Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Networks are a European Commission funding instrument under Horizon Europe that pays partnerships of universities, research institutions, businesses and other organisations across Europe and beyond to run structured doctoral training programmes and to employ the PhD researchers who take part in them as staff. A prospective doctoral candidate does not apply to the European Commission for a grant; instead, once a Doctoral Network project has been awarded funding, the recruiting universities or organisations advertise specific, funded PhD positions on the EURAXESS portal, and candidates apply directly for those positions the same way they would for a job. Funded researchers can be of any nationality, but must satisfy the programme's mobility rule: at the time of recruitment, they must not have resided or carried out their main activity in the country of the recruiting organisation for more than 12 months during the 36 months immediately before recruitment, and they must not already hold a doctoral degree. Financial support, paid as salary by the employing institution according to European Commission rates that are the same across the EU, includes a living allowance and a mobility allowance, plus family, long-term leave and special needs allowances where they apply; a separate part of the project's funding covers research costs, training, networking, management and institutional overheads rather than going to the researcher directly. A Doctoral Network project can run for up to four years, or five for Joint Doctorates, and an individual researcher's own funded fellowship within it typically lasts between 3 and 36 months, or up to 48 months for Joint Doctorates. The 2026 call inviting institutions to submit new Doctoral Network project proposals opened 28 May 2026 and closed 24 November 2026; a Bangladeshi student interested in this route should instead search EURAXESS directly for already-funded, currently advertised PhD vacancies rather than waiting for this institutional call.
Eu scholarship by European Commission (Horizon Europe, Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions)
Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Networks 2026: Deadline, Eligibility, Benefits
Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Networks fund consortia of universities and other organisations across Europe and beyond to run structured PhD programmes and employ doctoral researchers of any nationality as staff, with a standard EU-wide salary and mobility allowance. There is no nationality restriction, but researchers must not have lived or worked in the host country for more than 12 of the last 36 months. Individual candidates apply to specific advertised PhD positions on EURAXESS, not to the European Commission itself; the 2026 call for institutions to propose projects closed 24 November 2026.
Last verified 7 September 2026. Sources · Official page