MSCA Doctoral Networks 2027

MSCA Doctoral Networks 2027 HORIZON-MSCA is a Horizon Europe call funding international, intersectoral doctoral training networks in three modalities: Standard Doctoral Networks, Industrial Doctorates and Joint Doctorates. The call has an indicative budget of €574,616,274 and uses a unit grant model based on eligible researcher person-months and institutional contributions. Eligible applicants are consortia of at least three independent legal entities from three different EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries and proposals must be submitted via the EU Funding and Tenders Portal by 23 November 2027 at 17:00 Brussels time.

MSCA Doctoral Networks 2027 — Call overview

What it funds

Supports multi‑partner doctoral training programmes (Doctoral Networks) implemented by consortia of universities, research institutions, research infrastructures, businesses including SMEs, and other socio‑economic actors. Programmes must deliver high‑quality research training, transferable skills, inter‑/multi‑disciplinary and inter‑sectoral exposure, and open, merit‑based recruitment of doctoral candidates. Industrial and Joint Doctorates are encouraged.

Who can apply

Lead applicants are consortia of eligible organisations established in EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries (universities, research organisations, research infrastructures, businesses/SMEs). Associated partners (including third‑country organisations) may participate and host/train candidates; participation of third‑country organisations is allowed where justified. Doctoral candidates are recruited by the consortium under transparent, merit‑based procedures.

Funding available:Indicative call budget €574,616,274 (2027). Individual grant amounts depend on person‑months requested and applicable unit contributions; institutional and researcher allowances are paid as unit contributions. See call documentation for unit rates and country correction coefficients ¹.

1. 1Project type: single‑stage action grants (MSCA Doctoral Networks, incl. Industrial and Joint Doctorates).
2. 2Eligible applicants: partnerships (consortia) of academic and non‑academic organisations; single institutions cannot apply alone.
3. 3Key beneficiary obligations: open transparent recruitment on EURAXESS, full employment (or justified fixed‑amount fellowship with social cover), quality supervision, career development plans, secondments and training activities.
4. 4Eligible recruits: doctoral candidates (not already holding a doctoral degree); mobility rules and minimum/maximum durations apply (see call).

Apply using the Funding & Tenders Portal submission system. Proposals must follow the MSCA application templates and Part B limits; evaluation follows MSCA award criteria (Excellence, Impact, Implementation). For deadlines, unit rates, eligibility details and mandatory documentation consult the official call and Guide for Applicants MSCA Doctoral Networks call page. ¹

Footnotes

1. 1Call documentation, unit contributions, country correction coefficients and the Guide for Applicants are available on the Funding & Tenders Portal MSCA Doctoral Networks 2027 topic page Call page.

MSCA Doctoral Networks 2027 — Funding Opportunity Overview

The MSCA Doctoral Networks 2027 call HORIZON-MSCA under Horizon Europe supports international, intersectoral and interdisciplinary doctoral training programmes. The action funds three modalities: Standard Doctoral Networks (DN), Industrial Doctorates (DN-ID), and Joint Doctorates (DN-JD). The call is fully bottom-up (all research and innovation fields) and aims to equip doctoral candidates with excellent research and transferable skills, strengthen collaboration between academia and non-academic sectors, and enhance Europe’s attractiveness for research.

Call identifier and modalities:HORIZON-MSCA; modalities funded: HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-DN (Doctoral Networks), HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-DN-ID (Industrial Doctorates), HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-DN-JD (Joint Doctorates).

Status, opening and deadline:Forthcoming. Planned opening: 26 May 2027. Single-stage submission. Deadline: 23 November 2027, 17:00:00 Brussels time.

Total indicative budget (2027):€574,616,274 for the overall MSCA Doctoral Networks 2027 call across DN, DN-ID and DN-JD.

Official topic page and submission are available via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal: MSCA Doctoral Networks 2027 topic.

Scope and Expected Outcomes

Scope: Partnerships of universities, research institutions and research infrastructures, businesses including SMEs, and other socio-economic actors from different countries across Europe and beyond implement doctoral programmes. Participation of organisations from third countries is open to foster strategic international partnerships. Programmes respond to well-identified needs in various R&I areas; expose researchers to academic and non-academic environments; and provide training in research-related and transferable skills (e.g. entrepreneurship, IP management, communication).

