INPhINIT Doctoral Fellowships (la Caixa Foundation)

What the INPhINIT Incoming Fellowship gives you

A fellowship here means a paid research contract for your PhD. You get 35,800 EUR per year as salary, plus 3,500 EUR per year for research costs such as conference fees, courses, research stays, materials and equipment. Your doctoral tuition fees are also covered. Funding runs for up to 4 years. You are hired as an employee of your host research centre under Spanish or Portuguese labour law. The "la Caixa" Foundation awards 30 of these fellowships each year for a PhD at a top-rated research centre in Spain or Portugal. You also get training in scientific writing, communication, career planning, leadership and teamwork, an optional mentor, and a place in the foundation's worldwide network of fellows.

Who can apply

• Field of study: Your PhD is in a STEM subject: technology, engineering, physics, chemistry, mathematics, or health and life sciences.
• Where you go: You study at an accredited centre of excellence in Spain or Portugal (Severo Ochoa, María de Maeztu, Carlos III health institutes, or FCT-rated "excellent" units).
• Nationality: Any nationality can apply, EU and non-EU.
• No doctorate yet: You have never started a PhD and do not already hold one.
• Qualification: By the time you are hired, you have finished the studies that let you enrol in an official PhD programme in Spain or Portugal.
• Research experience: You have no more than 4 years of full-time research experience by the application deadline.
• Where you lived: In the 3 years before the deadline, you spent no more than 12 months in the country of your host centre. This fellowship is meant to bring you in from abroad.
• English: You can prove a set level of English with an accepted certificate.
• Age: No age limit.

How to apply

You apply online through the foundation's fellowship portal. You do not need a host centre to accept you before you apply. If you are shortlisted, you are invited to an interview before a committee that makes the final decision. You may apply to only one "la Caixa" fellowship programme per call.

How realistic are your chances?

Only 30 fellowships go out each year and this is one of Europe's best-known doctoral awards, so competition is strong. The field narrows sharply through the specific rules: a STEM subject, no PhD started yet, under four years of research experience, and living mostly outside Spain or Portugal beforehand. If you clearly fit all of these and can show a strong academic record plus a convincing statement of purpose, your prospects are realistic. Selection weights your CV, motivation and interview heavily.