School of Social and Political Science

Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions - Individual Postdoctoral Fellowships

The deadline for submissions to the SSPS review and selection process for the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2025 has passed and the School's pathway is now closed. 

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions were formed in 1996 and can trace their origins to the EU’s researcher mobility fellowships under FP3. MSCAs will continue under Horizon Europe programme as a component of the UK's negotiated Brexit settlement.

There are 2 types of Postdoctoral Fellowships:

  1. European Postdoctoral Fellowships. They are open to researchers moving within Europe or coming to Europe from another part of the world to pursue their research career. These fellowships take place in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country and can last between 1 and 2 years. Researchers of any nationality can apply.
  2. Global Postdoctoral Fellowships. They fund the mobility of researchers outside Europe. The fellowship lasts between 2 to 3 years, of which the first 1 to 2 years will be spent in a non-associated Third Country, followed by a mandatory return phase of 1 year to an organisation based in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country. Only nationals or long-term residents of the EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries can apply.

Eligibility

Researchers interested in PFs

  • should have a PhD degree at the time of the deadline for applications. 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 experience in research, from the date of the award of their PhD degree, years of experience outside research and career breaks will not count towards the above maximum, nor will years of experience in research in third countries, for nationals or long-term residents of EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries who wish to reintegrate to Europe.
  • must comply with the following mobility rule: they must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the beneficiary (for European Postdoctoral Fellowships), or the host organisation for the outgoing phase (for Global Postdoctoral Fellowships) for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before the call deadline. 

School of Social and Political Science (SPS) Key Stages and dates for the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships

1. Mentor identification

Applicants should be aware that the MSCA and SPS require a mentor to be appointed for all postdoctoral fellowships. This needs to be a core member of SPS staff. Applicants have the responsibility of first identifying, contacting and securing an agreed mentor for a proposed project application. We strongly encourage all applicants to contact and secure the agreement of a prospective mentor in SPS as soon as possible, as they must work closely with them in developing their application.

2. Notification of Expression of Interest to School

Once you have a mentor in place, you should let the SPS Research Office know of your intention to apply by email to ssps.research@ed.ac.uk.

3. Submission to School Panel Process

If you wish to apply for this scheme then you must put in a submission to the School Panel Process. The School deadline for consideration for the 2025 call will be Monday, 19 May 2025. We will aim to provide comments/feedback from reviewers within 3 weeks. All documents should be submitted to ssps.research@ed.ac.uk. 

School Panel Process - Documents

Documents should all be in either Calibri or Arial font, size 11, with 2 cm margins.

a) Project proposal (max. 2 pages) which must include, but is not limited to, the following sections:

  • Introduction/rationale and objectives/research questions
  • Research methodology/approach
  • Originality and innovative aspects of the research programme – this is a crucial element of the MSCA PF
  • Outcomes/outputs/impact of the research
  • Opportunities for transfer of knowledge (TOK) between fellow and host institution (in both directions) – what will you learn from being at SPS and what will SPS learn from you?
  • Applicants wishing to apply to the Global Postdoctoral Fellowship should ensure their proposal distinguishes between the outgoing phase and return phase.

b) References/Bibliography (max. 1 page)

c) Candidate CV (max. 2 pages)

d) Mentor statement (max. 1 page) and abbreviated CV (max. 1 page)

You must ask your mentor to prepare this statement, which should describe:

  • how they will work with you to develop the full proposal if selected
  • why they are a good match for your project in terms of expertise
  • their experience with regard to training researchers, track record, major international collaborations, publications, etc.
  • the role they will play in the fellowship, including how they will support you to integrate into the subject area.

This statement must be accompanied by the mentor’s abbreviated CV.

  • Applicants wishing to apply to the Global Postdoctoral Fellowship must provide email confirmation from their agreed mentor for the outgoing phase in a non-associated Third Country institution. 

e) Head of Subject Area agreement

The mentor must ensure that in principle approval from the Head of Subject Area for the application is emailed to the SPS Research Office before the applicant submits their documents to the School panel process.

Further information on preparing a submission to a School panel can be found here: Preparing a submission to a School panel.

Applicants who obtain School support

For applicants successful in obtaining School support then the next stages will involve the submission of a full draft application by Wednesday, 6 August to work towards the Wednesday, 10 September 2025 funder deadline. This schedule will also involve active mentor input in the period July to August, so it essential that your mentor is available during this time.

The SPS RO is keen to speak with potential applicants and to provide them with any additional information that may be helpful in considering this scheme round in 2025. 

Further information

Marie Curie Fellowships are for postdoctoral research in any subject. The ERC pay your salary and other research costs for up to two years. There is no specific cut-off in terms of experience, but applicants are usually fairly early on in their postdoctoral career. You don't need an existing academic job to be eligible to apply.

The most important characteristic of this scheme is that you have to move country. There are three ways in which you can do this:

  • Move from one EU country or associated country to another.
  • Come from outside the EU into the EU or to an associated country.
  • Go from inside the EU or and an associated country to outside the EU (but come back for a year at the end).

Further information: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions on the European Commission website.