ERC Starting Grant

As described in the ERC Work Programme 2027PDF, under 1.4.3 Restrictions on Applications (Table 6), if an applicant was rejected on the grounds of a breach of research integrity, they will be subject to resubmission restrictions. In addition, an applicant whose proposal received B or C score at Step 1 under the ERC Work Programme 2025 or the ERC Work Programme 2026 may be subject to resubmissions restrictions.

According to the ERC Work Programme 2027PDF, a researcher participating as a Principal Investigator (PI) in one of the ERC main frontier research grants may not submit another proposal for an ERC main frontier research grant, unless the existing project ends in less than two years following the call deadline. Please note that if, at some point, the PI requests an extension to the current project, and it is approved, their application to the ERC-2027-STG or ERC-2027-COG Call will become ineligible if, with such extension, the project’s duration goes beyond the two years after the ERC-2027-STG or ERC-2027-COG Call deadlines. The duration of the ongoing project may, exceptionally, be extended, without affecting the eligibility of the proposal, for properly documented circumstances constituting force majeure or other unforeseen events or circumstances, which:

• have presented themselves after the call deadline and thus could not be anticipated at the time of the call deadline,
• the extensionis essential for the proper completion of the ongoing project,and
• the ongoing project will end within three years of the call deadline.

This and any other extension are subject to the agreement of the Granting Authority. Additionally, a researcher who has participated as a PI in an ERC Starting Grant under previous Work Programmes cannot apply for a Starting Grant call under the ERC Work Programme 2027. A researcher who has participated as a PI in an ERC Consolidator Grant under previous Work Programmes cannot apply for a Consolidator Grant call under the ERC Work Programme 2027.

Based on the ERC Work Programme 2027PDF, the date considered for the calculation of the eligibility period is the date of the successful defence of the first PhD degree. See more information on section ERC Policy on PhD and Equivalent Doctoral Degrees, Annex 2 of the ERC Work Programme 2027.

ELIGIBILITY PERIOD:ERC-2027-STG Call: the successful PhD defence date would need to be at least 0 and up to 10 years prior to 1st January 2027 [i.e. 1st January 2017 and (inclusive) 31st December 2026].

ERC-2027-COG Call: the successful PhD defence date would need to be at least 5 and up to 15 years prior to 1st January 2027 [i.e. 1st January 2012 and (inclusive) 31st December 2021].

For the ERC-2027-STG and ERC-2027-COG Calls, according to ERC Work Programme 2027PDF, Annex 2, ERC Policy on PhD and Equivalent Doctoral Degrees, applicants holding both a degree in medicine and a PhD, the reference date used for the calculation of the eligibility period is the date of the earliest degree that makes the applicant eligible (i.e. the date of the medical degree plus two years OR the date of the successful defence of their PhD degree). For further information and examples, check the Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant CallsPDF.

For the ERC-2027-STG and ERC-2027-COG calls, only the eligible career breaks set in the ERC Work Programme 2027 can be considered for the extension of the eligibility window, provided that they started before the Call deadline. Applicants having a PhD defence/equivalent date outside of the eligibility period can request an extension under certain properly documented circumstances: maternity, paternity or parental leave, long-term illness (over 90 days for the PI or a close family member), national service, disability, clinical training (up to a maximum of 4 years), major disasters, seeking asylum, and gender-based violence or any other form of violence. All these circumstances need to be properly documented. For more information and the supporting documents that need to be submitted see the Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant CallsPDF.

In order to be eligible to apply to the ERC 2027-STG and ERC 2027-COG Calls, a Principal Investigator must hold a PhD or an equivalent doctoral degree at the time of the call deadline. For further information and examples, check the Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls. The reference date used by the ERC for eligibility purposes is the date of the successful defence of the first PhD (or equivalent doctoral degree). Therefore, completing a PhD thesis is not sufficient by itself.

Yes, this is possible as long as the Principal Investigator (PI), at the time of submission to the ERC-2027-STG or ERC-2027-COG Calls, is supported by one organisation acting as host institution (applicant legal entity)based in an EU Member State or an Associated Country. Through the host institution support letter, this organisation is committing itself:

• to host and engage the PI for the whole duration of the action,
• to ensure that the project will be performed under the guidance of the PI, who is expected to devote minimum 50% of their working time to the ERC STG funded project or 40% of their working time to the ERC COG funded project. Specific circumstances, where the minimum time requirement of the Call (50%/40%) results from the sum of more than one employment contract of the PI with different organisations, may be accommodated in case the proposal is selected for funding.

Other organisation(s) hosting team members should be referred to as (an) additional partner(s) in the proposal and their details should be given in the administrative proposal submission Part A form on the Funding & Tenders Portal. For further guidance and working time ceilings, see the AGA - Annotated Grant AgreementPDF.

An extension can be granted corresponding to the documented time of a Principal Investigator’s (PI) inability to work for a minimum of 90 days before the ERC-2027-STG or ERC-2027-COG Call deadline due to events related to major disasters including large-scale geological (e.g., earthquakes), meteorological (e.g., floods) or human-caused (e.g., armed conflicts) events that caused loss of life or property. Extensions can only be granted for circumstances or events that have occurred or were present in the period following the PI’s PhD defence date up until the deadline of the call. Supporting documents: An official, signed document from the employer certifying start and end date(s) of the inability or reduced capacity to work due to a major disaster. Any document should mention the reason for the interruption. See the Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant CallsPDF.

For disabilities (long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments), an extension may be granted corresponding to the reduced amount of working time (including leave taken) and/or the degree of disability, as documented by the Principal Investigator (PI), before the Call deadline (for the ERC-2027-STG and ERC-2027-COG calls), and which occurred after the date of the successful defence of their first PhD degree. Supporting documents: an official document confirming the disability (e.g. medical report), together with documentation certifying leave/part-time working / reduced working capacity resulting from the disability, with relevant start and end dates (if applicable). Any document should mention the reason for the leave and/or the degree of disability. See the Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant CallsPDF.

For clinical training, an extension can be granted corresponding to the documented amount of time of clinical training received by the Principal Investigator (PI) after the reference date of the first eligible degree and before the Call deadline, up to a maximum of 4 years. For the ERC-2027-STG and ERC-2027-COG applicants whose first eligible degree is a degree in medicine, clinical training, as well as the other eligibility extension circumstances, can be accepted from the date of the completion of their medical degree. No extension will be accepted for serving as a house doctor or hospital doctor unless it is part of a clinical training programme. In case of part-time clinical training, the exact total training time will be accepted on a pro-rata basis to extend the eligibility window of the PI. For more information, including the supporting document(s) that need to be submitted, check the Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant CallsPDF.

For the ERC-2027-STG and ERC-2027-COG calls, as set in the ERC Work Programme 2027PDF, section 1.4.2.2 Eligible Principal Investigator(s), the eligibility period can be extended in case of specific and well-documented circumstances or events. In case of maternity, the Principal Investigator (PI) may request an 18-month extension per child born before or after the PI’s PhD defence date. If the PI can demonstrate a longer period of leave (i.e. maternity leave or maternity leave combined with parental leave), the eligibility period shall be extended by the total duration of actual leave taken before the Call deadline. The ERCEA is trying to consider the different national rules to accommodate different couple/family scenarios (paternity or parental leave). Hence, for the partner who was entitled to ‘maternity leave’ according to their national rules, the same would be applied as long it is well-documented. In case the male applicant considers that he should be entitled to the extension based on maternity leave, he should make the case and submit all relevant supporting documentation together with their proposal. See the Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant CallsPDF.

For the ERC-2027-STG and ERC-2027-COG Calls, a scanned copy of the PhD certificate (or equivalent doctoral degree certificate) needs to be submitted with the proposal in PDF format, if:

-the PhD certificate does not explicitly state the date of the successful defence of PhD, the applicant should provide a written confirmation from the awarding institution stating the said date;

- the PhD defence was not successful or following the PhD defence, corrections were required, the applicant should provide an official document indicating that the defence was not successful and a date when the corrections to the PhD thesis were approved;

- no defence was organised in the awarding institution, the applicant should provide a written confirmation from the awarding institution stating that no defence was organised and indicating the date when the PhD was approved.

For eligibility purposes, the reference date is the date of the successful defence of the first PhD (or equivalent doctoral degree). Where corrections were required after the defence, the relevant reference date is the date on which those corrections were approved, as confirmed by the awarding institution.

For the ERC-2027-STG and ERC-2027-COG Calls, as stated in the ERC Work Programme 2027, section ERC Policy on PhD and Equivalent Doctoral degree, the PhD successful defence date or the date certifying the completion of the medical degree + 2 years is the reference date used for the calculation of the applicant’s eligibility. Thus, eligibility of holders of a 'habilitation' will depend on the date of their first PhD or equivalent degree.’Habilitation’ can be used e.g. as a proof of an appointment that requires for doctoral equivalency.

