Investigación
Research

MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships

MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships at USP CEU

The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions are the European Union’s reference programme for doctoral education and postdoctoral training.

They contribute to excellent research, boosting jobs, growth and investment by equipping researchers with new knowledge and skills. They foster research cooperation across borders, sectors and disciplines. 

The goal of MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships (MSCA PF) is to support researchers holding a PhD who wish to acquire new skills through advanced training, international, interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral mobility. MSCA PF are open to excellent researchers of any nationality who wish to engage in R&I projects at our University, integrated in one of our Competitive Research Groups.  

5 reasons to apply with USP CEU

  1. USP facilities include 8 Research Centers, 52 Competitive Research Groups and 11 Core Research Facilities, which sum an area of 3400 m2 devoted to research. 

  2. Currently USP is involved in 36 competitive research projects, with a budget of 3.2 € million. Under H2020, USP has been granted 7 projects, including 5 MSCA-IF grants in the last 5 years. The following projects have been successfully completed:

    • "FaecMet" (HORIZON-MSCA-PF 2021)
    • HUMAN” (HORIZON-MSCA-2021-DN-01-01)
    • BiACEM” (HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ACCESS-03)

      Regarding other EU Programs, we coordinate the Jean Monnet Network: “EU-China” (EAC-A03-2016) and we are partners in the project IBERIFIER (TENtec number: 29374659). 

  3.  Highly skilled supporting staff: we offer an in-depth review of the proposal during preparation. Once awarded, you will get support for VISA, mobility issues, health insurance, accommodation, and management of your research project.

  4. In December 2021, USP CEU was awarded the HR Excellence in Research' award.

  5. Located in Madrid, a culture hub, open, friendly city and the world capital of Spanish, an increasingly vital language in every context. Great starting point to discover Spain. 

Available hosting offers

In the following link you will find available hosting offers at our University:

At the time of the deadline of the call, you shall have obtained a doctoral degree or defended your doctoral thesis, and you should have a maximum of 8 years full-time equivalent experience in research, measured from the date of award of the doctoral degree. This limit can be extended for the following reasons:  

  • Maternity leave 
  • Paternity leave 
  • Long-term sick leave 
  • Research in a non-associated Third Country (TC)– only for nationals or long-term residents of EU Member States (MS) or Associated Countries (AC).
  • Time spent not working in research
  • Career breaks
  • Compulsory national service 

You also need to consider the general mobility rule required in MSCA PF: not have resided or carried out your main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Spain for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately before the call deadline (14-09-22). 

European Fellowships (EF)  
  • Held in the Spain, at USP CEU 
  • They can include a secondment period of up to 8 months in another entity, either Academic or industrial, anywhere in the world. 
  • Duration of the projects: whatever suits you better between 12 and 24 months. For our supervisors and research groups that will host you, 24 months are usually preferred.
Global Fellowships (GF)  
  • Are composed of two phases:
    • An outgoing phase to a Third Country (TC) outside Spain
    • A mandatory return phase our University 
  • Open to researchers moving towards the TC from anywhere (Europe or otherwise) as long as you return to USP CEU in the second phase of the grant. 
  • They can include a secondment period of up to 8 months in another entity, either Academic or industrial, anywhere in the world during the outgoing phase.
  • Duration of the projects is 24 to 36 months (12 – 24 outgoing phase + 12 months final USP CEU phase).

  • The fellowship covers 100% of the costs for the entire period. 
  • The average salary of a MSCA PF in Spain is about 3,900 euros gross per month (this may change depending on your family status and personal income taxes). This is quite competitive considering cost of living in Madrid.