You want to do a PhD in Europe, but the usual funding search keeps hitting the same wall. Most scholarships assume you’re an undergraduate applying to a program, and doctoral research funding often feels scattered, underpaid, or tied to a single university with limited resources.
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions work differently. They fund real employment contracts for doctoral researchers, with a salary structure built around genuine cost-of-living support rather than a token stipend.
Here’s the complete picture, including a structural detail that trips up almost every first-time applicant.
Important Structural Correction: This Isn’t a Scholarship You “Apply For” Directly
Most funding guides describe MSCA as if you fill out one application and wait for a decision. That’s not how it actually works, and misunderstanding this costs people real time.
MSCA Doctoral Networks (DN) grants are awarded to institutions and consortia, not individuals. Universities, research institutes, and companies apply together for network funding through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. As an individual PhD candidate, you don’t submit a proposal to Brussels — you apply to a specific, already-funded PhD position once one opens.
Those individual positions get posted as vacancies on the EURAXESS portal, updated daily, once a network has secured its grant and started recruiting. Understanding this distinction changes your entire strategy — you’re not writing a research proposal from scratch; you’re applying to join research that’s already been designed and funded.
Where Things Stand Right Now: The 2026 Call Timeline
The current MSCA Doctoral Networks 2026 call for institutional proposals runs from 28 May 2026 to 24 November 2026. Universities and consortia are actively assembling their applications during this window.
If a consortium submitting now succeeds, individual PhD vacancies from their project typically start appearing on EURAXESS roughly six to nine months after the call closes — realistically sometime in mid-to-late 2027. If you’re planning your PhD search around this call, that timeline matters for setting expectations.
In the meantime, plenty of vacancies from previously funded networks are posted continuously, so checking EURAXESS regularly right now is still worthwhile regardless of this specific call’s timeline.
What Exactly Are MSCA Doctoral Networks?
Doctoral Networks — previously known as Innovative Training Networks — bring together at least three independent organizations from three different EU member states or Horizon Europe associated countries to jointly train doctoral candidates.
The goal is deliberately broader than a standard PhD. You’re trained across institutional and often sectoral boundaries, gaining exposure to both academic and non-academic research environments depending on the specific network structure.
The Different Network Types
- Standard Doctoral Networks: The core model, open to all research areas
- Industrial Doctorates: Require at least 50% of your training to happen outside academia, typically involving a company partner directly
- Joint Doctorates: Lead to joint, double, or multiple doctoral degrees issued by at least two participating institutions, with fellowships lasting up to 48 months instead of the standard 36
Who Can Actually Apply? Full Eligibility Breakdown
The Core Eligibility Rule: No Prior Doctoral Degree
You must not already hold a doctoral degree at the time you’re recruited. That’s the primary academic threshold — there’s no separate grade requirement dictated centrally, though individual recruiting institutions typically set their own academic standards for each vacancy.
No Age Limit — A Common Misconception
Unlike many “early-career” funding schemes, MSCA doesn’t impose an age cap. The defining criterion is your doctoral status, not your birth year. If you haven’t yet been awarded a PhD, you’re eligible regardless of how long ago you finished your master’s.
The Mobility Rule
This is the requirement most applicants misunderstand or overlook entirely. You must not have resided or carried out your main activity — work, study, or otherwise — in the country of the recruiting organization for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before your recruitment date.
In plain terms: if you’ve spent the last three years living and working in Germany, you generally can’t take an MSCA Doctoral Network position at a German institution. You’d need to look at positions in other participating countries instead.
Open to All Nationalities
There’s no nationality restriction for Doctoral Networks specifically. Researchers from anywhere in the world can apply, as long as they satisfy the mobility rule relative to their specific target country.
Enrollment Requirement
You need to be enrolled, or become enrolled shortly after recruitment, in a formal doctoral program at a degree-awarding institution within the network.
The Financial Package: Exact Numbers
This is where MSCA genuinely stands apart from typical PhD funding, because you’re employed under a real contract rather than paid a symbolic stipend.
Living Allowance
Under the current MSCA 2026 call, the base living allowance is EUR 4,250 per person-month, up from EUR 4,010 in the previous cycle. This is a gross figure before country-specific adjustments and mandatory deductions.
This amount is multiplied by a country correction coefficient, which adjusts for the different cost of living across host countries. A position in a higher cost-of-living country will carry a higher multiplier than one in a lower cost-of-living country.
What “Gross” Actually Means Here
The living allowance covers your employer’s cost of employing you — it isn’t your literal take-home pay. Compulsory social security contributions, income tax, and other legally required deductions come out of this figure according to the host country’s national rules, so your actual net salary will be noticeably lower than the headline number.
Mobility Allowance
A separate monthly mobility allowance of EUR 600 is provided specifically to help cover the personal costs of relocating — think travel and initial accommodation setup — distinct from any professional or research-related travel funding.
Family Allowance
If you have a spouse, registered partner, or dependent children at the time of recruitment, you’re eligible for an additional monthly family allowance of EUR 660, paid on top of the living and mobility allowances.
Long-Term Leave and Special Needs Allowances
If applicable, additional allowances exist to cover extended leave situations, such as parental or long-term sick leave, and to support researchers with disabilities who face increased costs related to their mobility or work environment.
What This Doesn’t Include
There’s no separate line item for tuition — since you’re formally employed rather than a fee-paying student in most arrangements, tuition costs are typically handled as part of the network’s institutional budget rather than charged to you directly. Confirm this specifically with your target institution, since exact arrangements vary by university and country.
