ERC Starting Grant
This call is closed for 2026.
ERC Starting Grants support outstanding early career researchers who are starting, or have recently started, their own independent research team or programme.
Who can apply
Applications are open to people from any nationality, and from any field of research.
For the 2027 call, you must:
- have defended your PhD no more than 10 years before 1 January 2027
- show strong potential for research independence, for example:
- at least one major publication as main author, or
- publications without the involvement of their PhD supervisor
- have a promising scientific track record and an excellent research proposal
Researchers can only be awarded one Starting Grant during their career. A researcher may participate as a Principal Investigator in only one ERC main frontier research grant at any given time.
PI time commitment
PIs are required to spend of 50% of their working time in an EU Member State (or Associated Country) and a minimum of 50% of their working time on their ERC project.
Funding available
Up to €1.5 million for 5 years (pro rata for shorter projects)
Additional funding available:
- Up to €1 million for eligible costs such as:
- Start‑up costs
- Major equipment
- Access to large facilities
- Major experimental or fieldwork costs
- Up to €2 million additional funding for PIs relocating from non‑associated third countries to the EU or an associated country
All additional funding requests must be clearly justified in the proposal.
Please note that for 2027 calls eligibility rules and resubmission restrictions are subject to change, please ensure you check up to date information for 2027 calls via the ERC website.