The KU Leuven Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Individual Fellowships (IF) are now open for the 2017-2018 academic year. The researcher may be of any nationality.

Individual Fellowships are aimed at individual researchers who already have a doctorate or equivalent research experience.

The KU Leuven offers its students an academic education based on high-level research, with the aim of preparing them to assume their social responsibilities.

Course Level: Fellowships are available to researchers.

Study Subject: Applicants have to indicate at submission stage in which of the 8 scientific areas their proposal best fits, according to the research topic. These areas are  Chemistry (CHE), Social Sciences and Humanities (SOC), Economic Sciences (ECO), Information Science and Engineering (ENG), Environment and Geosciences (ENV), Life Sciences (LIF), Mathematics (MAT), Physics (PHY).

Scholarship Award: The indicative call budget in 2017 is €248.70 million (compared to €218.50 million in the 2016 call) and it is distributed as follows:

€33.70 million is reserved for the Global Fellowships, and is distributed between the scientific areas based on the number of eligible proposals received in each of these areas;

€205 million is reserved for the European Fellowships, and is distributed between its panels (except for the Society and Enterprise panel) based on the number of eligible proposals received by each one;

€10 million is reserved for the Society and Enterprise panel of the European Fellowships.

Number of Scholarships: Not Known

Eligibility: The following criteria must be met in order for applicants to be eligible for the scholarship.

European Fellowships (EF)

Standard European Fellowships (EF-ST)

The researcher must be an experienced researcher as described under Definitions.

The researcher may be of any nationality. No age restrictions apply.

The researcher must move or have moved (transnational mobility) from any country to the MS or AC where the beneficiary is located.

Global Fellowships (GF)

Global Fellowships are composed of an outgoing phase during which the researcher undertakes mobility to a partner organisation in a TC for a period of between 12 and 24 months, followed by a mandatory 12-month return period to the beneficiary located in an MS or AC.

The researcher must be an experienced researcher as described under Definitions.

The researcher must be national or long-term resident of an MS or AC as described under Definitions. No age restrictions apply.

The researcher must move or have moved (transnational mobility) from any country to the partner organisation located in the TC.

The researcher must comply with the GF mobility rule:

The researcher must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the TC partner organisation where the initial outgoing phase takes place for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately before the call deadline.

Short stays (such as holidays), compulsory national service (such as mandatory military service), and time spent on procedures for obtaining refugee status14 are not counted.

As for international organisations located in a TC, the experienced researcher must not have spent more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately before the call deadline at the same partner organisation.

The beneficiary must be located in an MS or AC, and,

The partner organisation for the initial outgoing phase must be situated in a TC and is the entity where the initial outgoing phase takes place.

The partner organisation in a TC must include a letter of commitment complying with the minimum requirements defined in section 7 of Part B2 of the proposal to ensure its real and active participation in the proposed action, and its precise role should also be clearly described in the proposal. In case of a missing letter of commitment, the proposal will be declared inadmissible.

Nationality: The researcher may be of any nationality. No age restrictions apply.

Entrance Requirements: Applicants must have their previous degree.

English language Requirements: Applicants whose native language is not English are required to prove that they are a C-level on the Common Framework of the Reference level of the Council of Europe. The MEPP programme only accepts two tests as valid: TOEFL internet-based 100/120 or IELTS 7.0/9.

How to Apply: The mode of application is online.

Application Deadline: Fellowship application deadline is September 14, 2017.