Step-by-Step Application Walkthrough (For Individual PhD Candidates)
Step 1: Understand That You’re Applying to a Position, Not a Program
Reframe your search entirely. You’re job-hunting for a specific, funded PhD position within an active research network, not submitting a general scholarship application.
Step 2: Monitor EURAXESS Consistently
Set up regular searches on the EURAXESS portal, filtering by your research field and target countries. New vacancies get posted daily, and strong positions can fill quickly once advertised.
Step 3: Check the Mobility Rule Before You Get Attached to a Position
Before investing time in an application, confirm you satisfy the 12-in-36-month mobility rule relative to the host country. This single detail disqualifies more otherwise-strong candidates than any other requirement.
Step 4: Research the Specific Network and Supervisor
Each Doctoral Network has its own consortium, research theme, and named supervisors across partner institutions. Read the actual project description closely — generic PhD applications rarely succeed against candidates who clearly understand the specific research trajectory.
Step 5: Prepare Tailored Application Materials
Adjust your CV and motivation letter for each specific vacancy rather than reusing one generic version across multiple applications. Panels reviewing MSCA vacancies can tell immediately when a letter wasn’t written for their particular project.
Step 6: Submit Directly to the Recruiting Institution
Applications go directly to the institution advertising the vacancy, following whatever process they specify — this varies by university and isn’t standardized through a central EU portal for individual applicants.
Step 7: Interview Process
Shortlisted candidates typically go through an interview, sometimes involving multiple supervisors from different partner institutions if the position involves joint supervision or planned secondments.
Step 8: Contract and Mobility Declaration
Once selected, you’ll sign an employment contract with the recruiting institution, and your mobility eligibility gets formally documented through a mobility declaration within a set window after recruitment.
Required Document Checklist
- Academic transcripts from your bachelor’s and master’s degrees
- CV, tailored to the specific research area and network
- Motivation letter, addressing the specific project rather than MSCA generically
- Proof of master’s degree completion (or equivalent qualifying degree)
- Language proficiency evidence, matching the host institution’s requirements
- Contact details for academic references
- Proof of your work and residency history, to help confirm mobility rule compliance
Insider Application Strategy: Pitching Supervisors Within an MSCA Network
Read the Full Project Description, Not Just the Title
Doctoral Network vacancies often include a detailed research plan already. Reference specific elements of that plan in your motivation letter — the methodology, the secondment structure, the named partner institutions — to show you’ve actually engaged with the material rather than mass-applying.
Connect Your Existing Research Experience to the Network’s Broader Goals
Because Doctoral Networks train researchers across institutional and sectoral lines, emphasize any experience you have working across disciplines, sectors, or countries, even informally. This maps directly onto what the funding model is designed to develop.
Address the Mobility Angle Directly in Your Letter
Since mobility is central to the entire MSCA framework, briefly explain your own international or cross-sector background and why this specific move fits your development as a researcher — not just why you want funding.
Contact the Named Supervisor Before Applying, When Appropriate
Many vacancy postings list a specific academic contact. A short, specific email referencing their published research and connecting it to your background can put your name in their mind before your formal application even lands.
Don’t Apply to Every Vacancy in Your General Field
Because applications require real tailoring, spreading yourself across a dozen loosely related vacancies usually produces weaker material than focusing seriously on three or four genuinely well-matched positions.
Common Mistakes That Cost Strong Candidates a Position
- Overlooking the mobility rule and applying to positions you’re structurally ineligible for
- Treating MSCA as a single application rather than a series of individual job applications to specific vacancies
- Submitting a generic PhD application letter that doesn’t reference the specific project or network
- Missing that Doctoral Networks fund an entire consortium, not one university, which affects your expected mobility and secondments
- Assuming there’s an age limit and self-selecting out of eligible positions unnecessarily
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I apply for MSCA funding directly through the EU? No. Institutions and consortia apply for the grant funding. You apply directly to individual, already-funded PhD vacancies posted on EURAXESS once a network starts recruiting.
Is there an age limit for MSCA Doctoral Networks? No. Eligibility is based on not yet holding a doctoral degree, not on age, which differs from many other early-career funding schemes.
How much will I actually take home each month? The base living allowance is EUR 4,250 per month before country adjustment and mandatory deductions, so your actual net pay depends heavily on the host country’s tax and social security system.
What exactly is the mobility rule, in plain terms? You generally can’t take a position in a country where you’ve lived or worked for more than 12 of the last 36 months, since the program is built around genuine international mobility.
Where do I actually find open positions? The EURAXESS portal is updated daily with new PhD vacancies from funded MSCA Doctoral Networks — this is your primary search tool, not the EU Funding & Tenders Portal.
Can I apply if I already started a PhD elsewhere? Generally no, since the core requirement is not yet holding a doctoral degree at the point of recruitment, and most positions expect you to formally enroll in the network’s doctoral program as part of the role.
Where to Go From Here
Set up your EURAXESS search filters today, and treat every strong match as its own dedicated application rather than a copy-paste exercise. The mobility rule and the specific project fit matter more here than in almost any other funding scheme you’ll encounter.
Real positions are posted continuously, independent of any single call’s timeline, so consistency in your search matters more than trying to time one particular funding round.
Unit cost figures, mobility rules, and call timelines are reviewed annually under the Horizon Europe Work Programme. Always confirm current amounts and open vacancies directly on the official MSCA website and EURAXESS portal before finalizing your application plans.
