MSCA Doctoral Networks 2025

The MSCA Doctoral Networks 2025 is a funding opportunity under the Horizon Europe program, aiming to implement doctoral training programs through partnerships between various organizations, including universities, research institutions, businesses (including SMEs), and socio-economic actors. The program encourages international collaboration by allowing participation from organizations in EU member states, associated countries, and third countries.

Eligible applicants include universities, research institutes, research infrastructures, businesses, and other socio-economic entities. A consortium of at least three independent entities from different countries is required for application. The funding type is a grant, with a total budget of approximately €597.8 million, offering financial support for doctoral candidates' salaries, research costs, and training expenses.

The call sets a single-stage application process with a submission deadline of November 25, 2025. It supports interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral doctoral programs, focusing on research and innovation (R&I) across various sectors. The objective is to enhance the training quality, employability of doctoral candidates, and foster cooperation between academic and non-academic sectors.

The expected outcomes include improved capacity for research and innovation, increased international collaboration, and enhanced training experiences for participants. Emphasis is placed on developing transferable skills, mentoring, and establishing significant training modules that address various competencies, including digital skills.

Success rates from the previous year indicate competitiveness, with around 10.6% of applications being successful. Co-funding is not required for this specific program but may apply to other related actions.

Overall, the MSCA Doctoral Networks promotes strategic partnerships across borders, providing substantial funding for doctoral education while ultimately aiming to boost Europe's research capabilities and the mobility of researchers. The initiative emphasizes the dual goal of creating new knowledge and enhancing the employability and career prospects of doctoral candidates in a global context.

The HORIZON-MSCA-2025-DN-01-01 call, under the Horizon Europe program, focuses on MSCA Doctoral Networks (DN) for 2025. The call aims to implement doctoral programs through partnerships involving universities, research institutions, research infrastructures, businesses (including SMEs), and other socio-economic actors from Europe and beyond. Organizations from third countries can participate to foster strategic international partnerships. The doctoral programs should address specific R&I needs, expose researchers to both academic and non-academic sectors, and provide training in research-related and transferable skills. Industrial and Joint Doctorates are encouraged.

The call includes three types of actions: HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-DN-JD (Joint Doctorates), HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-DN (Doctoral Networks), and HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-DN-ID (Industrial Doctorates). All actions are funded via HORIZON Unit Grants and are currently open for submission. The deadline for all types of actions is November 25, 2025, at 17:00:00 Brussels time. The call is a single-stage application process. The total budget for the call is 597,803,810 EUR.

Expected outcomes for supported doctoral candidates include new research and transferable skills, improved employability, new knowledge for converting ideas into products and services, and enhanced networking and communication capacities. For participating organizations, expected outcomes include improved doctoral training programs, enhanced cooperation and knowledge transfer, increased integration of training and research activities, boosted R&I capacity, increased internationalization and attractiveness, and regular feedback of research results into teaching and education.

Key aspects of the scope include: open, transparent, and merit-based selection procedures for doctoral candidates; encouragement of Industrial and Joint Doctorates; establishment of a supervisory board for each network; exploitation of complementarities between participating organizations; inter-sectoral secondments; and development of substantial training modules, including digital ones, addressing key transferable skills and competences. Supervision quality and mentoring arrangements are emphasized, and a Career Development Plan must be established jointly by the supervisor and each doctoral candidate.

Admissibility conditions are described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes. Eligible countries are described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes, with specific provisions for non-EU/non-Associated Countries. Other eligibility conditions are described in the MSCA part of the Work Programme. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion criteria are described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes. Legal and financial setup of the grants are described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes, with exceptions and specific conditions in the MSCA part of the Work Programme. Specific conditions are described in the MSCA part of the Work Programme.

A Call Information Event took place on June 24, 2025, with recordings, slides, and FAQs available online. Call documents include the standard application form (available in the Submission System), the HE MSCA DN Guide for Applicants, and additional documents such as the Horizon Europe Main Work Programme, the Programme Guide, the Framework Programme and Rules for Participation Regulation, the Specific Programme Decision, the EU Financial Regulation, and the EU Grants AGA.