Expected outcomes for doctoral candidates: acquisition of new research and transferable skills; improved employability within and beyond academia; generation of new knowledge enabling conversion of ideas into products and services; strengthened networking and communication capacities with peers and the general public.

Expected outcomes for participating organisations: improved quality, relevance and sustainability of doctoral training and supervision; enhanced cross-sector and cross-disciplinary knowledge transfer; stronger integration of training and research activities; boosted R&I capacity; increased internationalisation and attractiveness; regular feedback of research results into teaching and education.

Modalities and Key Features

Standard Doctoral Networks (DN)

Supports multi-partner doctoral programmes delivering original research training, structured network-wide training events and transferable skills modules. Inter-sectoral secondments are encouraged, including to third countries when relevant.

Industrial Doctorates (DN-ID)

Doctoral candidates are jointly supervised by academic and non-academic organisations to develop skills in industry and business. Both supervising organisations can be established in the same EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country. Joint supervision is mandatory.

Joint Doctorates (DN-JD)

Highly integrated international, inter-sectoral and multi/interdisciplinary collaboration leading to joint, double or multiple doctoral degrees recognised in at least one EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country. Joint supervision is mandatory.

Training, Supervision and Governance

• Supervisory Board: Required to coordinate training, research, supervision activities; promote continuous communication and best-practice exchange; align with MSCA Supervision Guidelines.
• Training activities: Network-wide events such as workshops and conferences; modules on transferable skills common to all fields (including digital skills, e.g. generative AI); fostering Open Science, FAIR data management, knowledge valorisation, research integrity, entrepreneurship when applicable; preparation for collaborative, technology-enabled research.
• Secondments: Inter-sectoral secondments within the network, including in third countries, encouraged when aligned with objectives and beneficial to the candidate’s employability.
• Career Development Plan: Established at recruitment by the supervisor and each doctoral candidate; covers research goals, training and career needs (transferable skills, teaching, publications, conferences and public engagement); reviewed and updated within 18 months.
• Recruitment: Open, transparent, merit-based procedures in line with the European Charter for Researchers; vacancies widely advertised internationally, including on EURAXESS; vacancy notices should clarify whether rates include employer/employee taxes and contributions, preferably publish gross salary.

Eligibility, Participation and Funding Model

Participants: Universities, research organisations, research infrastructures, companies (including SMEs), and other socio-economic actors. International cooperation is encouraged; non-associated third-country entities may participate and may receive funding if eligible per the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

Funding model: Unit grants with person-month based contributions for recruited researchers and institutional contributions for research, training, networking, management and indirect costs. The expected EU contribution per project depends on the number of requested person-months rather than a fixed project cap. For 2027 DN, there is no per-project amount specified in the topic; the MSCA financial framework and limits in the Work Programme apply.

Important financial rules and features (MSCA Unit Grant model):

• Contributions for recruited researchers: living, mobility, and when applicable family, long-term leave, and special needs allowances.
• Institutional contributions: research, training and networking; management and indirect costs.
• Employment conditions: Researchers are employed full-time unless an approved part-time arrangement for personal/family reasons applies; for DN-ID and DN-JD joint supervision is mandatory.
• Country correction coefficients apply to living allowance; funding is output-based on eligible researcher-months actually implemented.
• Distribution rule: No more than 40% of the maximum grant amount may be allocated to beneficiaries located in the same country or to any one international European research organisation or international organisation (per MSCA specific conditions).

Application, Evaluation and Timeline

• Submission: Single-stage via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. Start submission on the topic page. Use Part A online forms and Part B templates.
• Evaluation: Conducted by external experts against Excellence, Impact, and Quality and efficiency of the Implementation. Thresholds and weighting per MSCA rules; overall single-stage process. Indicative evaluation up to 5 months after the deadline; grant agreement preparation typically up to 3 months thereafter.
• Legal and financial set-up: HORIZON Unit Grant [HORIZON-AG-UN] Model Grant Agreement applies with MSCA-specific conditions.