Researchers with a Hungarian host institution concerned by the Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/2506 can continue to apply to ERC calls for proposals (e.g. ERC-2027-SyG, ERC-2027-STG, ERC-2027-COG, ERC-2027-ADG, ERC-2027-POC, ERC-2027-PLUS) after the 16 December2022. For successfully evaluated proposals, if these measures are not lifted at the time of the grant agreement signature, (following the procedure set out by Article 7 of Regulation 2020/2092), the concerned Hungarian entities would be found ineligible to receive Union funding. The applicant researchers concerned will then be informed about the available options to mitigate the consequences to their proposals, which will include the possibility to use portability.

Based on ERC Work Programme 2027PDF, section 1.4.3 Restrictions on Applications, an applicant may have only one proposal to an ERC main grant call under evaluation at any given time. An applicant may submit only one eligible proposal to an ERC main grant call published under the ERC Work Programme 2027. Please note that an applicant whose proposal has been selected for funding and who is preparing a Grant Agreement under a call of the ERC Work Programme 2025 or 2026, may not apply for ERC-2027-STG, ERC-2027-COG, ERC-2027-ADG, ERC-2027-SYG, or ERC-2027-PLUS calls.

For the ERC-2027-STG and ERC-2027-COG calls, only the eligible career breaks set in the ERC Work Programme 2027PDF can be considered for the extension of the eligibility window, provided they started before the Call deadline. COVID-19 is not an eligible circumstance to extend the eligibility window. However, in the context of COVID-19 pandemic, any specific situation caused by the pandemic with a negative impact on the Curriculum Vitae and Track Record may be mentioned under section Curriculum Vitae and Track Record, and this will be taken into account by evaluators during the evaluation of the proposal (See section 1.5.1 Proposal Description).

In proposals for the ERC Starting or Consolidator Grant 2027 Calls (ERC-2027-STG; ERC-2027-COG), the CVs of individual team members should NOT be included. Although it is not mandatory to provide the names of individual team members, the proposal should describe the composition and nature of the team that will carry out the proposed activities. In case the PI decides to put any name in the proposal, they should be aware of the obligation to obtain before the submission of the proposal a written consent of all participants on their participation and on the content of the proposal, as well as of any researcher mentioned in the proposal as participating in the project, should the proposal be funded. Further explanations can be found in the Information for Applicants to the STG and COG Grant CallsPDF and in the ERC Rules of submission and evaluationPDF under Horizon Europe.

For the ERC-2026-STG and ERC-2026-COG Calls, according to ERC Work Programme 2026PDF, Annex 2, ERC Policy on PhD and Equivalent Doctoral Degrees, applicants holding both a degree in medicine and a PhD, the reference date used for the calculation of the eligibility period is the date of the earliest degree that makes the applicant eligible (i.e. the date of the medical degree plus two years OR the date of the successful defence of their PhD degree).

For further information and examples, check the Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant CallsPDF.

For the ERC-2026-STG and ERC-2026-COG Calls, as stated in the ERC Work Programme 2026PDF, section ERC Policy on PhD and Equivalent Doctoral degree, the PhD successful defence date or the date certifying the completion of the medical degree + 2 years is the reference date used for the calculation of the applicant’s eligibility. Thus, eligibility of holders of a 'habilitation' will depend on the date of their first PhD or equivalent degree. ’Habilitation’ can be used e.g. as a proof of an appointment that requires for doctoral equivalency.

According to the ERC Work Programme 2026PDF, a researcher participating as a Principal Investigator in one of the ERC main frontier research grants may not submit another proposal for an ERC main frontier research grant, unless the existing project ends in less than two years following the call deadline; Please note that if, at some point, the PI requests an extension to the current project, and it is approved, their application to the ERC-2026-STG or ERC-2026-COG Call will become ineligible if, with such extension, the project’s duration goes beyond the two years after the ERC-2026-STG or ERC-2026-COG Call deadlines. The duration of the ongoing project may, exceptionally, be extended, without affecting the eligibility of the proposal, for properly documented circumstances constituting force majeure or other unforeseen events or circumstances, which: a) have presented themselves after the call deadline and thus could not be anticipated at the time of the call deadline, b) the extension is essential for the proper completion of the ongoing project, and c) the ongoing project will end within three years of the call deadline. This and any other extension is subject to the agreement of the Granting Authority.

For clinical training, an extension can be granted corresponding to the documented amount of time of clinical training received by the PI after the reference date of the first eligible degree and before the Call deadline, up to a maximum of 4 years. For the ERC-2026-STG and ERC-2026-COG pplicants whose first eligible degree is a degree in medicine, clinical training, as well as the other eligibility extension circumstances, can be accepted from the date of the completion of their medical degree. No extension will be accepted for serving as a house doctor or hospital doctor unless it is part of a clinical training programme. In case of part-time clinical training, the exact total training time will be accepted on a pro-rata basis to extend the eligibility window of the PI. For more information, including the supporting document(s) that need to be submitted, check the Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant CallsPDF.

For the ERC-2026-STG and ERC-2026-COG calls, as set in the ERC Work Programme 2026PDF, section 1.4.2.2 Eligible Principal Investigator(s), the eligibility period can be extended in case of specific and well-documented circumstances or events. In case of maternity, the PI may request an 18-month extension per child born before or after the PI’s PhD defence date. If the PI can demonstrate a longer period ofleave (i.e. maternity leave or maternity leave combined with parental leave), the eligibility period shall be extended by the total duration of actual leave taken before the Call deadline. The ERCEA is trying to consider the different national rules to accommodate different couple/family scenarios (paternity or parental leave). Hence, for the partner who was entitled to ‘maternity leave’ according to their national rules, the same would be applied as long it is well-documented. In the case the male applicant considers that he should be entitled to the extension based on maternity leave, he should make the case and submit all relevant supporting documentation together with their proposal. See the Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant CallsPDF.

An extension can be granted corresponding to the documented time of a PI’s inability to work for a minimum of 90 days before the ERC-2026-STG or ERC-2026-COG Call deadline due to events related to major disasters including large-scale geological (e.g., earthquakes), meteorological (e.g., floods) or human-caused (e.g., armed conflicts) events that caused loss of life or property. Extensions can only be granted for circumstances or events that have occurred or were present in the period following the PI’s PhD defence date up until the deadline of the call.

Supporting documents: An official, signed document from the employer certifying start and end date(s) of the inability or reduced capacity to work due to a major disaster. Any document should mention the reason for the interruption. See the Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant CallsPDF .

Based on the ERC Work Programme 2026PDF, the date considered for the calculation of the eligibility period is the date of the successful defence of the first PhD degree. See more information on section ERC Policy on PhD and Equivalent Doctoral Degrees, Annex 2 of the ERC Work Programme 2026PDF.

ELIGIBILITY PERIOD:

ERC-2026-STG Call: the successful PhD defence date would need to be at least 2 and up to 7 years prior to 1st January 2026 [i.e. 1st January 2019 and (inclusive) 31st December 2023].

ERC-2026-COG Call: the successful PhD defence date would need to be at least 7 and up to 12 years prior to 1st January 2026 [i.e. 1st January 2014 and (inclusive) 31st December 2018].

As described in the ERC Work Programme 2026PDF, under 1.4.3 Restrictions on Applications (Table 6), if an applicant got rejected on the grounds of a breach of research integrity, they will be subject to resubmission restrictions. In addition, an applicant whose proposal received B or C score at Step 1 under ERC Work Programme 2024 or ERC Work Programme 2025 may be subject to resubmissions restrictions.

Yes, this is possible as long as the Principal Investigator (PI), at the time of submission to the ERC-2026-STG or ERC-2026-COG Calls, is supported by one organisation acting as host institution (applicant legal entity) based in an EU Member State or an Associated Country. Through the host institution support letter, this organisation is committing itself: to host and engage the PI for the whole duration of the action, to ensure that the project will be performed under the guidance of the PI, who is expected to devote minimum 50% of their working time to the ERC STG funded project or 40% of their working time to the ERC COG funded project. Specific circumstances, where the minimum time requirement of the Call (50%/40%) results from the sum of more than one employment contract of the PI with different organisations, may be accommodated in case the proposal is selected for funding. Other organisation(s) hosting team members should be referred to as (an) additional partner(s) in the proposal and their details should be given in the administrative proposal submission Part A form on the F&T Portal. For further guidance and working time ceilings, see the AGA - Annotated Grant AgreementPDF.

