Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowships 2026

Please note that the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography is accepting EOIs for European Postdoctoral Fellowships only. We are not able to support the Global Postdoctoral Fellowships.

The EOI deadline for this call for applicants wishing to apply through the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography will be 09:00 (UK BST) on Thursday 23rd April 2026.

MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2026

Please note that the guidelines below are subject to change when the call for the scheme opens, and will be updated based on published details after 9th April 2026.

MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships aim to enhance the creative and innovative potential of researchers holding a PhD and wishing to acquire new skills through advanced training, international, interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral mobility.

Researchers interested in these Fellowships:

  • must be in possession of a doctoral degree or have successfully defended their doctoral thesis before the call deadline (9th September 2026). Applicants who have successfully defended their doctoral thesis but who have not yet formally been awarded the doctoral degree will also be considered eligible to apply
  • must have a maximum of eight years’ research experience (full-time equivalent) from the date of the award of their (first) doctoral degree. This limit can be extended (in days) for the following reasons: maternity leave, paternity leave, compulsory national service, time spend not working in research, long-term sick leave, or - for nationals or long-term resident of EU member states or Associated Countries wishing to reintegrate in Europe – research in a non-associated Third Country.
  • should comply with mobility rules: the researcher cannot have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the beneficiary (for European Postdoctoral Fellowships) for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately prior to the call deadline.  

Applications will be made jointly by the researcher and a beneficiary in the academic or non-academic sector. Postdoctoral Fellowships either can take place in Europe (i.e. in an EU Member State or a Horizon Europe Associated Country) or in a Third Country not associated to Horizon Europe.

  • European Postdoctoral Fellowships are open to researchers of any nationality who wish to engage in R&I projects by either coming to Europe from any country in the world or moving within Europe. The standard duration of these fellowships must be between 12 and 24 months.

Since 2022, resubmission restrictions apply for applications that received a score below 70% the previous year.

Follow this link to learn more details about MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships.

UK Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions National Contact Point:
Email: mariecurie-uk@ukro.ac.uk

SAME Deadline for submission of Expressions of Interest: 09:00 (UK BST) on Thursday 23rd April 2026

SAME will be implementing a departmental gathered field process for the selection of candidates to go forward to this external competition. We are not accepting EOIs for the Global Fellowship route. 

Any candidate wishing to apply through the department must submit the required Expression of Interest (EoI) materials listed below to research@anthro.ox.ac.uk by the closing date.

  1.  SAME Expression of Interest Form
  1. Outline proposal (no more than 4 pages A4, Arial font size 11) covering the following headings:
  • Research Context
  • Research Objectives
  • Two-way Knowledge Transfer (Career Development and Benefits for the Department)
  • Dissemination and Data Management
  • Contribution of Supervisor (to be written in conjunction with mentor statement if applicable, please see below)
  • Indicative Resources, for example where/how many/how long - fieldwork trips, conferences, publication costs, research consumables? (Please do not try to budget at this stage, as this will be supported by the Research Support Team to ensure alignment with University and funder policies at application development stage.)
  • Indicative Timetable and Workplan
  • Risk Management
  1. Supervisor support statement (no more than 1 page A4, Arial font size 11) covering:
  • Confirmation of required support for applicant
  • Benefits of hosting the project for the department
  • Confirmation supervisor can contribute required time both to the development of the application, and to the project if awarded
  • Details of any secondary supervisory or mentoring arrangements required (if applicable)
  1. Summary CV (no more than 1-page A4, Arial font size 11) demonstrating eligibility for the scheme.

Additional useful information for applicants thinking about applying for these Postdoctoral Fellowships can be found at the following links

 

Please direct any queries to the SAME Research Support Team via research@anthro.ox.ac.uk.