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.
ERC Work Programme 2026
The ERC has published the new 2026 work programme, with a budget of €2.7 billion for funding opportunities. To learn more, recordings of two webinars are available:
- Webinar Part 1 – General overview of the 2026 work programme
- Webinar Part 2 – In-depth look at changes and opportunities for applicants (live on 11th September 2025)
ERC Starting Grants
These grants are for researchers with 2-7 years of experience since the completion of their Ph.D., a scientific track record showing an excellent research proposal.
These grants are for researchers with 7-12 years of experience since the completion of a Ph.D., a scientific track record showing great promise, and an excellent research proposal.
These grants are for active researchers with a track record of significant research achievements in the last 10 years.
ERC Synergy Grants
These grants are for two to a maximum four researchers working together and bringing different skills and resources to tackle ambitious research problems.
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.