For the ERC-2026-STG and ERC-2026-COG Calls, a scanned copy of the PhD certificate (or equivalent doctoral degree certificate) needs to be submitted with the proposal in PDF format, if:

- the PhD certificate does not explicitly state the date of the successful defence of PhD, the applicant should provide a written confirmation from the awarding institution stating the said date;

- the PhD defence was not successful or following the PhD defence, corrections were required, the applicant should provide an official document indicating that the defence was not successful and a date when the corrections to the PhD thesis were approved;

- no defence was organised in the awarding institution, the applicant should provide a written confirmation from the awarding institution stating that no defence was organised and indicating the date when the PhD was approved.

In proposals for the ERC Starting or Consolidator Grant 2026 Calls (ERC-2026-STG; ERC-2026-COG), the CVs of individual team members should NOT be included. Although it is not mandatory to provide the names of individual team members, the proposal should describe the composition and nature of the team that will carry out the proposed activities. In case the PI decides to put any name in the proposal, they should be aware of the obligation to obtain before the submission of the proposal a written consent of all participants on their participation and on the content of the proposal, as well as of any researcher mentioned in the proposal as participating in the project, should the proposal be funded. Further explanations can be found in the Information for Applicants to the STG and COG Grant Calls and in the ERC Rules of submission and evaluation under Horizon EuropePDF.

For the ERC-2026-STG and ERC-2026-COG calls, only the eligible career breaks set in the ERC Work Programme 2026PDF can be considered for the extension of the eligibility window, provided they started before the Call deadline. COVID-19 is not an eligible circumstance to extend the eligibility window. However, in the context of COVID-19 pandemic, any specific situation caused by the pandemic with a negative impact on the Curriculum Vitae and Track Record may be mentioned under section Curriculum Vitae and Track Record and this will be taken into account by evaluators during the evaluation of the proposal (See section 1.5.1 Proposal Description).

Researchers with a Hungarian host institution concerned by the Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/2506 can continue to apply to ERC calls for proposals (e.g. ERC-2026-SyG, ERC-2026-STG, ERC-2026-COG, ERC-2026-ADG, ERC-2026-POC) after the 16 December 2022.

For successfully evaluated proposals, if these measures are not lifted at the time of the grant agreement signature, (following the procedure set out by Article 7 of Regulation 2020/2092), the concerned Hungarian entities would be found ineligible to receive Union funding. The applicant researchers concerned will then be informed about the available options to mitigate the consequences to their proposals, which will include the possibility to use portability.

Based on ERC Work Programme 2026PDF, section 1.4.3 Restrictions on Applicants, an applicant may submit proposals to different ERC main frontier research grant calls published under the same Work Programme, but only the first eligible proposal will be evaluated. Please note, that an applicant whose proposal has been selected for funding and who is preparing a Grant Agreement under a call of the ERC Work Programme 2024 or 2025, may not apply for ERC-2026-STG, ERC-2026-COG, ERC-2026-ADG, or ERC-2026-SYG calls.

Based on the ERC Work Programme 2026PDF, Annex 2, first professional degrees will not be considered as PhD-equivalent, even if recipients carry the title "Doctor". Only Principal Investigators that have successfully defended a PhD or equivalent doctoral degree are eligible to apply for the ERC Starting and Consolidator Grants 2026 Calls. For more details, check the Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant CallsPDF.

For the ERC-2026-STG and ERC-2026-COG calls, only the eligible career breaks set in the ERC Work Programme 2026PDF can be considered for the extension of the eligibility window, provided that they started before the Call deadline. Applicants having a PhD defence/equivalent date outside of the eligibility period can request an extension under certain properly documented circumstances: maternity, paternity or parental leave, long-term illness (over 90 days for the PI or a close family member), national service, disability, clinical training (up to a maximum of 4 years), major disasters, seeking asylum, and gender-based violence or any other form of violence. All these circumstances need to be properly documented. For more information and the supporting documents that need to be submitted see the Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant CallsPDF .

Researchers with a Hungarian host institution concerned by the Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/2506 can continue to apply to ERC calls for proposals (e.g. ERC-2025-SyG, ERC-2025-STG, ERC-2025-COG, ERC-2025-ADG, ERC-2025-POC) after the 16 December 2022.

For successfully evaluated proposals, if these measures are not lifted at the time of the grant agreement signature, (following the procedure set out by Article 7 of Regulation 2020/2092), the concerned Hungarian entities would be found ineligible to receive Union funding. The applicant researchers concerned will then be informed about the available options to mitigate the consequences to their proposals, which will include the possibility to use portability.

An extension can be granted corresponding to the documented time of a PI’s inability to work for a minimum of 90 days before the ERC-2025-STG or ERC-2025-COG call deadline due to events related to major disasters (large-scale geological (e.g., earthquakes), meteorological (e.g., floods) or human-caused (e.g., armed conflicts) events that cause loss of life or property)[1]. This inability must have occurred after the date of the successful defence of their PhD degree and before the call deadline.

Supporting documents: An official, signed document from the employer certifying start and end date(s) of the inability or reduced capacity to work due to a major disaster. Any document should mention the reason for the interruption.

[1] Please note that inability to work due to Covid-19- related lockdown and constraints per se is not considered as a reason for extension.

When applying to the ERC-2025-STG or ERC-2025-COG calls: for disabilities, an extension may be granted corresponding to the reduced amount of working time (including leave taken) and/or the degree of disability, as documented by the PI, before the call deadline, and which occurred after the date of the successful defence of their first PhD degree.

Supporting documents: an official document confirming the disability, together with documentation certifying leave/part-time working/reduced working capacity resulting from the disability, with relevant start and end dates (if applicable). Any document should mention the reason for the leave and/or the degree of disability.

For clinical training, an extension can be granted corresponding to the documented amount of time of clinical training received by the Principal Investigator (PI) after the reference date of the first eligible degree and before the call deadline,up to a maximum of 4 years (counting up until the call deadline). For applicants whose first eligible degree is a degree in medicine, clinical training, as well as the other eligibility extension circumstances, can be accepted considered from the date of the completion of their medical degree. No extension will be accepted for serving as a house doctor or hospital doctor unless it is part of a clinical training programme. In case of part-time clinical training, the exact total training time will be accepted on a pro-rata basis to extend the eligibility window of the PI. Applicants to the ERC Starting and Consolidator Grants 2025 calls (ERC-2025-STG; ERC-2025-COG) can find more information, including the supporting document(s) that need to be submitted together with the proposal, in the Information for Applicants to the STG and COG Grant CallsPDF, Section 4.4 Supporting Documents for the PhD Reference Date and Extension Requests.

According to the conditions of the ERC Starting and Consolidator Grants 2025 calls (ERC-2025-STG; ERC-2025-COG), only the eligible career breaks set in the ERC Work Programme 2025PDF can be considered for the extension of the eligibility window, provided they started before the call deadline. Applicants having a PhD defence/equivalent date outside of the eligibility period can request an extension under certain properly documented circumstances: maternity leave, paternity leave, long-term illness of the PI or a close family member (over 90 days) or national service, disability, clinical training (up to a maximum of 4 years), major disasters, and seeking asylum. All these circumstances need to be properly documented. Information on the circumstances mentioned above and the supporting documents that need to be submitted together with the proposal can be found in the Information for Applicants to the STG and COG Grant CallsPDF.

According to the conditions of the ERC-2025-STG or to the ERC-2025-COG calls,the reference date should be the earliest degree (successful defence of PhD or equivalent doctoral degree) that makes the applicant eligible for the ERC Starting Grant or Consolidator Grant calls. In case of degrees in medicine considered equivalent to a PhD, the certified date of the medical degree completion plus two years is the reference date to be used for the calculation of the eligibility period. For more information, please consult the ERC policy on PhD and equivalent doctoral degrees in the ERC Work Programme 2025PDF – Annex 2 and section 4.3 of the Information for Applicants to the STG and COG Grant CallsPDF.

According to the ERC Work Programme 2025PDF: “A researcher participating as Principal Investigator in one of the main ERC frontier research grants may not submit a proposal for a main ERC grant, unless the existing project ends less than two years after the call deadline. [NB: According to the duration of the project fixed in the previous grant agreement of the main frontier research grant].” Therefore, you will only be eligible for the ERC-2025-STG or ERC-2025-COG call if your current project finishes before 14 October 2026 for STG and 13 January 2027 for COG. Please note that if, at some point, you request an extension to the current project, and it is approved, your application to the ERC-2025-STG or ERC-2025-COG call will become automatically ineligible if, with such extension, the project’s duration goes beyond the two years after the ERC-2025-STG or ERC-2025-COG call deadlines.