Guidance and templates include: Work Programme 2026–2027 Part 2 MSCA, MSCA DN Guide for Applicants, standard application and evaluation forms, HE Programme Guide, Annotated Model Grant Agreement, MSCA Financial Guide, MSCA Green Charter, MSCA Supervision Guidelines, and Online Manual. These are accessible from the topic page and associated guidance pages.

Obligations, Open Science and Ethics

• Open Science: Promote open access to publications; FAIR research data management with a Data Management Plan; encourage open practices such as preprints, open peer review and citizen science where relevant.
• Ethics: Projects must comply with EU, international and national ethical standards. Certain activities are excluded from funding; ethics self-assessment is required.
• Responsible research and innovation: Promote research integrity, gender equality and diversity aspects in research content where relevant; embed knowledge valorisation and standardisation as appropriate.
• Green Charter: Projects are encouraged to reduce environmental footprint in line with the MSCA Green Charter principles.

Administrative and Technical Templates

Applicants use standardized forms and templates in the Submission System. Key elements include Part A (administrative) and Part B (technical) with strict page limits and formatting rules.

• Part A (online forms): General information; Participants and roles; Budget (person-months and allowances); Ethics and Security (ethics issues table and self-assessment; security issues table).
• Part B Document 1 (max 34 pages total; sections 1–3 limited to 30 pages): Start page; Table of Contents; List of participating organisations; Section 1 Excellence (objectives; individual DC projects; methodology including interdisciplinary approaches, gender and diversity dimension; open science); Section 1.3 Training programme; Section 1.4 Supervision; Section 2 Impact (structuring doctoral training and innovation capacity; career perspectives; dissemination, exploitation and communication plan including IP strategy; project pathways to impact); Section 3 Implementation (work plan and WPs; deliverables; milestones; DC table; project risks; joint procedures for DN-JD).
• Part B Document 2 (no overall page limit, per-section guidance applies): Recruitment strategy (Code of Conduct compliance); Network organisation; Supervisory board composition (with supervisors and gender); Environmental aspects (MSCA Green Charter); Participating organisations one-page profiles (beneficiaries) and half-page profiles (associated partners); Letters of pre-agreement for DN-JD awarding entities; Declaration on the use of AI (for proposal preparation transparency).
• Evaluation form structure (for information): Expert scoring 0–5 with decimals under Excellence, Impact, and Implementation; single-stage evaluation model for DN; specific MSCA aspects highlighted (training quality; supervision quality; measures for career development; dissemination, exploitation and communication).

Reference documents for templates and rules: Application Form Part A (MSCA-DN example), Part B Template and instructions (MSCA DN), Evaluation Form (HE MSCA), Horizon Europe Unit MGA, MSCA Financial Guide, MSCA Work Programme 2026–2027 Part 2, Principles for Innovative Doctoral Training.

Categorisation and Structured Information

Eligible Applicant Types:Universities and higher education institutions; public and private research organisations; research infrastructures; businesses of all sizes including SMEs; other socio-economic actors such as nonprofits, NGOs, hospitals, foundations; government and public bodies; international European research organisations; standardisation bodies and other relevant entities. Participation of organisations from third countries is open, subject to Horizon Europe eligibility and funding rules.

Funding Type:Grant. Specifically, a Horizon Europe MSCA Unit Grant based on person-month unit contributions for recruited researchers and institutional unit contributions for research/training/networking and management/indirect costs.

Consortium Requirement:Consortium. Doctoral Networks are implemented by partnerships composed of multiple organisations from different countries across Europe and beyond. Joint supervision is mandatory for Industrial and Joint Doctorates. While the Work Programme defines minimum composition rules in full guidance, the topic text clearly indicates multi-organisation, cross-country partnerships are required.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility):EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries are fully eligible. Organisations from non-associated third countries can participate; eligibility for EU funding depends on the Horizon Europe Programme Guide (some third countries are funded, others participate with own resources or alternative provisions). Secondments and associated partners may be worldwide when relevant to the project.

