ERC Starting Grants
Event details
| Date | 14.10.2027 |
| Category | Call for proposal |
Aim
For talented early-career scientists who have already produced excellent supervised work and have already shown evidence for research independence, for example by having produced at least one important publication as main author or without the participation of their PhD supervisor.
Funding & duration
Max. EUR 1.5 Mio for a period of max. 5 years (including 25% overhead; pro rata temporis for shorter project duration). Additional funding up to EUR 1 mio. (including 25% overhead), may be requested for well justified reasons; additional funding covers for example start-up costs for PIs moving to Switzerland as a consequence of receiving the ERC grant, purchase of major equipment, access to large facilities, other major experimental and field work costs including personnel costs. For applicants relocating to the EU or a Horizon Europe Associated country, additional funding for up to EUR 2 million can be requested.
Eligibility
- Applicants must have successfully defended their PhD not more than 10 years ago. For the call 2027, the eligibility window goes from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2026.
- Principal Investigators must commit a minimum of 50% of their working time to the project and a minimum of 50% of their working time in a European Member State or Associated Country.
- For applicants without professorship EPFL requires the approval of the Faculty/Institute/supporting professor, hosting the ERC project in case granted. For information about the respective procedures and restrictions, please consult the information in the EPFL Starting Grant toolkit.
- Applicants must submit the EPFL commitment letter together with their project-proposal, please consult the EPFL Starting Grant toolkit for instructions to obtain the EPFL commitment letter.
Deadline for proposal submissions
14 October 2026, 17:00 CET
Support and information
- The EPFL toolkit provides useful information for the proposal preparation.
- EPFL information event: Wed, 19 August 2026, 11:00 – 12:30 – register now!
- For proposal writing services and administrative assistance with the proposal preparation please contact [email protected].
Practical information
- General public
- Free