As indicated in the ERC Work Programme 2025PDF, the eligibility period can be extended in case of specific and properly documented circumstances. In case of maternity, the PIs participating in the ERC Starting and Consolidator Grants 2025 calls (ERC-2025-STG; ERC-2025-COG) may request an 18-month extension for each childborn before or after the date of the successful defense of their PhD degree. If the PI can document a longer total maternity leave, the eligibility period will be extended by the documented amount of actual leave(s) taken for all children before the call deadline.The ERCEA is trying to consider the different national rules in order to accommodate different couple/family scenarios. Hence,for the partner who was entitled to ‘maternity leave’ according to their national rules, the same would be applied provided that it is properly documented. If, in light of the above, the male applicant considers that he should be entitled to the extension based on maternity leave, he should make the case and submit all relevant supporting documentation together with their proposal (see more details on the supporting documents in the Information for Applicants to the STG and COG Grant CallsPDF.)

According to the conditions of the ERC Starting Grant and the Consolidator Grant 2025 calls (ERC-2025-STG; ERC-2025-COG), there is no eligibility restriction to holders of a 'habilitation'. The reference date used for calculation of the applicant's eligibility is the PhD defence date or the certified date of the basic medical degree completion + 2 years. For more information, please consult Annex 2 of the ERC Work Programme 2025PDF.

According to the ERC Work Programme 2025PDF, the date of the PhD considered for the calculation of the eligibility period is the date of the successful defence of the first PhD degree. This rule is explained further in the Information for Applicants to the STG and COG Grant CallsPDF (section 1.2 Admissibility and eligibility / Principal Investigator). In order to be eligible:

- for the ERC- 2025-STG call, the certified date of the successful PhD defence would need to be at least 2 and up to 7 years prior to 1st January 2025 [i.e. the PhD reference window is between (inclusive) 1st January 2018 and (inclusive) 31st December 2022].

- for the ERC-2025-COG call, the certified date of the successful PhD defence would need to be at least 7 and up to 12 years prior to 1st January 2025 [i.e. the PhD reference window is between (inclusive) 1st January 2013 and (inclusive) 31st December 2017].

Yes. As from the 2024 Calls, a specific template should be used for applicants requesting an extension of the eligibility window. For more information, please see Annex 4.7 of the Information for Applicants to the STG and COG Grant CallsPDF. This applies to ERC-2025-STG and ERC-2025-COG calls.

In proposals for the ERC Starting or Consolidator Grant 2025 calls (ERC-2025-STG; ERC-2025-COG), the CVs of individual team members should NOT be included. Although it is not mandatory to provide the names of individual team members, the proposal should describe the composition and nature of the team that will carry out the proposed activities. In case the PI decides to put any name in the proposal, they should be aware of the obligation to obtain before the submission of the proposal a written consent of all participants on their participation and on the content of the proposal, as well as of any researcher mentioned in the proposal as participating in the project, should the proposal be funded. Further explanations can be found in the Information for Applicants to the STG and COG Grant CallsPDF and in the ERC Rules of submission and evaluation under Horizon EuropePDF.

No. According to the conditions of the ERC Starting and Consolidator Grants 2025 calls (ERC-2025-STG; ERC-2025-COG), the Principal Investigator must have successfully defended a PhD or equivalent doctoral degree to be eligible. First professional degrees will not be considered as PhD-equivalent, even if recipients carry the title "Doctor". For more information, please consult Annex 2 of the ERC Work Programme 2025PDF, and Annex 4.3 of the Information for Applicants to the STG and COG Grant CallsPDF.

Yes, this is possible as long as the PI, at the time of submission to the ERC-2025-STG or ERC-2025-COG calls, is supported by one organisation acting as host institution (applicant legal entity) based in an EU Member State or an Associated Country.Through the host institution support letter, this organisation is committing itself: to host and engage the PI for the whole duration of the action, to ensure that the project will be performed under the guidanceof the PI, who is expected to devote minimum 50% of their working time to the ERC STG funded project and 40% of their working time to the ERC COG funded project.Specific circumstances, where the minimum time requirement of the call (50%/40%) results from the sum of more than one employment contract of the PI with different organisations, may be accommodated in case the proposal is selected for funding. Other organisation(s) hosting team members should be referred to as (an) additional partner(s) in the proposal and their details should be given in the administrative proposal submission Part A form on the F&T Portal.

For the ERC Starting and Consolidator Grants 2027 Calls (ERC-2027-STG; ERC-2027-COG): The budget table and the justification for the requested budget and resources should be included in the online submission form A (section 3 - Budget). The section C resources text box (under the budget table) should provide a clear description and justification of the proposal budget and, if applicable, of the additional funding. If additional funding is requested, the costs must be indicated in the budget table in the appropriate cost category.

For the ERC Starting and Consolidator Grants 2027 Calls as described in the Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant CallsPDF, the budget table in Part A (Section3 - Budget) is subdivided in:

A. Direct personnel costs (Principal Investigator, senior staff, post docs, students, other personnel costs).

B. Subcontracting costs (no indirect costs).

C. Purchase costs [travel and subsistence, equipment (including major equipment), consumables (including fieldwork and animal costs), publications (including any costs related to Open Access fees) and dissemination, and other additional direct costs.

D. Internally invoiced goods and services (no indirect costs).

E. Indirect costs. Principal Investigators should consider the dedicated working time to run the project when estimating personnel costs and describe the size and nature of the team, indicating the key team members and their roles.The participation of team members engaged by other host institutions should be justified and in relation to the additional financial costs this may impose.They should include a short technical description of any requested equipment, why they need it and how much they plan to use it for the project. Costs for publishing in full Open Access venues (such as full open access journals, books, or platforms) and other publishing fees (article processing charges/book processing charges) are eligible if they are incurred during the lifetime of the project. The cost items covered by ‘Other personnel costs’ category as well as ‘Other additional direct costs’ category should be specified if applicable. Costs under ‘Internally invoiced goods and services’ should include costs for host institution invoices. The requested amount for additional funding, if applicable, should be specified (all items MUST be included in the budget table under the relevant individual columns), and the request should be justified.

As described in the ERC Work Programme 2027PDF, additional funding can be requested to cover further eligible costs when these are necessary to carry out the proposed work. The requests for additional funding must be duly justified in the proposal. For ERC-2027-StG and ERC-2027-CoG, applicants already based in an EU Member State or an Associated Country may request up to EUR 1 000 000 in additional funding. Principal Investigators who are based outside the EU Member States and Associated Countries at the time of the call deadline and who will relocate to the EU or an Associated Country to take up their ERC grant may request up to EUR 2 000 000 in additional funding. All requested funding, including any request for additional funding, is assessed during the evaluation.

For the ERC Starting and Consolidator Grants 2026 Calls (ERC-2026-STG; ERC-2026-COG): The budget table and the justification for the requested budget and resources should be included in the online submission form A (section 3 - Budget). The section C resources text box (under the budget table) should provide a clear description and justification of the proposal budget and, if applicable, of the additional funding. If additional funding is requested, the costs must be indicated in the budget table in the appropriate cost category.

As described in the ERC Work Programme 2026PDF, additional funding can be requested to cover further eligible costs when these are necessary to carry out the proposed work. The requests for additional funding must be duly justified in the proposal. The maximum additional funding amount for ERC-2026-STG and ERC-2026-COG is 1 million euro and 2 million euro for Principal Investigators (PIs) relocating to the EU or an Associated Country from elsewhere to take up their ERC Grant.

For the ERC Starting and Consolidator Grants 2026 Calls as described in the Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant CallsPDF, the budget table in Part A (Section 3 – Budget) is subdivided in:

A.Direct personnel costs (Principal Investigator, senior staff, post docs, students, other personnel costs).

B.Subcontracting costs (no indirect costs).

C.Purchase costs [travel and subsistence, equipment (including major equipment), consumables (including fieldwork and animal costs), publications (including any costs related to Open Access fees) and dissemination, and other additional direct costs].

D.Internally invoiced goods and services (no indirect costs).

E.Indirect costs.

PIs should consider the dedicated working time to run the project when estimating personnel costs and describe the size and nature of the team, indicating the key team members and their roles. The participation of team members engaged by other host institutions should be justified and in relation to the additional financial costs this may impose. They should include a short technical description of any requested equipment, why they need it and how much they plan to use it for the project. Costs for publishing in full Open Access venues (such as full open access journals, books, or platforms) and other publishing fees (article processing charges/book processing charges) are eligible if they are incurred during the lifetime of the project. The cost items covered by ‘Other personnel costs’ category as well as ‘Other additional direct costs’ category should be specified if applicable. Costs under ‘Internally invoiced goods and services’ should include costs for host institution invoices. The requested amount for additional funding, if applicable, should be specified (all items MUST be included in the budget table under the relevant individual columns), and the request should be justified.

