Proyectos de Generación de Conocimiento y Actuaciones para la formación de personal investigador predoctoral (FPI)

What the FPI predoctoral contract gives you

You get a paid four-year work contract to do a doctorate (PhD) as part of a funded research project at a Spanish university or research centre. The gross salary is 31,100 EUR per year, plus an extra 3,215 EUR when the contract ends. On top of that, 7,000 EUR is available for short research stays at other centres in Spain or abroad and for your doctorate tuition fees. The money comes from Spain's national research agency (Agencia Estatal de Investigación), co-funded by the European Social Fund Plus. The centre hires you to work on one specific funded research project.

Who can apply

• Degree level: You hold a degree that lets you enrol in a doctorate (PhD) programme, and you do not yet have a doctorate.
• Where you work: A Spanish university, public research centre or similar body that won project funding hires you to write a doctoral thesis on that project.
• Field of study: All research fields are open, from basic research to research on social challenges.
• Nationality: Any nationality can apply. Posts are advertised publicly on EURAXESS, the EU research jobs portal.
• Timing: You must start the job at your research centre no later than 1 January 2027.

How to apply

You do not apply to the agency directly. The research centre that won a project runs its own open, competitive selection and hires you as the doctoral researcher. Watch for these positions on EURAXESS and on the websites of Spanish universities and research centres, since each centre picks its own candidate.

How realistic are your chances?

The programme is very large, with a total budget of 700 million EUR, so many predoctoral contracts open across all fields. Your real competition is local: each centre selects one candidate per funded project, so your chances depend on matching a specific project and impressing the team behind it. If your background fits a project's topic and you apply as soon as the post appears, you have a solid chance.