DN: Is it possible in a DN proposal to have a fourth year of a PhD funded through a different contractual arrangement, such as a research fellowship or other university/departmental funding outside the MSCA project?

Yes, it is possible, but it is recommended to inform the fellow about that scheme during the recruitment interview, so that the researcher is aware of it and is ready to get a national scholarship during the last year of the doctoral programme. Moreover, it is not mandatory for fellows to complete their PhDs within the duration of the Doctoral Network.

For better management, many proposals indicate that the recruitment process will start before Month 1 and this has been accepted by REA, ensuring that the Doctoral Candidates can begin much earlier, typically around Months 3–4 of the project. This approach allows part of the fourth year (funded through other sources) to fall within the duration of the MSCA Doctoral Network project.

 

DN: Is it possible to have a Standard DN proposal with 12 doctoral candidates, 6 of them with co-supervisors and a double PhD degree, while the other 6 with 50% of time spent in the non-academic sector and only 1 PhD degree?

It is acceptable, but has to be argued very well, in order to demonstrate the added value of such a set-up and show that none of the PhD candidates will be disadvantaged.

However, as there can be challenges with the recruitment procedure, the different training paths and different supervision arrangements, the administrative burden should not be underestimated.

 

DN: Can applicants remove the remaining tags in the application form, or should they stay in the template?

REA confirms that all tags can be removed – they are no longer needed.

DN: Does the novelty in the Doctoral Networks 2026 template for the minimum font size of 11 points also apply to the tables in B2?

The minimum font size allowed throughout the proposal is 11 points. It applies to both B1 and B2, including the tables.

All Actions: Applicants that have one PIC number (one legal entity), but have offices in different countries, how should they proceed with regard to eligibility and budget?

Staff Exchanges:

For the case of SE, please see footnote 101 on p. 88 of the Work Programme 2026-2027 which states:

“Secondments to and from branches and departments without separate legal personality that are part of legal entities established in EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries can take place with entities established in any country other than the country where they are physically located and the country of their mother legal entity.”

Doctoral Networks:

As mentioned in footnote 74 on p. 72 of the MSCA Work Programme 2026-2027:

“In exceptional cases, where a beneficiary is established in a country different from the place where the recruited researcher is hosted, the country correction coefficient of the hosting entity is taken into account during the grant agreement preparation process, in order to ensure the correct budget calculation.”

However, this exception should not be used to circumvent the Horizon Europe rules for participation.

Postdoctoral Fellowships:

As mentioned in footnote 84 on p. 78 of the MSCA Work Programme 2026-2027:

“In exceptional cases, where a beneficiary is established in a country different from the place where the recruited researcher is hosted, the country correction coefficient of the hosting entity is taken into account during the grant agreement preparation process, in order to ensure the correct budget calculation.”

However, this applies only to applicants with offices in EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries. Offices based in Third Countries will not be eligible.

All Actions: When applying the mobility rule, what should be considered as the ‘main activity’ in the case of applicants with double activity - for example, candidates studying for a double diploma or candidates studying in one country and working remotely in another one?

REA uses a strict approach, meaning that for both examples the recruiting entities should check the mobility rule against both countries (even for remote work).

For Doctoral Networks, the doctoral candidates should be eligible at their recruitment date.

For Postdoctoral Fellowships, the fellows should be eligible at the date of the call closure.

For COFUND, the fellows should be eligible at the deadline of the co-funded programme’s call.

DN: Are beneficiaries from non-associated third countries accepted in Doctoral Networks and do they receive funding?

Fellows employed in a third country no longer need to be enrolled in a doctoral programme in a EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country, which used to be a requirement in previous calls. In Doctoral Networks, beneficiaries can be based in low- or middle-income third countries. Entities from high-income countries can receive EU funding only exceptionally if well justified in the proposal.

DN: In a doctoral Networks proposal, the PhD awarding organisation is located in a country different from the one of the organisation recruiting the PhD candidate. Does the mobility rule need to be applied to both countries, or only to the country of the recruiting beneficiary?

Point 1.3.2. regarding recruited researchers on p. 122 of the MSCA Work Programme 2023-2025 says:

“Recruited researchers can be of any nationality and must comply with the following mobility rule: they must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the recruiting beneficiary for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before their recruitment date.”

If the PhD-awarding organisation just delivers the PhD (and eventually hosts the Doctoral Candidate for a secondment), the mobility rule will indeed apply to the beneficiary.

However, if it is a more complex case, for example, a Doctoral Candidate is hosted by a French lab which is based in Japan (i.e. the research organisation is registered in France, but the lab is based in Japan), then the mobility rule applies to both countries.

DN: In a doctoral Networks proposal, the PhD awarding organisation is located in a country different from the one of organisation recruiting the PhD candidate. In this situation, should the country correction coefficient of the hosting organisation’s country be applied?

In case where a Doctoral Candidate is recruited by beneficiary A and goes on secondment to the associated partner B (which will award the PhD degree), it is the CCC of the beneficiary that will apply.

However, there are specific cases. For example, consider the case of a Doctoral Candidate that is hosted by a French lab which is based in Japan (i.e. the research organisation is registered in France, but the lab is based in Japan). Then footnote number 136 on p. 121 of the MSCA Work Programme 2023-2025 applies:

“In exceptional cases, where a beneficiary is established in a country different from the place where the recruited researcher is hosted, the country correction coefficient of the hosting entity is taken into account during the grant agreement preparation process, in order to ensure the correct budget calculation.”

