years).
6. Stage 2 interview (~9 months in)
Shortlisted candidates travel to Brussels for a 20-30 minute panel interview: 5-10 minute pitch followed by Q&A. Performance here drives the final decision more than the written proposal.
How proposals are evaluated
- •Ground-breaking nature of the research and potential impact
- •Scientific approach: feasibility, methodology, novelty beyond the state of the art
- •Track record commensurate with career stage (quality over quantity of publications)
- •Demonstrated scientific independence from the PhD supervisor
- •Feasibility of the work plan and resource justification within the 5-year window
- •Quality of the host environment (institutional support, infrastructure, intellectual fit)
Success rate by panel
- Overall (2024)
- ~14.2%, 494 grants from 3,474 submissions
- Allocation principle
- ERC budget-balances per panel to keep success rates similar across all domains; chasing a "softer" panel is not a viable strategy
- 2024 domain spread
- LS 14.7%, PE 14.5%, SH 13.4%, clustered within ~1pp of the overall mean
What sets winning proposals apart
- ✓Lead with one sharp question, not a research area. Panels reward "I will answer X" framing over "I will explore Y".
- ✓Make the high-risk element explicit. ERC funds research that could fail, proposals that read as safely incremental score poorly.
- ✓Use the first page of B1 to anchor the panel. Title, abstract, and opening paragraph decide whether they read the rest carefully.
- ✓Quantify feasibility. Pilot data, preliminary results, or published methods showing the core technique works mitigate the high-risk framing.
- ✓Get external feedback from a previous ERC winner in your panel. Insider perspective on what scores is worth more than generic grant-writing advice.
- ✓Practise the interview pitch out loud at least 10 times. 5 minutes goes fast, every word must earn its place.
Common reasons proposals are rejected
- ×Research described as "exploring" or "investigating" rather than answering a specific question
- ×Track record presented as a publication list rather than a narrative of independence
- ×Methodology section longer than the conceptual framing, panel reads "technician, not PI"
- ×Risk acknowledged in abstract but mitigated away in the work plan, panel reads "incremental"
- ×Host institution letter generic / boilerplate, not customised to the project
- ×Interview pitch tries to summarise the full proposal instead of leading with one striking finding
Open calls right now
Recent winners
See all past awardees →Predicting the Future of Island Biodiversity: Integrating Traits to Decipher Species Turnover Dynamics
MARTIN-LUTHER-UNIVERSITAT HALLE-WITTENBERG · DE · 2027
Simulating Other Minds in Autism
KAROLINSKA INSTITUTET · SE · 2027
Moduli spaces in low dimensions
UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW · UK · 2027
Systems-level investigation of the immune-reproductive crosstalk in humans
LUNDS UNIVERSITET · SE · 2027
Information flow in developmental cell fate patterning
UNIVERSITAT BASEL · CH · 2027
Live shopping as a participatory spectacle: The intersection of user practices, platform affordances and governance regimes in the repurposing of TikTok LIVE for e-commerce
Taylor Annabell · Utrecht University · NL · 2026
Data from OpenAlex and CORDIS. Request a correction.
Frequently asked questions
+When is the next ERC Starting Grant deadline?
The ERC Starting Grant typically has one call per year with a deadline in October or early November. The exact date is published in the annual ERC Work Programme. Check our live deadlines table or the ERC website for the current year's deadline.
+How competitive is the ERC Starting Grant?
Success rates vary by panel (Life Sciences, Physical Sciences & Engineering, Social Sciences & Humanities) and by year, but typically sit between 10% and 15% overall. Life Sciences panels are generally the most competitive, with success rates around 10-12% versus 13-15% in Physical Sciences & Engineering.
+Can I apply if I already hold a permanent position?
Yes. There is no restriction on employment status. What matters is time since PhD. Many Starting Grant winners are tenure-track assistant professors or independent group leaders who use the grant to establish their team.
+Can I apply with a co-PI?
No. ERC Starting Grants are strictly single-PI awards. The principal investigator must lead the project independently. Team members (PhD students, postdocs, technicians) are welcome but the PI holds the grant.
+What if I fail the first time, can I reapply?
Yes, but there are restrictions based on your Stage 1 score. "A" evaluations can resubmit the following year; "B" evaluations face a one-year cooldown; "C" evaluations face a two-year cooldown before they can reapply to any ERC call (Starting, Consolidator, or Advanced).
+How long does the ERC Starting Grant application take to write?
Realistically 3-6 months of focused work for a strong proposal. Most successful applicants start at least 6 months before the deadline: 2-3 months on the central idea and Part B1, 1-2 months on Part B2 detail, and the remainder on iteration with internal reviewers, host letter, and CV polishing.
+Can the €1.5M budget include my own salary?
Yes, your salary can be charged to the grant in proportion to your time commitment (minimum 50%, so up to 50% of your gross salary). The grant also covers team salaries (PhD students, postdocs), consumables, equipment under the €1.5M cap, travel, dissemination, and a flat 25% indirect-cost overhead.
+Does the host institution have to be in my home country?
No. You can choose any institution in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe associated country. Many applicants use the ERC Starting Grant to move to a stronger research environment. The host commitment letter and a real intellectual fit with the institution matter more than nationality.
+What counts as "ground-breaking" for the ERC panel?
Panel reviewers look for research that opens a new direction rather than refining an existing one. Indicators include: a question that could not have been asked 5 years ago, methods that combine fields in a novel way, results that, if successful, would force a textbook update. Proposals that promise marginal improvements on known methods score poorly even when the methodology is rigorous.
+How important is the interview?
Very. Among Stage-2 shortlisted candidates, interview performance is the largest single driver of final funding decisions. Panellists often arrive with the proposal in mind but the 5-minute pitch and Q&A reshape their final ranking. Strong written proposals have been rejected at interview; weaker written proposals have been funded after exceptional pitches.
Looking for proposal-writing advice?
Read the European Research Council writing guide →Related programmes
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Up to €2M for mid-career researchers 7-12 years post-PhD consolidating their independent research team.
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ERC Advanced Grant
Up to €2.5M for established research leaders with a 10-year track record of significant achievements.
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship
Monthly stipend of €6,350+ for postdocs (2026-2027 WP): 12-24 months in Europe (European Fellowship) or 24-36 months including a third-country secondment (Global Fellowship).
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