For the ERC Starting and Consolidator Grants 2025 calls (ERC-2025-STG; ERC-2025-COG), the budget table and description of resources are part of the online submission form Part A (Section 3 - Budget). The description and justification of the resources should be provided in the text box (Section C. Resources) under the budget table. The PI should NOT include any description of resources or budget table neither in Part B2 nor as an Annex.

For the ERC Starting and Consolidator Grants 2025 calls (ERC-2025-STG; ERC-2025-COG), the budget table in form Part A (Section 3 – Budget) is subdivided in personnel costs, travel and subsistence, equipment, consumables, publications (including Open Access), other additional direct costs, internally invoiced goods and services, and any envisaged subcontracting costs. PIs should consider the dedicated working time to run the project when estimating personnel costs and describe in the text box below the budget table the size and nature of the team, indicating the key team members and their roles.The participation of team members engaged by other host institutions should be justified and in relation to the additional financial costs this may impose. They should include a short technical description of any requested equipment, why they need it and how much they plan to use it for the project. Costs for publishing in full Open Access venues (such as full open access journals, books, or platforms) and other publishing fees (article processing charges/book processing charges) are eligible if they are incurred during the lifetime of the project.The cost items covered by ‘Other personnel costs’ category as well as ‘Other additional direct costs’ category should be specified if applicable.

Costs under ‘Internally invoiced goods and services’ should include costs for host institution invoices.The requested amount for additional funding, if applicable, should be specified (all items MUST be included in the budget table under the relevant individual columns) and the request should be justified.

According to the conditions of the ERC Starting and Consolidator Grants 2027 Calls (ERC-2027-STG; ERC-2027-COG), if no PhD document or equivalent is uploaded in the submission tool of the Funding & Tenders Portal, it will not be possible to validate/submit the proposal. A warning message will inform the applicant of the missing document. If another document is uploaded instead of the PhD certificate/document confirming the date of successful PhD defence, the ERCEA may contact the Principal Investigator and ask for a clarification and for the missing PhD document. For more information on admissibility and eligibility criteria, see the related sectionin the ERC Work Programme 2027PDF.

Yes, a Principal Investigator (PI) whose proposal was not funded in the 2024 or 2025 Starting Grant (StG), Consolidator Grant (CoG) or Advanced Grant (AdG) calls, may submit a proposal to the ERC 2026 Synergy Grant call (ERC-2026-SyG). In other words, regardless of the score received in an individual main frontier research call prior to the ERC 2026 Synergy Grant call, you are eligible to apply. Further details in ERC Work Programme 2026PDF, section "Restrictions on Applications".

According to the conditions of the ERC Starting and Consolidator Grants 2026 Calls (ERC-2026-STG; ERC-2026-COG), if no PhD document or equivalent is uploaded in the submission tool of the F&T Portal, it will not be possible to validate/submit the proposal. A warning message will inform the applicant of the missing document. If another document is uploaded instead of the PhD certificate/document confirming the date of successful PhD defence, the ERCEA may contact the PI and ask for a clarification and for the missing PhD document. For more information on admissibility and eligibility criteria, see the related section in the ERC Work Programme 2026PDF.

To be eligible for ERC calls (e.g. (ERC-2026-STG, ERC-2026-COG, ERC-2026-ADG, ERC-2026-SyG, ERC-2026-PoC), Host Institutions (HIs) – which can be public bodies, research organisations or higher education institutions (including private research organisations and private higher education institutions establishments) from an EU Member State or Associated CountryPDF-, must have a gender equality plan (GEP) or an equivalent strategic document in place for the duration of the project.

Please be aware that it is not necessary for the Host Institution to have the gender equality plan or an equivalent strategic document in place already at the time of the submission. The absence of a GEP will not affect the evaluation of the project. However, if the project is successful, a GEP or an equivalent is required before grant agreement signature.

To be eligible for ERC 2025 calls, host institutions –which can be public bodies,research organisations or higher education institutions (including private research organisations and private higher education institutions establishments) from an EU Member State or Associated Country– must have a gender equality plan (GEP) or an equivalent strategic document in place for the duration of the project. Please be aware that it is not necessary for the host institution to have already the GEP or equivalent strategic document in place at the time of the submission and the absence of a GEP will not affect the evaluation of the project. However, if the project is successful, it will be necessary before the signature of the grant agreement.

According to the conditions of the ERC Starting and Consolidator Grants 2025 calls (ERC-2025-STG; ERC-2025-COG), if no PhD document or equivalent is uploaded in the submission tool of the F&T Portal, it will not be possible to validate/submit the proposal. A warning message will inform the applicant of the missing document. If another document is uploaded instead of the PhD certificate/document confirming the date of successful PhD defence, the ERCEA may contact the PI and ask for a clarification and the missing PhD document. For more information on admissibility and eligibility criteria,see the related section in the ERC Work Programme 2025PDF.

Yes, the CV and Track Record are merged into one single template of up to four pages. PIs are expected to include:

- their personal details, education, key qualifications, current position(s) and relevant previous positions;

- a list of up to 10 research outputs that demonstrate how the PI has advanced knowledge in their field with an emphasison more recent achievements;

- a list of selected examples of significant peer recognition, e.g. prizes;

- a short, factual explanation of the significance of the selected outputs, the PI’s role in producing each of them and how they demonstrate their capacity to successfully carry out their proposed project, as well as a short explanation of the importance of the listed examples of significant peer recognition;

- relevant additional information on career breaks, diverse career paths, and life events;

- any particularly noteworthy contributions to the research community they have made other than research achievements and peer recognition and a short explanation of these contributions.

The purpose of this section is to allow the panels to take a more rounded view of the PI’s career and achievements and to ensure that any additional responsibilities, commitments, and leadership roles that the applicants have taken on beyond their individual research activities are recognised and taken into account. Publications should be reported correctly, including all authors in the same order as published. Joint authorships (e.g. co-first author, multiple corresponding author) must also be properly indicated. See also the Information for Applicants to the STG and COG Grant CallsPDF, and the Standard application form (HE ERC STG/COG).

For the ERC Starting Grant and ERC Consolidator Grant 2025 (ERC-2025-STG; ERC-2025-COG) calls, applicants (PIs) must submit scanned copies of documents proving their eligibility for the grant, i.e. the PhD certificate (or equivalent doctoral degree, see Annex 4.3 of the Information for Applicants to the STG and COG Grant CallsPDF) ) clearly indicating the date of the successful defence of PhD. If:

- the PhD certificate does not explicitly show the date of the successful defence of PhD, PIs should provide a written confirmation from the awarding institution stating the said date;

- the PhD defence was not successful and following the PhD defence corrections were required, applicants should provide an official document indicating that the defence was not successful and a date when the corrections to the PhD thesis were approved;

- no defence/viva was organised in the awarding institution, PIs should provide a written confirmation from the awarding institution stating that no defence/viva was organised and indicating the date when the PhD was approved.

Please note that in any case PIs have to provide their PhD certificate. The document confirming the PhD defence date (if applicable) would be an additional annex (which can be merged into the PhD certificate PDF file).

Yes, Principal Investigators (PIs) submitting a proposal to any ERC call (e.g. for ERC-2027-STG; ERC-2027-COG; ERC-2027-ADG; ERC-2027-SYG; ERC-2027-POC) must have, at the time of submission, the written consent of all participants on their involvement and on the content of the proposal, as well as of any researcher mentioned in the proposal as participating in the project (either as team member, collaborator, other PI or member of the advisory board), should the proposal be funded. The ERC Executive Agency may request PIs to provide proof of the written consent (email,letter) at any time. See also the ERC Rules of submission and evaluationPDF under Horizon Europe.

For the ERC-2027-STG and ERC-2027-COG calls, as described in the ERC Work Programme 2027PDF, Annex 2, applicants holding a degree in medicine, as a first degree in medicine, will not be accepted by itself as equivalent to a PhD degree. To be considered an eligible PI, applicants holding a degree in medicine need to provide:

• both certificates: the medical degree and the PhD, or the proof of an appointment that requires doctoral equivalency (e.g. post-doctoral fellowship, professorship appointment);
• information on their research experience (including peer-reviewed publications) to further substantiate the equivalence of their overall training to a PhD.

See information and examples in the Information for Applicants to the 2027 Starting and Consolidator Grant CallsPDF.

For the ERC-2027-STG and ERC-2027-COG Calls, according to the ERC Work Programme 2027PDF, Annex 2, applicants holding a degree in medicine need to provide the medical degree and the PhD or proof of an appointment that requires doctoral equivalency (e.g. post-doctoral fellowship, professorship appointment). Potential applicants can also consult the Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant CallsPDF.

