The ERC is the European Commission’s agency that funds excellent researchers of any age and nationality wishing to carry out frontier research in the EU Member States or associated countries.

The ERC offers 5 main grant schemes: Starting Grants, Consolidator Grants, Advanced Grants, Synergy Grants, and Proof of Concept  and –news for 2026-  ERC Plus.

ERC web funding page

please also have a look to “ERC position towards AI use in proposal writing and evaluation” 24.03.2026

 

ERC Work Programme 2026 (currently active only for AdGs, SyGs and Plus)

 

ERC Starting Grants 2027 (deadline: October 2026)
These grants are for researchers up to 10 years of experience since the completion of their Ph.D., a scientific track record showing an excellent research proposal.

ERC Consolidator Grants 2027 (deadline: January 2027)
These grants are for researchers from 5 to 15 years of experience since the completion of a Ph.D., a scientific track record showing great promise, and an excellent research proposal.

ERC Advanced Grants 2026 (DEADLINE: 27/08/2026)
These grants are for active researchers with a track record of significant research achievements in the last 10 years.

ERC Synergy Grants 2026 (DEADLINE: november 2026)
These grants are for two to a maximum four researchers working together and bringing different skills and resources to tackle ambitious research problems.

ERC Proof of concept
These grants are for researchers who have already received an ERC grant for their frontier research project and now want to explore the commercial or societal potential of it.

ERC Plus Grant  2026 (DEADLINE: 02/09/2026)
The new funding scheme, ERC Plus Grant supports outstanding principal investigators who address major scientific challenges. Applications for ERC Plus Grants should be for projects that could not be carried out with a regular ERC grant. Be aware that every year, only some 30 ERC Plus Grants can be awarded across all fields and all career stages!