Education & Research opportunities

Education and research opportunities span several career stages. PhD studentships and funded doctoral positions are stipend-supported places, often attached to a project or doctoral network. Postdoctoral and research-assistant posts are usually fixed-term jobs inside a research group. Research fellowships let a researcher run their own project, often with a host organisation, while lecturing roles and project or mobility grants complete the picture. EURAXESS lists job offers, funding and hosting positions, filtered by career stage.

Funded doctoral positions are advertised by the projects themselves, and candidates apply to the institution or project, not the funder. MSCA Doctoral Networks recruit candidates without a doctorate, of any nationality, while MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships need a PhD, allow up to eight years of research experience, and are submitted by a host organisation with the researcher. Both apply a mobility rule: generally no more than 12 months in the host country in the previous 36. A typical application contains a CV, research statement or proposal, transcripts and references, though each advert lists its own requirements.

Funded calls have fixed deadlines, and fellowships need a host organisation lined up in advance, so preparation often starts months earlier. Common mistakes include applying to the funder when the advert says to apply to the institution, sending a generic research statement, and overlooking the mobility rule. Details change with each call, so the current call text should be read first.