In Horizon Europe,all interactions with the European Research Council Executive Agency (ERCEA) will take place online via the EU Funding & Tender Portal, under "My Area" (after EU Login).The handling of documents will be fully electronic as there is no need any more to exchange any paper document. The grants for the successful proposals submitted to the ERC 2026 calls (ERC-2027-STG, ERC-2027-COG, ERC-2027-ADG, ERC-2027-SyG, ERC-2027-PLUS, ERC-2027-PoC) will be prepared and then signed electronically. Requests of amendments will be prepared, submitted and either accepted or rejected electronically. All reports will have to be submitted for review via the EU Funding & Tender Portal. According to the various phases of the project lifecycle, the correct actors (HIs and/or PIs) will be informed via email that certain tasks must be performed in the EU Funding & Tender Portal. In case of the Synergy grants, the corresponding HI and PI are the main contacts with the Agency. Notwithstanding the above and in an effort to keep on offering a high-level service, we strongly encourage both the HIs and the PIs to contact the respective Agency staff for discussion in an informal way about any changes in their respective action. This is of utmost importance in order to avoid cancellation of documents or requests that are incomplete or incorrect. The name and surname of the ERC officer responsible for the PI's grant can be found in the EU Funding & Tender Portal. The officer can be easily contacted via the messaging tool embedded in the EU Funding & Tender Portal, allowing the PI (corresponding PI for the Synergy grants) to communicate directly with the officer without having to use emails. Furthermore, the ERCEA has set up a helpdesk to provide Principal Investigators with assistance and guidance throughout the lifetime of the project. The helpdesk can be contacted by email at ERC-C2-PI-HELPDESK@ec.europa.eu.

Yes, Principal Investigators submitting a proposal to any ERC call (e.g. for ERC-2026-STG; ERC-2026-COG; ERC-2026-ADG; ERC-2026-SYG; ERC-2026-POC; ERC-2026-PLUS) must have, at the time of submission, the written consent of all participants on their involvement and on the content of the proposal, as well as of any researcher mentioned in the proposal as participating in the project (either as team member, collaborator, other PI or member of the advisory board), should the proposal be funded. The ERC Executive Agency may request PIs to provide proof of the written consent (email, letter) at any time. See also the ERC Rules of submission and evaluation under Horizon EuropePDF.

For the ERC-2026-STG and ERC-2026-COG Calls, according to the ERC Work Programme 2026PDF, Annex 2, applicants holding a degree in medicine need to provide the medical degree and the PhD or proof of an appointment that requires doctoral equivalency (e.g. post-doctoral fellowship, professorship appointment). Potential applicants can also consult the Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant CallsPDF .

For the ERC-2026-STG and ERC-2026-COG calls, as described in the ERC Work Programme 2026PDF, Annex 2, applicants holding a degree in medicine, as a first degree in medicine will not be accepted by itself as equivalent to a PhD degree. To be considered an eligible PI, applicants holding a degree in medicine need to provide:

- both certificates: the medical degree and the PhD, or the proof of an appointment that requires doctoral equivalency (e.g. post-doctoral fellowship, professorship appointment);

- information on their research experience (including peer-reviewed publications) to further substantiate the equivalence of their overall training to a PhD. See information and examples in the Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant CallsPDF .

In Horizon Europe,all interactions with the European Research Council Executive Agency (ERCEA) will take place online via the EU Funding & Tender Portal, under "My Area" (after EU Login).The handling of documents will be fully electronic as there is no need any more to exchange any paper document. The grants for the successful proposals submitted to the ERC 2026 calls (ERC-2026-STG, ERC-2026-COG, ERC-2026-ADG, ERC-2026-SyG, ERC-2026-PoC) will be prepared and then signed electronically. Requests of amendments will be prepared, submitted and either accepted or rejected electronically. All reports will have to be submitted for review via the EU Funding & Tender Portal. According to the various phases of the project lifecycle, the correct actors (HIs and/or PIs) will be informed via email that certain tasks must be performed in the EU Funding & Tender Portal. In case of the Synergy grants, the corresponding HI and PI are the main contacts with the Agency. Notwithstanding the above and in an effort to keep on offering a high-level service, we strongly encourage both the HIs and the PIs to contact the respective Agency staff for discussion in an informal way about any changes in their respective action. This is of utmost importance in order to avoid cancellation of documents or requests that are incomplete or incorrect. The name and surname of the ERC officer responsible for the PI's grant can be found in the EU Funding & Tender Portal. The officer can be easily contacted via the messaging tool embedded in the EU Funding & Tender Portal, allowing the PI (corresponding PI for the Synergy grants) to communicate directly with the officer without having to use emails. Furthermore, the ERCEA has set up a helpdesk to provide Principal Investigators with assistance and guidance throughout the lifetime of the project. The helpdesk can be contacted by email at ERC-C2-PI-HELPDESK@ec.europa.eu.

In Horizon Europe,all interactions with ERCEA will take place online via the EU Funding & Tender Portal, under "My Area" (after EU Login). The handling of documents will be fully electronic as there is no need any more to exchange any paper document. The grants for the successful proposals submitted to the ERC 2025 calls (ERC-2025-STG, ERC-2025-COG, ERC-2025-ADG, ERC-2025-SyG, ERC-2025-PoC) will be prepared and then signed electronically. Requests of amendments will be prepared, submitted and either accepted or rejected electronically. All reports will have to be submitted for review via the EU Funding & Tender Portal. According to the various phases of the project lifecycle, the correct actors (HIs and/or PIs) will be informed via email that certain tasks must be performed in the EU Funding & Tender Portal. In case of the Synergy grants, the corresponding HI and PI are the main contacts with the Agency. Notwithstanding the above and in an effort to keep on offering a high level service, we strongly encourage both the HIs and the PIs to contact the respective Agency staff for discussion in an informal way about any changes in their respective action. This is of utmost importance in order to avoid cancellation of documents or requests that are incomplete or incorrect. The name and surname of the ERC officer responsible for the PI's grant can be found in the EU Funding & Tender Portal. The officer can be easily contacted via the messaging tool embedded in the EU Funding & Tender Portal, allowing the PI (corresponding PI for the Synergy grants) to communicate directly with the officer without having to use emails, and providing Principal Investigators with assistance and guidance throughout the lifetime of the project.

Yes, Principal Investigators submitting a proposal to any ERC call must have, at the time of submission, the written consent of all participants on their involvement and on the content of the proposal, as well as of any researcher mentioned in the proposal as participating in the project (either as team member, collaborator, other PI or member of the advisory board), should the proposal be funded. The ERC Executive Agency may request PIs to provide proof of the written consent (email, letter) at any time. See also the ERC Rules of submission and evaluation under Horizon Europe.

According to the ERC Work Programme 2025PDF, for applicants holding a degree in medicine, a first degree in medicine will not be accepted by itself as equivalent to a PhD degree. To be considered an eligible PI to the ERC-2025-STG or to the ERC-2025-COG call, applicants holding a degree in medicine need to provide the certificates of both the medical degree and the PhD, or the proof of an appointment that requires doctoral equivalency (e.g. post-doctoral fellowship, professorship appointment). Additionally, candidates must provide information on their research experience (including peer-reviewed publications) in order to further substantiate the equivalence of their overall training to a PhD. For more information, see sections 'Admissibility and eligibility criteria' and Annex 2 of the ERC Work Programme 2025PDF and section 4.3 of the Information for Applicants to the STG and COG Grant CallsPDF.

According to the ERC Work Programme 2025PDF, in order to be eligible to apply to the ERC-2025-STG or to the ERC-2025-COG calls,a Principal Investigator must have successfully defended a PhD or must have been awarded an equivalent doctoral degree. It is recognised that there are some other doctoral titles that enjoy the same status and represent variants of the PhD in certain fields. All of them have similar content requirements. First professional degrees will not be considered as PhD-equivalent, even if recipients carry the title "Doctor". For more information, please consult Annex 2 in the ERC Work Programme 2025PDF and section 4.3 of the Information for Applicants to the STG and COG Grant CallsPDF.

Yes, Principal Investigators submitting a proposal to any ERC call (e.g. for ERC-2025-STG; ERC-2025-COG; ERC-2025-ADG; ERC-2025-SYG; ERC-2025-POC) must have, at the time of submission, the written consent of all participants on their involvement and on the content of the proposal, as well as of any researcher mentioned in the proposal as participating in the project (either as team member, collaborator, other PI or member of the advisory board), should the proposal be funded. The ERC Executive Agency may request PIs to provide proof of the written consent (email, letter) at any time. See also the ERC Rules of submission and evaluation under Horizon EuropePDF.

