MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships: 2026 Closed, 2027 Opens 7 Apr

MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2027: Indicative Timeline

The European Commission’s 2027 call page indicates an overall provisional budget of €388.57 million, split between €330.28 million for European and €58.29 million for Global Fellowships. These are call budgets, not individual fellowship amounts.

European vs Global Postdoctoral Fellowships: Which Route Fits?

For research within the Euratom programme, additional nationality/long-term residence and eligible-beneficiary requirements apply; applicants should review those separately.

Eligibility: Doctorate, Eight Years of Experience and Exceptions

Doctoral qualification at the deadline

The candidate must hold a PhD or have successfully defended the doctoral thesis by the call deadline; the formal degree certificate may follow. This is a postdoctoral scheme, not a funded PhD position. Researchers of any age may apply if other conditions are satisfied.

Eight-year research-experience ceiling

Candidates generally may have no more than eight years of full-time-equivalent research experience from the PhD award date. The relevant calculation may exclude time spent outside research, career breaks and, for eligible EU/associated-country nationals or long-term residents reintegrating to Europe, specified research work undertaken in non-associated third countries.

Consequently, eight calendar years since the PhD and eight years of counted research experience are not always the same. Keep dated records of qualifying non-research employment, parental leave, medical interruptions, part-time work and applicable overseas research activity. Use the Commission’s official experience-calculation guidance and self-assessment tool for the individual case.

Nationality and eligible beneficiary

European Fellowships are open to all nationalities, while Global Fellowships restrict nationality or long-term-resident status. In both cases an eligible organisation in an EU Member State or associated country acts as the beneficiary and submits the proposal. Universities, public research institutes, companies and other qualifying entities can serve as beneficiaries.

The MSCA Mobility Rule, International Secondments and Placements

12 months during the 36 months before the deadline

Researchers must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) for more than 12 months in the relevant country during the 36 months immediately before the application deadline. For a European Fellowship, the relevant country is the beneficiary’s country. For a Global Fellowship, it is the country of the outgoing host organisation.

Decision example: A researcher proposing a host in Germany must count relevant time resident, studying or working in Germany during the reference 36 months. Merely changing laboratory or university within Germany does not reset the country-level mobility assessment. Special mobility rules and exemptions must be checked using the Work Programme.

Secondments during the fellowship

European and Global Fellows may participate in short-term secondments anywhere in the world where permitted by MSCA rules, with the restriction that the mandatory Global Fellowship European return phase does not allow such secondments. The 2027 Work Programme and host arrangements govern the duration and implementation of secondments.

Optional six-month non-academic placement

A separate, optional non-academic placement of up to six months may follow the main fellowship at an eligible non-academic organisation in an EU Member State or associated country. This is an additional training opportunity, not a mandatory component or unrestricted extension of research time. The beneficiary and placement host must follow the call’s rules.

MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2027: Financial Contributions Explained

The adopted MSCA Work Programme 2026–27 specifies the following EU contributions per person-month for Postdoctoral Fellowships.

Applicants should ask the host human-resources and grants offices for the anticipated gross employment package, applicable deductions, family allowance eligibility and indicative net salary for their host country. Actual remuneration cannot be confirmed solely from the EU unit-cost table.

2027 Application Documents: What to Prepare Now

As of 11 November 2026, the European Research Executive Agency has not yet published the final 2027 Postdoctoral Fellowships Guide for Applicants or the 2027 submission template. The previous 2026 application used administrative forms and two separate scientific Part B files. This is useful for early planning, but 2027 rules and formatting must be checked again after the call opens.

Do not assume generic transcripts, personal statements, two recommendation letters or formal interviews are universally required for MSCA-PF submission. The official call-specific proposal forms and any host-internal procedures control what documents are needed.

The 2027 call’s final application documents should be accessed through the European Research Executive Agency applicant resources and the linked EU Funding & Tenders submission portal when released.

Proposal Evaluation, Resubmission Restrictions and Seal of Excellence

MSCA-PF proposals are assessed for scientific and training excellence, expected impact on the researcher’s career and wider dissemination, and the quality and efficiency of implementation. An application should describe a coherent project, researcher–host skills complementarity, credible supervision, a training plan, research quality, open-science practices and suitable management of risks.

New resubmission restriction from the 2026 call

Well-rated proposals that cannot be funded because of budget limitations may receive a Seal of Excellence if they score 85% or higher and meet the scheme’s conditions. A Seal of Excellence is recognition of a proposal’s assessment, not an EU grant or an assurance of other funding.

Step-by-Step 2027 Preparation for Researchers and Hosts

1. Select the correct route. Check European versus Global Fellowship nationality, long-term-residency, host-country and duration requirements.
2. Confirm the PhD and eight-year research-experience calculation. Document career breaks, non-research periods and qualifying reintegration exceptions.
3. Audit 36-month mobility history. Count residence, work and studies in the relevant beneficiary or outgoing-host country.
4. Identify a suitable supervisor and beneficiary. Research institutes and companies can be hosts when eligible; discuss research infrastructure, training, mentoring and employment.
5. Develop the project jointly. Establish the research question, novelty, skills transfer, training programme, secondment/placement rationale, impact and management plan.
6. Assess resubmission history. If the same researcher and organisations submitted in 2026, check the score and 2027 restriction before proceeding.
7. Model the financial package. Ask the host to apply the relevant country correction coefficient and clarify employment, allowances and institutional funding.
8. Draft the scientific narrative. Use the 2026 Part B structure for preparation only; update all content to the final 2027 template when issued.
9. Submit through the beneficiary. The eligible host organisation is responsible for submission via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal, in coordination with the researcher, after the call opens.
10. Validate ahead of the deadline. Check portal fields, annexes, institutional approval and the final 8 September 2027, 17:00 CEST deadline once confirmed.