Maj and Tor Nessling Foundation - Scholarship

Nessling Foundation research grant

You will receive a personal grant for environmental research. A grant for a PhD thesis amounts to 32,000 EUR per year (about 2,666 EUR per month) for a period of 2 to 4 years. A postdoctoral grant amounts to 36,000 EUR per year (about 3,000 EUR per month) for up to 2 years. In addition to the grant, you may claim verifiable additional costs, such as travel, research or communication expenses. The funding comes from the Maj and Tor Nessling Foundation (Finnish: Maj ja Tor Nesslingin Säätiö), a Helsinki-based foundation. It supports research that accelerates the transition to sustainability and covers topics such as climate change, biodiversity and resource use.

Who can apply

• Stage: You are either just starting work on your doctoral thesis or are currently writing it, or you completed your PhD no more than 5 years ago (for call for applications 2026 in the year 2021 or later). Funding is not available for the actual writing of the doctoral thesis alone.
• Doctoral place: To be eligible for a doctoral scholarship, you must have completed your first degree and secured a place on a PhD programme before commencing the funded research. You may apply even before this has been confirmed.
• Connection to Finland: Finnish citizens may work in Finland or abroad. Applicants of other nationalities may also apply, but must be affiliated with a Finnish research institution and either live or work in Finland.
• Field of study: This call for proposals is aimed at the natural and social sciences, provided your project promotes the transition to sustainability. Interdisciplinary approaches and new areas of research are particularly valued.
• Full time: You do the research full time. Part-time work is not funded.
• One per person: You may submit only one application per call for applications. You may receive funding for a PhD once and postdoctoral funding once.

How to apply

You must apply as an individual candidate and submit your application via the Nesslink online system. The application period runs each year from 17 August to 17 September, and the results are announced in mid-November. To apply for a PhD scholarship, you will also need a reference from your supervisor.