ERC Starting Grant 2027: €1.5M Funding, Eligibility & Deadline

ERC Starting Grant 2027 at a Glance

Who Is Eligible for ERC Starting Grant 2027?

The ERC Starting Grant is open to researchers of any nationality. For the 2027 call, applicants may have up to 10 years of experience since completion of the PhD. ERC guidance states that the Starting Grant window now begins immediately after the successful PhD defence and extends through the following ten-year period.

The ERC uses the certified date of the successful PhD defence as the reference point. Where an institution does not organise a defence or viva, applicants should follow the ERC documentation requirements for confirming the date on which the PhD was approved.

Eligibility extensions

The eligibility period may be extended in duly documented cases. ERC guidance identifies grounds including maternity, paternity or parental leave, illness, national service, clinical training, natural disasters, asylum, and being a victim of gender-based violence or another form of violence.

How Much Funding Is Available?

An ERC Starting Grant may provide up to €1.5 million for up to five years. Projects of shorter duration receive a proportionate maximum.

Applicants may request up to €1 million in additional funding for eligible major costs that are necessary to carry out the proposed work and are properly justified in the proposal.

Principal Investigators who are currently based in a non-associated third country and relocate to an EU Member State or associated country to take up the ERC grant may request up to €2 million in additional funding, subject to the ERC rules and justification requirements.

ERC funding can cover up to 100% of eligible direct costs, plus a contribution of 25% of eligible direct costs toward indirect costs, in accordance with the Horizon Europe funding framework.

What can the grant support?

Depending on the approved budget, ERC funding may support the Principal Investigator’s research team, personnel, equipment, consumables, travel, access to facilities and other eligible costs required to deliver the frontier-research project.

Host Institution Requirements

The proposed research must be carried out at an eligible public or private research organisation in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe associated country. The host institution can be the applicant’s current institution or a different eligible organisation.

The host must provide conditions that allow the Principal Investigator to lead the research independently and manage the ERC funding. The applicant does not have to be employed by the host institution at the time the proposal is submitted, but the applicant and host must have the necessary mutual commitment if the proposal is funded.

ERC grants are centred on a single Principal Investigator, while team members can be of any nationality. Where scientifically justified, individual team members may also be based outside Europe.

ERC Starting Grant 2027 Proposal Structure

The ERC proposal structure introduced for the 2026 calls continues into the 2027 competition. The scientific proposal is divided into two complementary parts.

The two sections should be complementary rather than repetitive. Part I needs to communicate the ambition and intellectual case clearly enough for a broader panel assessment, while Part II provides the detailed implementation and feasibility case.

Important 2027 Application and Resubmission Rules

The 2027 Work Programme introduces application-volume restrictions that applicants should check before investing substantial time in a proposal.

• An applicant may have only one ERC proposal under evaluation at any given time, except for Proof of Concept calls.
• An applicant may submit only one proposal under the ERC Work Programme 2027, unless the first submission is declared ineligible.
• A researcher may receive the Starting Grant only once during their career.
• Applicants who received a C score at Step 1 in a 2025 or 2026 Starting, Consolidator or Advanced Grant call are not eligible for the 2027 Starting/Consolidator/Advanced calls under the current resubmission rules.
• Applicants who received a B score at Step 1 in a 2026 Starting, Consolidator or Advanced Grant call are likewise not eligible for the corresponding 2027 main-grant calls under those rules.

How ERC Proposals Are Evaluated

ERC proposals are evaluated by international peer reviewers on the basis of excellence as the sole criterion, applied jointly to the research project and the Principal Investigator.

At Step 1, reviewers assess Part I of the scientific proposal together with the PI’s CV and track record. The emphasis is on the ambition and potential of the research idea to advance knowledge.

At Step 2, reviewers assess the complete proposal, including Part II, methodology, feasibility, implementation, resources and the material already considered at Step 1. Starting Grant candidates progressing to Step 2 are normally invited to interview.

How to Apply for ERC Starting Grant 2027

1. Confirm eligibility. Check your certified PhD defence date, any permitted extensions and any resubmission restrictions.
2. Select an eligible host institution. The host must be located in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe associated country and support the PI’s independence.
3. Choose the appropriate ERC panel. ERC panels cover Life Sciences, Physical Sciences and Engineering, and Social Sciences and Humanities.
4. Read the 2027 call documents. Use the formal Work Programme, Information for Applicants and Funding & Tenders Portal call page.
5. Prepare Part I. Build a concise, compelling scientific case around the central question, ambition, objectives and overall strategy.
6. Prepare Part II. Detail methodology, work plan, risk management and implementation without unnecessarily repeating Part I.
7. Complete the administrative and supplementary material. This includes the required forms, PI information, budget/resources and host-institution documentation specified in the call.
8. Submit through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. Submit before 14 October 2026. ERC guidance recommends submitting early; a newer version can replace an earlier submission before the deadline.

Pre-Submission Checklist

• PhD defence date and eligibility window verified against the 2027 Work Programme
• Any eligibility extension documented
• Previous ERC submissions checked for resubmission restrictions
• Eligible host institution confirmed
• Host commitment requirements completed
• Correct evaluation panel selected
• Part I within the five-page limit
• Part II within the seven-page limit
• Budget and additional-funding requests fully justified
• Ethics issues identified and addressed where relevant
• All administrative forms and supplementary documents completed
• Final proposal uploaded before the portal deadline

Indicative ERC Starting Grant 2027 Evaluation Timeline

The ERC has published the following preliminary evaluation timetable. The dates are indicative and may change.

How to Position a Strong ERC Starting Grant Proposal

ERC funding is investigator-driven and bottom-up: there are no predetermined thematic priorities. The proposal therefore needs to establish why the research question is important, why the proposed approach can advance the field materially, and why the PI has the intellectual capacity to lead the programme.

A useful drafting discipline is to separate scientific ambition from implementation detail. Part I must make the project intellectually compelling without becoming overloaded with feasibility material, while Part II must demonstrate that the project can be executed rigorously.

Applicants should also avoid treating publication count as a substitute for research quality. ERC evaluation considers the PI’s record in the context of career stage and the proposal’s scientific excellence.