DN: For the resubmission of Doctoral Networks proposals, will proposals that use a table for the individual research project descriptions be rejected?

The template is changed every year, and applicants must adapt their proposals to the relevant format of the current call. As such, it is not acceptable to have proposals with the individual research project descriptions in a table in font size 9, which was the expected template in a previous call, instead of a text with font size 11, which is the expected format in the 2025 call.

Therefore, applicants who have presented the individual research projects in a table format are invited to update their proposal according to the applicable template for the current Doctoral Networks call. They are allowed to use the table , if they prefer, but the font size must be 11.

All actions: What is the difference between academic and non-academic organisations in MSCA?

The non-academic sector includes, but is not limited to:

- Industry and businesses (spin-off, start-ups, SMEs, Mid-caps and corporations).

- Private companies, including Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).

- Non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

- Hospitals (there may be exceptions).

- Museums (there may be exceptions).

- Public authorities.

- Other entities not primarily focused on academic research or education (associations, platforms, etc.).

The academic sector includes the following types of legal entities:

- Public or private higher education establishments that award academic degrees.

- Public or private non-profit research organisations.

- International European Research Organisations (IERO).

DN: Who should sign the joint/double/multiple degree – letter of pre-agreement – the beneficiary or the degree-awarding institution?

As the letter of pre-agreement states the commitment to deliver the joint/double/multiple doctoral degree, it should be signed by the degree-awarding institution.

It is stated in the Work Programme that “Applicants must provide, at the time of the submission of the proposal, a pre-agreement to award a joint, double or multiple degree to the doctoral candidate(s). The proposal should indicate from which institutions a researcher is expected to receive the degree(s)”.

In the Doctoral Networks 2025 Application Form, it is stated: “For DN-JD, letters of pre-agreement must also be included from those academic beneficiaries/associated partners that will award the doctoral degrees, in part B (document 2) of the proposal. These letters should be signed by an authorised legal representative of the organisation in question so as to offer reasonable assurance regarding the commitment to award the joint, double or multiple doctoral degree(s)”.

DN: How should individual research projects be presented in Part B?

During the 2025 Doctoral Networks Call information event organised by the Research Executive Agency it was specified that the individual research projects should be presented in a text format, i.e. as a narrative description, and not as a table.

DN: A beneficiary in a Doctoral Networks proposal wants to enroll their PhD candidate in a PhD programme at another organisation which will not be a beneficiary in the consortium or participate in this project in any way. Is that possible?

A PhD candidate can be recruited by the beneficiary but enrolled in a PhD programme at another institution that provides PhD degrees, but that institution needs to be a beneficiary or at least an associated partner in the consortium. See also the Doctoral Networks Guide for applicants, page 7.

DN: Can an organisation from a low-income third country eligible for funding be funded under the MSCA Doctoral Networks call as a full beneficiary, i.e. award PhDs on their own?

Doctoral candidates recruited by organisations in low-income third countries eligible for funding need to be enrolled in a doctoral programme leading to the award of doctoral degree in at least one EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country. This means that these Doctoral Candidates have to be enrolled in the third country and in a European Union Member State/ Associated Country partner.

DN: Is it possible to have one PhD project run across two or more Work Packages in Doctoral Networks?

It is quite common that a single individual research project contributes to two or more scientific Work packages in a Doctoral Networks project. It is also a good way to show the interrelations between the scientific Work packages.

DN: How is the 70% rule for consortia implemented regarding the resubmission in MSCA Doctoral Networks?

As specified in the MSCA Work Programme 2023-2025, “Any proposal involving 70% or more of the same recruiting organisations as in another proposal submitted to the previous call of the MSCA Doctoral Networks under Horizon Europe that has received a score of less than 80% will be assessed for whether it is a resubmission, irrespectively of the applicants’ self-declaration.”

Therefore, if 7 out of 10 beneficiaries from the previous proposal are in the new consortium, that would be considered 70%, even if new members are added.

DN: What is the difference between joint, double and multiple degrees in Joint Doctorates?

In joint degrees there is only one diploma signed by two universities, while in double/multiple degrees the fellow receives two or more diplomas, each signed by the respective university.

DN: There is a commitment in the template of the pre-agreement letter for Joint Doctorates to establish the joint/ double/ multiple doctoral degree by month 6 from the start date of the project. Is this mandatory to provide, and if yes, should it be considered as a deliverable?

If the proposal is funded and enters into the Grant Agreement Preparation phase, the Project Officer in charge will ask the consortium to add some compulsory milestones and deliverables, including this commitment. Some flexibility is allowed, the Coordinator should inform of and agree the new deadline with the Project Officer.

DN: Can the same researcher be a supervisor in two different MSCA Doctoral Networks? Should this be mentioned in the new project proposal?

It is possible for a researcher to be supervisor in two different Doctoral Networks at the same time.

The applicant can mention it in the proposal, and explain that even though the supervisor is already involved in one Doctoral Network they will have enough time available to supervise another doctoral candidate in the second Doctoral Network. They can, for example, indicate the % of their involvement in both projects, and in other mandatory activities (e.g. teaching) to clearly show that is would be possible to implement.