For the ERC-2027-STG and ERC-2027-COG calls, at the end of each evaluation step (2 evaluation steps), the proposals are ranked by the panels on the basis of the panels' overall appreciation of their strengths and weaknesses and in particular, the excellence and ambition of the research project; as well as the intellectual capacity and creativity of the PI with a focus on the PI’s scientific expertise and capacity to successfully execute the project. At the end of Step 1, the proposal will receive one of the following scores:

• A invited: is of excellent quality and ranked sufficiently high to pass to Step 2 of the evaluation;
• A not invited: is of excellent quality but not ranked sufficiently high to pass to step 2 of the evaluation;
• B: is of high quality but not sufficient to pass to Step 2 of the evaluation;
• C: is not of sufficient quality to pass to Step 2 of the evaluation.

At the end of Step 2, the score of the proposals can be either A or B:

• A: fully meets the ERC's excellence criterion and is recommended for funding,if sufficient funds are available;
• B: meets some but not all elements of the ERC's excellence criterion and will not be funded.

Once the evaluation of their proposal has been completed, applicants will receive an evaluation report. For more information on the results of the peer review evaluation, check section 3.8 of the ERC Rules of submission and evaluation under Horizon EuropePDF.

For the ERC-2027-STG and ERC-2027-COG calls, according to the Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls, it is the PI’s responsibility to choose and indicate the most relevant ERC Panel (‘primary evaluation panel’) for the evaluation of the proposed research and to indicate one or more ERC keywords representing the research fields involved. The PI may indicate a secondary relevant evaluation panel. The initial allocation of the proposal to a panel will be based on the preference expressed by the PI. However,when necessary due to the expertise required for the evaluation, a proposal may be reallocated to a different panel with the agreement of both panel chairs concerned. The PI will be informed of such a change. The composition of the ERC evaluation panels is by nature multi-disciplinary. The primary allocated panel will determine if additional reviews by appropriate members of other panel(s) or additional remote experts are needed.The PIs should indicate when they believe that their proposal is of a cross-panel or cross-domain nature.

For ERC 2027 calls under Horizon Europe (e.g. for ERC-2027-STG; ERC-2027-COG; ERC-2027-ADG; ERC-2027-SYG; ERC-2027-POC; ERC-2027-PLUS), to be eligible, legal entities from an EU Member State (MS) or Associated Country (AC) must have a gender equality plan (GEP) or an equivalent strategic document in place for the duration of the project. This information will not be provided to the reviewers, and it will not be evaluated. In the Part A online submission form, there is a ‘yes/no’ tick box question that the host institution’s contact person must fill in. Only public bodies, research organisations or higher education institutions (including private research organisations and private higher education institutions) must answer this question. This answer and the absence of Gender Equality Plan (GEP) at submission stage will not affect the evaluation of the proposal. The GEP or equivalent must fulfil the mandatory requirements listed in Annex 5 to the ERC Work Programme 2027PDF and will be necessary before the signature of the grant agreement See guidelines on Horizon Europe Guidance on Gender Equality Plans.

To be eligible for calls with deadlines in 2027, legal entities from an EU Member State (MS) or Associated Country (AC) must have a gender equality plan (GEP) or an equivalent strategic document in place for the duration of the project. Please be aware that it is not necessary for the Host Institution to have the gender equality plan or an equivalent strategic document in place already at the time of the submission. The absence of a GEP will not affect the evaluation of the project. However, if the project is successful, a GEP or an equivalent is required before grant agreement signature. This information will not be provided to the reviewers, and it will not be evaluated. If the host institution has a GEP, this will appear during submission in the online administrative form, in the “Participants” section. The GEP or equivalent must fulfil the mandatory requirements listed in Annex 5 to the ERC Work Programme 2027PDF and will be necessary before the signature of the grant agreement (e.g. for ERC-2027-STG; ERC-2027-COG; ERC-2027-ADG; ERC-2027-SYG; ERC-2027-POC). See Horizon Europe Guidance on Gender Equality Plans.PDF

For ERC 2027 calls under Horizon Europe (e.g. for ERC-2027-STG; ERC-2027-COG; ERC-2027-ADG; ERC-2027-SYG; ERC-2027-POC; ERC-2027-PLUS), the information requested in Part A on the career stage of the Principal Investigator (PI) will not be provided to the reviewers and will not be part of the evaluation. This data is gathered for statistical purposes and used to evaluate the Horizon Europe Programme as a whole. See also the ERC Work Programme 2027PDF.

For ERC 2026 calls under Horizon Europe (e.g. for ERC-2026-STG; ERC-2026-COG; ERC-2026-ADG; ERC-2026-SYG; ERC-2026-POC; ERC-2026-PLUS), the information requested in Part A on the career stage of the Principal Investigator (PI) will not be provided to the reviewersl and will not be part of the evaluation. This data is gathered for statistical purposes and used to evaluate the Horizon Europe Programme as a whole. See also the ERC Work Programme 2026PDF.

For the ERC-2026-STG and ERC-2026-COG calls, at the end of each evaluation step (2 evaluation steps), the proposals are ranked by the panels on the basis of the panels' overall appreciation of their strengths and weaknesses and in particular, the excellence and ambition of the research project; as well as the intellectual capacity and creativity of the PI with a focus on the PI’s scientific expertise and capacity to successfully execute the project.

At the end of Step 1, the proposal will receive one of the following scores: A invited, is of excellent quality and ranked sufficiently high to pass to Step 2 of the evaluation; A not invited, is of excellent quality but not ranked sufficiently high to pass to step 2 of the evaluation; B, is of high quality but not sufficient to pass to Step 2 of the evaluation; C, is not of sufficient quality to pass to Step 2 of the evaluation.

At the end of Step 2, the score of the proposals can be either A or B: A, fully meets the ERC's excellence criterion and is recommended for funding, if sufficient funds are available; B, meets some but not all elements of the ERC's excellence criterion and will not be funded. Once the evaluation of their proposal has been completed, applicants will receive an evaluation report, including the final panel score and ranking range, the panel comment and the assessment of the evaluation elements by each individual independent external expert. For more information on the results of the peer review evaluation, check section 3.8 of the ERC Rules of submission and evaluation under Horizon EuropePDF.

For the ERC-2026-STG and ERC-2026-COG calls, according to the Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant CallsPDF, it is the PI’s responsibility to choose and indicate the most relevant ERC Panel (‘primary evaluation panel’) for the evaluation of the proposed research and to indicate one or more ERC keywords representing the research fields involved. The PI may indicate a secondary relevant evaluation panel. The initial allocation of the proposal to a panel will be based on the preference expressed by the PI. However, when necessary due to the expertise required for the evaluation, a proposal may be reallocated to a different panel with the agreement of both panel chairs concerned. The PI will be informed of such a change. The composition of the ERC evaluation panels is by nature multi-disciplinary. The primary allocated panel will determine if additional reviews by appropriate members of other panel(s) or additional remote experts are needed. The PIs should indicate when they believe that their proposal is of a cross-panel or cross-domain nature.

To be eligible for calls with deadlines in 2026, legal entities from an EU Member State (MS) or Associated Country (AC) must have a gender equality plan (GEP) or an equivalent strategic document in place for the duration of the project. This information will not be provided to the reviewers, and it will not be evaluated. In the Part A online submission form, there is a ‘yes/no’ tick box question that the host institution’s contact person must fill in. Only public bodies, research organisations or higher education institutions (including private research organisations and private higher education institutions) must answer this question. This answer and the absence of Gender Equality Plan (GEP) at submission stage will not affect the evaluation of the proposal. The GEP or equivalent must fulfil the mandatory requirements listed in Annex 5 to the ERC Work Programme 2026PDF and will be necessary before the signature of the grant agreement (e.g. for ERC-2026-STG; ERC-2026-COG; ERC-2026-ADG; ERC-2026-SYG; ERC-2026-POC). See guidelines on Horizon Europe Guidance on Gender Equality Plans.

Yes, as specified in the ERC Work Programme 2026, a PI whose proposal was evaluated as category A or category B at step 2 in an ERC 2025 Starting (StG), Consolidator (CoG) or Advanced (AdG) call, can submit a proposal to the ERC Plus Grant 2026 (ERC-2026-PLUS) call.

For ERC 2025 calls under Horizon Europe (e.g. for ERC-2025-STG; ERC-2025-COG; ERC-2025-ADG; ERC-2025-SYG; ERC-2025-POC), the information requested in Part A on the career stage of the PI will not be provided to the reviewers of your proposal and will not be part of the evaluation. This data is gathered for statistical purposes and used to evaluate the Horizon Europe Programme as a whole. See also the ERC Work Programme 2025PDF.

