Contratos Proyectos Investigacion UMA / II Plan Propio de Investigacion UMA

What you get

The University of Malaga (UMA) in Spain runs its own research funding plan (II Plan Propio de Investigacion). It also pays contracts financed directly from its research projects. What you receive depends on which funding line fits you:

• Start in research (bachelor students): 300 EUR per month for 6 months (1,800 EUR total), up to 50 grants, plus up to 500 EUR extra if your work is published.
• Start in research (master students): 350 EUR per month for 6 months (2,100 EUR total), up to 30 grants, plus the same 500 EUR publication bonus.
• Predoctoral contracts: a paid PhD contract for 1 year, renewable up to 3 more years; up to 10 per year, with pay set by Spanish law for predoctoral researchers.
• Bridge contracts: 1,200 EUR gross per month for up to 6 months (renewable once), for people who just finished a predoctoral programme at UMA.
• Postdoctoral contracts: 1,500 EUR gross per month for 1 year (renewable once), at least 6 per year.
• Incorporation of doctors: 1,900 EUR gross per month for 1 year (renewable once), 5 per year, one per broad field of knowledge.

The plan also covers research projects, travel to conferences, research stays abroad, open-access publishing costs and knowledge-transfer activities. It is run by UMA's research office (Vicerrectorado de Investigacion y Divulgacion Cientifica).

Who can apply

• You belong to UMA: You must be a student or researcher at the University of Malaga for the whole funding period.
• Your level decides the line: Start-in-research grants are for students in their final bachelor or master semesters. Predoctoral contracts need admission to a UMA doctoral programme. Postdoc and doctor-incorporation contracts need a completed PhD.
• Timing after your PhD: Postdoc contracts require a UMA doctorate no more than 3 years old. The doctor-incorporation line asks for at least 24 months of postdoc experience elsewhere and a PhD no more than 10 years old.
• Field of study: Open to all five fields UMA recognises: arts and humanities, sciences, health sciences, social and legal sciences, and engineering and architecture.
• Clean record: You have no unfinished reports outstanding from earlier Plan Propio funding, and you agree to publish your results in open access.
• Extra duty for postdocs: The postdoc contract requires at least a 6-month research stay abroad.

How to apply

You fill in the forms on the Servicio de Investigacion pages and submit them through UMA's electronic office or the i-Tramita system. Each funding line has its own annual window. For example, start-in-research grants open in October, postdoctoral contracts in April, and bridge contracts in December. A research committee assesses applications, and the decision follows within about three months.

How realistic are your chances?

This is an internal programme, so you can only apply once you are already tied to the University of Malaga. That keeps the field small compared with open national scholarships. The number of places is fixed and tight (for instance only 10 predoctoral and 5 doctor-incorporation contracts a year), so the paid contracts are competitive. The smaller start-in-research grants have more slots. If you clearly fit one specific line and apply in its window, your prospects are reasonable.