There are 11 partner search announcements available. LEARs, Account Administrators, and self-registrants can publish partner requests.

The call aims to strengthen Europe's human capital base in R&I, improve the attractiveness of researchers’ careers, enhance talent and knowledge circulation, increase Europe's attractiveness as a research destination, enhance the quality of R&I, establish sustainable collaboration between academic and non-academic organizations, and foster a culture of open science, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

In summary, this MSCA Doctoral Networks call under Horizon Europe provides funding for collaborative doctoral programs that train creative, entrepreneurial, and innovative researchers. These networks should be partnerships between universities, research institutions, and businesses, offering international, inter-sectoral, and interdisciplinary training opportunities. The goal is to enhance the career prospects of doctoral candidates and boost Europe's R&I capacity. The call encourages Industrial and Joint Doctorates and emphasizes the importance of high-quality supervision, training, and career development plans. A significant budget is allocated to support these networks, and the call is open to organizations from both EU and non-EU countries. The call seeks to address well-identified needs in various R&I areas and equip researchers with the skills and competences necessary to convert knowledge and ideas into products and services for economic and social benefit.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types for this opportunity are universities, research institutions, research infrastructures, businesses including SMEs, and other socio-economic actors. The program targets partnerships of these entities, indicating that consortia are favored.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Unit Grant, as indicated by the type of Model Grant Agreement (MGA).

Consortium Requirement: This opportunity requires a consortium. MSCA Doctoral Networks are implemented by partnerships, not single entities.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility includes countries within Europe and beyond, as the call is open to organizations from third countries. This suggests an international scope, including EU member states, associated countries, and potentially other countries depending on specific provisions in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

Target Sector: This program targets all R&I areas, as the doctoral programs should respond to well-identified needs in various R&I areas. This encompasses a wide range of sectors, including but not limited to science, technology, engineering, mathematics, social sciences, and humanities.

Mentioned Countries: The opportunity mentions EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries as locations where academic and non-academic organizations can be established for Industrial Doctorates. It also refers to "third countries" generally, indicating that organizations from outside the EU and associated countries can participate.

Project Stage: The expected maturity of the project is at the research and development stage, specifically focused on doctoral training. The program supports the implementation of doctoral programs, suggesting projects should be at a stage where doctoral candidates can engage in original research.

Funding Amount: The total budget for the topic HORIZON-MSCA-2025-DN-01-01 is 597,803,810 EUR. The indicative number of grants is not specified, so the funding amount per project is variable.

Application Type: The application type is an open call, as indicated by the "Open For Submission" status. The call is a single-stage application process.

Nature of Support: The beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a grant to support the doctoral programs, including funding for doctoral candidates and participating organizations.

Application Stages: The application process consists of a single stage, as indicated by the "single-stage" deadline model.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly mentioned in the provided text.

Co-funding Requirement: The text does not explicitly state whether co-funding is required.

Summary:

The HORIZON-MSCA-2025-DN-01 call, under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Doctoral Networks, is a funding opportunity within the Horizon Europe program. It aims to implement doctoral programs through partnerships of universities, research institutions, businesses (including SMEs), and other socio-economic actors from Europe and beyond. The call encourages strategic international partnerships for training and exchanging researchers. The doctoral programs should address needs in various R&I areas, expose researchers to both academic and non-academic sectors, and provide training in research-related and transferable skills. The call encourages Industrial and Joint Doctorates, emphasizing inter-sectoral and multi/interdisciplinary collaboration. The projects should focus on developing new scientific knowledge through original research, with attention to supervision quality, career development plans, and open science practices. The expected outcomes include enhanced employability for doctoral candidates, improved quality and sustainability of doctoral training programs, increased cooperation between sectors, and boosted R&I capacity. The call is open to consortia of eligible organizations, with a single-stage application process and a deadline of November 25, 2025. The total budget is 597,803,810 EUR, and the funding is provided as a unit grant.