Target Sector:All scientific and innovation domains (bottom-up). Cross-cutting priorities include Open Science, digital skills (including generative AI), entrepreneurship and knowledge valorisation. The action explicitly bridges academia and non-academic sectors (industry, business, public sector, NGOs), and is suitable for projects in health, energy, environment, transport, ICT, space, manufacturing, education, agriculture/food, climate, security/cybersecurity, advanced materials, photonics, AI, data science, and more.

Mentioned Countries:Regions referenced: EU Member States; Horizon Europe Associated Countries; non-associated third countries (globally). No specific country list is provided in the topic text; funding eligibility for third countries follows the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

Project Stage:Research and training. Projects focus on conducting original doctoral research and comprehensive training, including development, validation and preparation for broader collaboration and potential innovation. Demonstration or commercialisation is not the primary objective but knowledge valorisation and innovation culture are fostered.

Funding Amount:Total indicative call budget for 2027: €574,616,274 across DN, DN-ID and DN-JD. There is no fixed per-project grant amount; the EU contribution is calculated from the number of requested and implemented person-months and applicable unit rates (living, mobility, family, long-term leave, special needs) plus institutional contributions. MSCA rules, including country correction coefficients for living allowance and distribution limits (e.g. no more than 40% of the grant to one country or to one international organisation), apply.

Application Type:Open call with single-stage submission via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal.

Nature of Support:Money. Beneficiaries receive EU financial contributions (unit grants). Additionally, applicants benefit from non-financial support resources such as guidance documents, National Contact Point assistance, and portal tools.

Application Stages:1 stage. Single-stage submission and evaluation. Indicative timeline: evaluation results within up to 5 months after the deadline; grant agreement preparation typically within 3 months thereafter.

Success Rates:Not specified in the call documentation. Success rates vary by year and competition; applicants should consult post-call statistics when available.

Co-funding Requirement:No formal co-funding percentage is imposed; the action uses unit contributions. Beneficiaries must ensure that researchers receive at least the amounts corresponding to applicable living and mobility allowances (and family allowance where due); if local remuneration obligations exceed unit contributions, beneficiaries may need to complement from other sources. Some third-country participants may need own funding if not automatically eligible for EU funding per the Programme Guide.

Detailed Financial and Implementation Rules (Highlights)

• Recruitment conditions: Doctoral candidates must not already hold a doctoral degree at recruitment; must be enrolled in a doctoral programme awarding a degree in at least one EU Member State or Associated Country (specific enrolment rules apply to beneficiaries in non-associated third countries). Open, transparent, merit-based recruitment, widely advertised including on EURAXESS.
• Employment: Full-time employment, unless approved part-time for personal/family reasons; researchers work exclusively on action tasks. For DN-ID and DN-JD, joint supervision is mandatory.
• Training modules: Include transferable skills and digital competences (e.g. generative AI), Open Science practices, FAIR data, research integrity, knowledge valorisation, and entrepreneurial elements where applicable.
• Secondments: Encouraged inter-sectoral secondments, including to third countries when justified; designed to increase employability outside academia.
• Institutional governance: Supervisory Board required; network-wide training and coordination mechanisms; continuous monitoring and best-practice exchange.
• Open Science and DMP: Data Management Plan due early in the project and updated towards the end; open access to publications; responsible data handling and reproducibility practices encouraged.

Templates — How the Application Looks

The application comprises structured administrative data (Part A) and a detailed technical narrative (Part B). Key elements are summarised below to support applicant drafting.

