About the program
The ERC Starting Grant funds one thing: scientific excellence, in the form of an ambitious, high-risk/high-gain project led by a single early-career PI at a European host institution. There are no consortium requirements, no impact-pathway sections, no thematic priorities — frontier science on any topic, judged by panels on the project and the person.
Evaluation is two-step: panels read the short B1 synopsis (and CV) first, and only step-2 survivors get their full B2 read and an interview in Brussels. The B1 must therefore stand alone — many applications die with the B2 unread. Ambition is scored explicitly: a feasible-but-incremental project is a rejectable project at the ERC.
Who can apply
- PhD awarded 2–7 years before the call’s reference date (extensions for parental leave, clinical training and similar are codified).
- Any nationality; the host institution must be in an EU member state or Horizon Europe associated country, and the PI commits to substantial working time there.
- One project, one PI — no co-PIs; team members are hired on the grant.
- A track record with at least one significant contribution without the PhD supervisor is the panels’ working bar.
Writing a competitive application
- Write the B1 as the whole argument, not a teaser: question, why now, why you, and what changes if it works — panelists outside your subfield must get it.
- Make the risk explicit and structured (what fails, what is learned, what survives); the ERC rewards managed audacity, not safety.
- The interview decides step 2 — rehearse the 10-minute pitch against hostile questions with people outside your field.
- Budget for the science, not the maximum: panels notice padding. €1.5M is a ceiling, not a target.