According to the conditions of the ERC Starting Grant and Consolidator Grant 2025 (ERC-2025-STG; ERC-2025-COG) calls, it is the applicant’s responsibility to choose and indicate the most relevant ERC Panel (‘primary evaluation panel’) for the evaluation of the proposed research and to indicate one or more ERC keywords representing the research fields involved. The Principal Investigator (PI) may indicate a secondary relevant evaluation panel. The initial allocation of the proposal to a panel will be based on the preference expressed by the applicant. However, when necessary due to the expertise required for the evaluation, a proposal may be reallocated to a different panel with the agreement of both panel chairs concerned. The composition of the ERC evaluation panels is by nature multi-disciplinary. The primary allocated panel will determine if additional reviews by appropriate members of other panel(s) or additional remote experts are needed. The PIs should indicate when they believe that their proposalis of a cross-panel or cross-domain nature. Further explanations can be found in the Information for Applicants to the STG and COG Grant CallsPDF.

At the end of each evaluation step, the proposals submitted to the ERC Starting Grant or to the Consolidator Grant calls 2025 (ERC-2025-STG; ERC-2025-COG) will be ranked by the panels on the basis of the panels' over all appreciation of their strengths and weaknesses and in particular, the ground-breaking nature, ambition, and feasibility of the research project. The proposal will receive one of the following scores:

- At the end of Step 1: A invited, is of excellent quality and ranked sufficiently high to pass to Step 2 of the evaluation; A not invited, is of excellent quality but not ranked sufficiently high to pass to step 2 of the evaluation; B, is of high quality but not sufficient to pass to Step 2 of the evaluation; C, is not of sufficient quality to pass to Step 2 of the evaluation.

- At the end of Step 2: A, fully meets the ERC's excellence criterion and is recommended for funding, if sufficient funds are available; B, meets some but not all elements of the ERC's excellence criterion and will not be funded.

Once the evaluation of their proposal has been completed, applicants will receive an evaluation report, including the final panel score and ranking range, the panel comment and the assessment of the evaluation elements by each individual independent external expert. More information on the results of the peer review evaluation can be found in section 3.8 of the ERC Rules of submission and evaluation underHorizon EuropePDF.

For the ERC Starting and Consolidator Grants 2025 calls (ERC-2025-STG; ERC-2025-COG), Step 1 of the peer review evaluation process is based only on Part B1 (the Extended Synopsis, the Principal Investigator's CV and the track record) and peer reviewers do not have access to the full research proposal. At Step 2, the peer reviewers base their assessment on the complete versions of the retained proposals– Part B1, Part B2 and section 3 – Budget and time commitment from section 5 – Other questions (included in the online submission form). Please note that experts do not have access to any supporting documentation during the evaluation. For more information on the evaluation process, please refer to the ERC Work Programme 2025PDF (section 'Evaluation criterion and procedure).

For the ERC Starting and Consolidator Grants 2025 calls (ERC-2025-STG; ERC-2025-COG), the budget table and description of resources (as well as time commitment of the PI to the project) will be extracted from the online submission form Part A (Section 3 – Budget; section 5 – Other questions) and made available to the experts evaluating the proposal in the form of a Proposal Budget Report. Please see Annex 4.6 of the Information for Applicants to the STG and COG Grant CallsPDF for an example of the Proposal Budget Report. It shows how experts will see the information entered in relevant sections of Part A.

To be eligible for calls with deadlines in 2025, legal entities from an EU Member State (MS) or Associated Country (AC) must have a gender equality plan (GEP) or an equivalent strategic document in place for the duration of the project. This information will not be provided to the reviewers, and it will not be evaluated. In the Part A online submission form, there is a ‘yes/no’ tick box question that the host institution’s contact person must fill in. Only public bodies,research organisations or higher education institutions (including private research organisations and private higher education institutions) must answer this question. This answer and the absence of GEP at submission stage will not affect the evaluation of the proposal.The GEP or equivalent must fulfil the mandatory requirements listed in Annex 5 to the ERC Work Programme 2025PDF and will be necessary before the signature of the grant agreement. See guidelines op.europa.eu.

The reporting requirements for ERC main frontier research projects granted under the Horizon Europe Programme (Starting Grant, Consolidator Grant, Advanced Grant, Synergy Grant or Plus Grant: e.g., ERC-2027-STG, ERC-2027-COG, ERC-2027-ADG, ERC-2027-SyG, ERC-2027-Plus) foresee two different reporting streams to cover the scientific aspects, on the one hand, and the financial aspects of the grant, on the other hand, as described in Article 21 of the Model Grant AgreementPDF used for ERC actions. Scientific reports are the sole responsibility of the Principal Investigator and are submitted via the Host Institution usually twice during the lifetime of an individual PI project (at mid-term and at the end).

In case of the Synergy grants running for 6 years, there are two intermediate reports and a final report. The financial reports are prepared by the Host Institution in consultation with the Principal Investigator and must usually be submitted 60 days after the end of each period. This report must include information on the use of resources and the general implementation of the project . At the end of a project, the Host Institution will also have to submit a Certificate on Financial Statements for each beneficiary (and linked third party) depending on the amount of the requested EU contribution to the costs claimed (if the entity requests a total contribution of EUR 430 000 or more – standard threshold).

Both types of reports (Scientific and Financial) are prepared and submitted online via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. In the case of Synergy Grants,the corresponding Principal Investigator assumes the primary responsibility for the scientific reporting and contribution to the financial reporting, while the other Principal Investigators must contribute to both the scientific and financial report (see page 120 of Model Grant AgreementPDF used for ERC actions).

The reporting requirements for ERC main frontier research projects granted under the Horizon Europe Programme (Starting Grant, Consolidator Grant, Advanced Grant or Synergy Grant: e.g., ERC-2026-STG, ERC-2026-COG, ERC-2026-ADG, ERC-2026-SyG) foresee two different reporting streams to cover the scientific aspects, on the one hand, and the financial aspects of the grant, on the otherhand, as described in Article 21 of the Model Grant Agreement used for ERC actions. Scientific reports are the sole responsibility of the Principal Investigator and are submitted via the Host Institution usually twice during the lifetime of an individual PI project (at mid-term and at the end).

In case of the Synergy grants running for 6 years, there are two intermediate reports and a final report. The financial reports are prepared by the Host Institution in consultation with the Principal Investigator and must usually be submitted 60 days after the end of each period. This report must include information on the use of resources and the general implementation of the project (see Article 21 of Model Grant Agreement used for ERC actions). At the end of a project, the Host Institution will also have to submit a Certificate on Financial Statements for each beneficiary (and linked third party) depending on the amount of the requested EU contribution to the costs claimed (if the entity requests a total contribution of EUR 430 000 or more – standard threshold). Both types of reports (Scientific and Financial) are prepared and submitted online via the EU Funding & Tender Portal.

In the case of Synergy Grants, the corresponding Principal Investigator assumes the primary responsibility for the scientific reporting and contribution to the financial reporting, while the other Principal Investigators must contribute to both the scientific and financial report (page 120 of Model Grant Agreement used for ERC actions).

The reporting requirements for ERC main frontier research projects granted under the Horizon Europe Programme (Starting Grant / Consolidator Grant / Advanced Grant or Synergy Grant: e.g., ERC-2025-STG, ERC-2025-COG, ERC-2025-ADG,ERC-2025-SyG) foresee two different reporting streams to cover the scientific aspects, on the one hand, and on the other hand, the financial aspects of the grant (except for the Advanced Grants 2024 and 2025 calls where, due to the introduction of the Lump Sum pilot, financial reporting is no longer required), as described in Article 21 of the Model Grant Agreement used for ERC actionsPDF.

Scientific reports are the sole responsibility of the Principal Investigator and are submitted via the Host Institution, usually twice during the lifetime of an individual PI project (at mid-term and at the end). In case of the Synergy grants running for 6 years, there are two intermediate and a final report. The financial reports are prepared by the Host Institution in consultation with the Principal Investigator and must usually be submitted 60 days after the end of each period; this report must include information on the use of resources and the general implementation of the project (see Article 21 of Model Grant Agreement used for ERC actions).

At the end of a project, the Host Institution will also have to submit a Certificate on Financial Statements for each beneficiary (and linked third party), depending on the amount of requested EU contribution to the costs claimed (if the entity requests a total contribution of EUR 430 000 or more – standard threshold).

Both types of reports (Scientific and Financial) are prepared and submitted online via the EU Funding & Tender Portal. In the case of Synergy Grants, the corresponding Principal Investigator assumes the primary responsibility for the scientific reporting and contribution to the financial reporting, while the other Principal Investigators must contribute to both the scientific and financial report (page 120 of Model Grant Agreement used for ERC actions).