1. 1Part A (online): Topic and action metadata; consortium and roles; budget with person-months per beneficiary and allowances; ethics and security screening (ethics issues table, self-assessment; security table).
2. 2Part B Document 1 (max 34 pages total: start page, ToC, participating organisations list, sections 1–3 max 30 pages): 1) Excellence (objectives; individual DC projects with titles, objectives, expected results, planned secondments; methodology including interdisciplinarity, gender/diversity dimension, open science); 1.3 Training programme (network-wide events, transferable skills, inter/multidisciplinary and intersectoral content; include a table of main training events with timing and lead); 1.4 Supervision (qualifications and experience; quality of supervision arrangements; mandatory joint supervision for DN-ID/JD). 2) Impact (structuring doctoral training and strengthening innovation capacity; credibility of career development measures; plan for dissemination, exploitation and communication including target groups, objectives, indicators; IP strategy; plausible pathways to scientific, societal and economic impacts with magnitude and importance). 3) Implementation (work plan with WPs and tasks, assigning roles and DC involvement; deliverables list; milestones; DC table with start month, durations, secondments; project risks with likelihood and severity and mitigation; joint procedures for DN-JD as applicable).
3. 3Part B Document 2 (no overall page limit, per-section guidance): 4) Recruitment strategy (compliance with the Code of Conduct for recruitment; open, transparent, merit-based process; diversity and inclusion measures); 5) Network organisation (management structure, decision-making, monitoring, quality assurance; joint governing structure for DN-ID and DN-JD); 6) Supervisory Board (composition and organisation; supervisor list with gender); 7) Environmental aspects (MSCA Green Charter compliance); 8) Participating organisations profiles (beneficiaries: one page each; associated partners: half page each; associated partners linked to a beneficiary: half page; detail facilities, staff, prior projects, key publications/results); 9) Letters of pre-agreement (DN-JD awarding entities); 10) Declaration on the use of AI in proposal preparation (tools used, verification, sources, plagiarism checks, limitations).

Formatting and submission rules: Strict page limits, minimum font sizes, margin requirements, and file size limits apply; exceeding content is truncated by the system. Proposals are evaluated as submitted; major post-submission changes are not permitted.

Useful resources and support: REA MSCA How to apply; National Contact Points; Online Manual; Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ; European IPR Helpdesk; CEN-CENELEC and ETSI Research Helpdesks; EURAXESS for publishing vacancies and mobility support.

Summary and Explanation

MSCA Doctoral Networks 2027 provide substantial unit-based funding to multi-organisation, cross-country partnerships that will recruit and train doctoral candidates through excellent research and comprehensive transferable-skills programmes. Proposals can target any scientific field and must embed intersectoral exposure, Open Science, FAIR data and research integrity. Three modalities are available: Standard DN, Industrial Doctorates, and Joint Doctorates (the latter awarding joint/double/multiple degrees). Each consortium sets up a Supervisory Board, designs personalised Career Development Plans for each doctoral candidate, organises network-wide training (including digital skills such as generative AI), and foresees intersectoral secondments (including globally, when justified). Recruitment must be open, transparent and merit-based, with international advertising via EURAXESS, and compliant with the European Charter for Researchers. Funding covers researchers’ living and mobility allowances (plus family, long-term leave, and special needs where applicable) and institutional costs for research/training/networking and management/indirects. There is no fixed per-project cap; the grant depends on the number of implemented researcher-months and MSCA unit rates, with country correction coefficients for salaries and distribution limits to avoid concentration in a single country or organisation. Applications are single-stage via the Funding & Tenders Portal, with evaluation against Excellence, Impact, and Implementation, and grant preparation following positive results. The action aims to raise the excellence and attractiveness of European doctoral training, strengthen academia–industry cooperation, and increase the employability and mobility of new researchers while fostering Open Science and knowledge valorisation.

MSCA Doctoral Networks 2027 - Comprehensive Funding Opportunity Analysis

Opportunity Overview

MSCA Doctoral Networks 2027 is a major European Union funding initiative under the Horizon Europe programme designed to train creative, entrepreneurial, innovative and resilient doctoral candidates through international, inter-sectoral and interdisciplinary collaboration. The call supports the implementation of doctoral programmes by partnerships of universities, research institutions, businesses including SMEs, and other socio-economic actors from different countries across Europe and beyond.

Call Identifier and Timeline:HORIZON-MSCA. Call opens 26 May 2027 with submission deadline 23 November 2027 at 17:00 Brussels time. Expected notification of results April 2028, grant agreement signature July 2028, and project start August 2028.

Funding Budget and Scale

Total Available Budget:€574,616,274 for the 2027 call across all three modalities: Standard Doctoral Networks, Industrial Doctorates, and Joint Doctorates.

Who Can Apply

MSCA Doctoral Networks are open to international consortia comprising at least three independent legal entities, each established in a different EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country, with at least one beneficiary from an EU Member State. On top of this minimum, organisations from any country worldwide can participate as associated partners. Eligible participants include universities, research institutions, research infrastructures, businesses including SMEs, and other socio-economic actors such as NGOs, charities, hospitals and government institutions.

