Finding Funded PhD Positions in Europe: EURAXESS and National Doctoral Portals

Two different ways to find a funded PhD

European PhD positions come through two different systems, and mixing them up wastes time. Some universities advertise individual funded positions as open vacancies, tied to a specific project and supervisor, that you apply to like a job. Others run a doctoral school with a fixed annual application round, where you apply first and get matched to a supervisor and project after acceptance.

Germany, the Nordic countries, the Netherlands and Switzerland lean toward the open-vacancy model, where a PhD position pays a salary under an employment contract. France, and some doctoral schools elsewhere, lean toward the application-round model, where you compete for a place and a stipend rather than answer a job posting.

Using EURAXESS

EURAXESS runs the largest single portal for research vacancies across Europe, covering jobs, hosting opportunities and funding awards in over 50 countries. Filter by Academic Level and select PhD Positions to remove postdoc and other listings immediately.

Narrow further using the field-of-research filter, which spans over 200 disciplines, and the funding-program filter if you want positions tied to a specific scheme such as Horizon Europe or a Marie Skłodowska-Curie action. Sort results by posting date to catch new listings, or by deadline to see what closes soonest.

EURAXESS lists thousands of live positions at any time, so a broad, unfiltered search returns too much to review. Set your field, country preference and funding type before you start scrolling results.

Country-specific portals worth checking directly

Most Nordic and German universities post PhD vacancies on their own general staff recruitment pages rather than a dedicated doctoral portal, so check the careers or vacancies section of a target university directly, not only the aggregator sites.

Reading a vacancy posting correctly

A funded PhD vacancy usually states the project topic, the required background, the funding source and duration, and whether the position counts as an employment contract or a stipend. Contracts under the open-vacancy model typically run three to four years, tied to national labour rules in the host country, and include social security and pension contributions like any other job. Some postings also list teaching duties, lab rotations or mandatory coursework alongside the research project itself, which adds to your weekly workload beyond the thesis work, so read the full task list before you apply.

Check the application deadline carefully, since open vacancies often close on a rolling basis once a strong candidate applies, unlike doctoral school rounds with a fixed annual deadline. Apply as soon as a posting matches your background rather than waiting to perfect your application.

When to use a doctoral school application instead

If your target university runs a doctoral school with a set annual intake, you apply once with a research proposal or a statement of interest, and the school matches accepted candidates to supervisors and funding afterward. This route suits candidates who have a strong research direction but no single project already lined up. Check your target university's graduate or doctoral school pages directly, since EURAXESS and similar portals list open vacancies, not these structured application rounds.

Some universities run both systems side by side, funding some PhD places through open vacancies tied to grants and others through the doctoral school's general funding pool. Check both routes at any university you target, since relying on only one search method misses positions posted through the other.

Set up alerts instead of searching manually

EURAXESS and most national portals let you save a search and receive email alerts when new positions matching your filters go live. Set an alert as soon as you settle on your field and country preferences, since strong open vacancies attract applicants within days of posting and manual daily searching misses postings between visits.

Some funding schemes, such as Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Networks under Horizon Europe, fund several PhD positions at once across partner universities in different countries. A single call under one of these networks often lists five or more positions on EURAXESS at the same time, each tied to a different host institution and supervisor within the same overall project, so read each listing separately even when they share a project name.

Prepare your application materials before you start searching

Have a current CV, a short research statement and contact details for two or three referees ready before you start applying, since open vacancies often set tight deadlines and expect a complete application at first submission. Tailor your motivation letter to the specific project and supervisor named in each posting rather than sending one generic letter to every listing, since panels compare applicants directly against the stated project requirements.