Government of Spain-Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports/College of Spain - Training programme for Academic Staff (FPU)- Travel grants for doctorate students

FPU mobility grants for research stays abroad

You will receive up to 1,500 EUR per month to cover accommodation and living costs during a research stay away from your home institution. The exact monthly amount depends on the destination country. In addition, you can claim travel expenses: up to 600 EUR for a destination in Europe or up to 1,200 EUR outside Europe. You may also claim up to 200 EUR per month for health and accident insurance if you are travelling to a country where the European Health Insurance Card is not valid. Funding is provided by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (MICIU). It supports two types of stays: short stays of 2 to 3 months and temporary secondments of 6 to 9 months. For the 2026 round, there are 325 places available for short stays and 15 places for temporary secondments.

Who can apply

• Current FPU holder: You already hold an active FPU grant, Spain’s four-year pre-doctoral contract for prospective university lecturers. This increase applies exclusively to current FPU grant holders, not to external applicants.
• FPU year: Your FPU grant is from a call for proposals dated 2022.
• Time already funded (short stay): You have completed at least 9 months of the FPU grant.
• Time already funded (temporary transfer): You have completed at least 24 months of the FPU grant.
• Field of study: All topics are permitted, provided that your stay is related to your doctoral thesis.
• Timing of the stay: The entire stay must fall entirely within the funding period of your FPU, and no part of it may fall within the last 6 months of that funding period.
• Nationality: Applicants of all nationalities are welcome to apply. The key requirement is that you hold a current FPU scholarship.

How to apply

You must apply online via the Ministry’s electronic portal between 16 January and 13 February 2026. You must include your home institution’s approval, a confirmation of admission from the host institution, and a work plan for your stay. A committee will assess the applications on the basis of a total score of 100 points. The assessment will take into account the progress of your doctoral thesis, the suitability of the stay for your doctoral research, and the quality of the host research team.

How realistic are your chances?

The target group is small. You must already be an active FPU scholarship holder from a call for applications dated 2022 and have completed the minimum duration of the funding, meaning that only a few people are competing for these places. With 340 places available in the 2026 round, a well-suited applicant who has made significant progress on their PhD thesis and has a strong host group stands a good chance. Applications are assessed on a competitive basis, so a placement that is clearly relevant to your PhD thesis is what will set your application apart from the rest.