Consortium Composition Requirements:Minimum three independent legal entities from three different EU Member States or Associated Countries. At least one beneficiary must be from an EU Member State. No more than 40 percent of the EU contribution may be allocated to beneficiaries in the same country or to a single international organisation. Associated partners and entities from third countries can participate without restrictions on numbers.

Eligible Doctoral Candidates

Doctoral candidates must not already possess a doctoral degree at the date of recruitment. They must be enrolled in a doctoral programme leading to the award of a degree in at least one EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country. Candidates can be of any nationality. They must comply with the mobility rule: they must not have resided or carried out their main activity in the country of the recruiting beneficiary for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before recruitment, unless as part of compulsory national service or a procedure for obtaining EU temporary protection or refugee status under the Geneva Convention.

Funding Mechanism and Budget Categories

MSCA Doctoral Networks operate on a unit grant basis with simplified forms of funding. The grant takes the form of unit contributions calculated by multiplying the number of eligible person-months (researcher-months) by applicable unit contribution amounts. This approach significantly reduces administrative burden by focusing on outputs rather than verifying actual costs incurred.

Budget Categories:

• A.1 Living allowance - covers employment costs with social security coverage, adjusted by country correction coefficient
• A.2 Mobility allowance - covers travel and accommodation costs related to researcher mobility
• A.3 Family allowance - compensates additional costs due to family obligations if applicable
• A.4 Long-term leave allowance - covers maternity, paternity, parental, sick or special leave exceeding 30 consecutive days
• A.5 Special needs allowance - supports additional costs for researchers with disabilities
• B.1 Research, training and networking contribution - covers training, research expenses, knowledge transfer and networking activities
• B.2 Management and indirect contribution - covers project management and indirect costs

Unit Contribution Amounts:Living allowance base rate €3,400 per person-month (adjusted by country correction coefficient). Mobility allowance €600 per person-month. Family allowance €660 per person-month if applicable. Research, training and networking contribution €1,600 per person-month. Management and indirect contribution €1,200 per person-month. These amounts are subject to country correction coefficients that ensure equal treatment and purchasing power parity across different European countries.

Project Duration and Researcher Recruitment

Project Duration:Maximum 48 months for Standard Doctoral Networks and Industrial Doctorates. Maximum 60 months for Joint Doctorates as an incentive for this more integrated modality.

Researcher Fellowship Duration:Minimum 3 months and maximum 36 months for Standard Doctoral Networks and Industrial Doctorates. Maximum 48 months for Joint Doctorates. Researchers must be recruited under full-time employment contracts or equivalent direct contracts with social security coverage. Part-time employment may be accepted only for personal or family reasons with prior granting authority approval.

Maximum Person-Months:Up to 540 person-months total for all Doctoral Networks modalities, providing flexibility in how consortia allocate researcher-months across beneficiaries.

Three Implementation Modalities

Standard Doctoral Networks (DN):Consortia of universities, research institutions and other organisations offering innovative doctoral training in academia and non-academia. Secondments limited to maximum one-third of fellowship duration. Up to 540 person-months total.

Industrial Doctorates (DN-ID):Doctoral candidates develop skills in industry and business through joint supervision by academic and non-academic organisations. Minimum 50 percent of fellowship duration must be spent in the non-academic sector. No upper limit on secondment duration. Up to 540 person-months total. Receives 180 additional person-months as incentive.

Joint Doctorates (DN-JD):Highly integrated international, inter-sectoral and multi-disciplinary collaboration leading to joint, double or multiple doctoral degrees recognised in at least one EU Member State or Associated Country. Requires pre-agreement letters from degree-awarding institutions. Joint admission, selection, training, supervision and governance mandatory. Maximum 60 months project duration with fellowship up to 48 months. No limitation on secondment duration. Up to 540 person-months total. Receives 180 additional person-months as incentive.

Key Eligibility Conditions and Requirements

Recruitment Procedures:Recruitment must be open, transparent, merit-based and impartial in line with the European Charter for Researchers and Code of Conduct for Recruitment of Researchers. Vacancies must be advertised internationally, including on the EURAXESS portal. Selection committees must have diverse expertise, adequate gender balance, representation from different countries and sectors where appropriate.

Employment Conditions:Doctoral candidates must be recruited under employment contracts or equivalent direct contracts with social security coverage including sickness, parental, unemployment and invalidity benefits, pension rights, and benefits for accidents at work. Researchers must work exclusively on research training activities. They cannot hold two MSCA grants simultaneously. Beneficiaries must ensure researchers do not bear costs for implementation, including visa fees, residence permits or tuition fees.

Supervision and Training:Each network must establish a clearly identified supervisory board coordinating network-wide training, research and supervision activities in line with MSCA Supervision Guidelines. Joint supervision is mandatory for Industrial and Joint Doctorates. A personalised Career Development Plan must be established jointly by supervisor and each recruited doctoral candidate, covering research objectives, training needs, transferable skills development, teaching, publications and conference participation. Plans must be revised within 18 months.

Training Programme Requirements:Networks must develop substantial training modules addressing key transferable skills and competences common to all fields, including digital skills such as generative AI. Training must foster Open Science culture, knowledge valorisation, innovation and entrepreneurship, and good scientific conduct including research integrity. Networks should exploit complementarities between participating organisations and foster knowledge sharing through workshops and conferences. Inter-sectoral secondments are encouraged to increase employability outside academia.

Expected Outcomes and Impact

For supported doctoral candidates, projects should deliver new research and transferable skills leading to improved employability and career prospects within and outside academia, new knowledge enabling conversion of ideas into products and services, and enhanced networking and communication capacities with scientific peers and the general public.

For participating organisations, expected outcomes include improved quality, relevance and sustainability of doctoral training programmes and supervision arrangements, enhanced cooperation and knowledge transfer between sectors and disciplines, increased integration of training and research activities, boosted research and innovation capacity, increased internationalisation and attractiveness, and regular feedback of research results into teaching and education.

Evaluation Criteria and Award Process

Evaluation Criteria:

1. 1Excellence (50 percent weighting) - Quality and pertinence of research and innovation objectives and extent to which they are ambitious and go beyond state of the art; soundness of proposed methodology including interdisciplinary approaches and gender dimension; quality and credibility of training programme including transferable skills and inter-sectoral aspects; quality of supervision arrangements
2. 2Impact (30 percent weighting) - Contribution to structuring doctoral training at European level and strengthening European innovation capacity including meaningful non-academic sector contribution; credibility of measures to enhance career perspectives and employability; suitability and quality of dissemination and exploitation measures including communication activities; magnitude and importance of contribution to expected scientific, societal and economic impacts
3. 3Quality and Efficiency of Implementation (20 percent weighting) - Quality and effectiveness of work plan and risk assessment; quality, capacity and role of each participant including hosting arrangements; extent to which consortium brings together necessary expertise

Scoring and Thresholds:Proposals are scored on a 0-5 scale with one decimal place resolution. Overall threshold is 70 points out of 100. Evaluation is single-stage with proposals evaluated as submitted without possibility for significant changes. At least three independent external expert evaluators assess each proposal.

Application Process and Documentation

Applications must be submitted through the EU Funding and Tenders Portal before the deadline of 23 November 2027 at 17:00 Brussels time. Applicants must create a profile on the portal, register their organisation to obtain a PIC number, and use the standardised proposal forms available in the submission system.

Required Proposal Documents:

• Part A - Administrative proposal form with participant information and budget details
• Part B1 - Technical description (maximum 34 pages) covering Excellence, Impact and Implementation sections with detailed work packages, deliverables, milestones and risk assessment
• Part B2 - Supporting information on recruitment strategy, network organisation, supervisory board composition, participating organisations descriptions and letters of pre-agreement for Joint Doctorates
• Completed ethics and security self-assessments if applicable
• Declaration on use of generative AI tools if applicable

Key Guidance Documents:Applicants should consult the MSCA Doctoral Networks Guide for Applicants 2027, Horizon Europe Work Programme 2026-2027 Part 2 on Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions, General Annexes of the Work Programme, HE Unit Model Grant Agreement, HE MSCA Financial Guide, and MSCA Supervision Guidelines. The EURAXESS portal provides additional support for researcher recruitment and mobility.

Grant Agreement and Implementation

Successful applicants will conclude a Horizon Europe Unit Grant Model Grant Agreement with the European Research Executive Agency (REA). The agreement specifies rights and obligations of all parties, including beneficiaries, affiliated entities, associated partners and recruited researchers. Beneficiaries must implement the action in accordance with the agreement and all applicable EU, international and national law.

Financial and Operational Capacity:All participating organisations must demonstrate financial and operational capacity to carry out the proposed action. This will be verified during grant preparation phase. Beneficiaries must maintain records and supporting documentation for at least five years after final payment to prove proper implementation and eligibility of declared units.

Reporting and Payments:Beneficiaries must submit continuous reporting through the Portal including deliverables, progress reports and mobility declarations. Periodic reporting occurs at specified intervals with technical and financial parts. Initial prefinancing is typically paid within 30 days of grant agreement entry into force. Interim and final payments follow submission of periodic reports within 90 days. A Mutual Insurance Mechanism retains 5-8 percent of maximum grant amount from initial prefinancing.

Special Provisions and Incentives

Industrial and Joint Doctorate Incentives:Industrial Doctorates and Joint Doctorates receive 180 additional person-months as incentive compared to Standard Doctoral Networks. Joint Doctorates also benefit from extended project duration of up to 60 months and extended fellowship duration up to 48 months to accommodate the complexity of establishing joint degree arrangements.

Resubmission Restrictions:Proposals involving 70 percent or more of the same recruiting organisations as another proposal submitted to the previous MSCA Doctoral Networks call that received a score below 80 percent will be assessed for whether they constitute a resubmission, irrespective of applicants' self-declaration.

Gender Equality and Diversity:Organisations participating in MSCA projects are encouraged to have Gender Equality Plans covering dedicated resources, data collection and monitoring, training on gender equality and unconscious bias, and measures addressing work-life balance, gender balance in leadership, gender equality in recruitment and career progression, integration of gender dimension in research content, and measures against gender-based violence and sexual harassment.

Support for Applicants

The European Research Executive Agency and National Contact Points in EU Member States and Associated Countries provide guidance and support to applicants. MSCA National Contact Points organise Information Days presenting the calls and helping applicants prepare successful proposals. The EURAXESS network offers free personalised assistance through over 600 Service Centres in 43 European countries on topics including relocation, career development and researcher recruitment.

Key Support Resources:

• MSCA National Contact Points - provide guidance, practical information and assistance on participation in Horizon Europe
• EURAXESS - largest pan-European initiative for researchers' mobility with job portal, hosting opportunities and funding information
• Enterprise Europe Network - advises businesses and SMEs on EU research funding with focus on innovation
• European IPR Helpdesk - assists on intellectual property issues in EU-funded projects
• Research Enquiry Service - answers questions about European research and EU Research Framework Programmes
• Funding and Tenders Portal IT Helpdesk - provides technical support on submission system access and use

Important Considerations for Applicants

Proposals will be evaluated as submitted without possibility for significant changes. Shortcomings will be reflected in lower scores rather than opportunities for revision. Applicants should ensure all required information is complete and accurate at submission. Consortium agreements are mandatory to clarify internal organisation, management of Portal access, distribution of payments, intellectual property arrangements, and dispute settlement procedures.

Beneficiaries must ensure that all participants, including associated partners and subcontractors, comply with obligations regarding proper implementation, conflict of interests, confidentiality, ethics, data protection, intellectual property rights, communication and visibility. The granting authority may reduce grants or terminate agreements if beneficiaries breach their obligations.

Open Science practices should be integrated into project implementation including early sharing of research, open access to publications and data, FAIR data management, and citizen science engagement where appropriate. All MSCA-funded projects are encouraged to follow the MSCA Green Charter to minimise environmental footprint of activities.

Footnotes

1. 1EURAXESS is the European Commission's portal for research jobs, funding opportunities and hosting arrangements, accessible at EURAXESS. It provides the largest database of research opportunities in Europe and expert career guidance through over 600 Service Centres in 43 countries.