European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO)
EMBO Postdoctoral Fellowships
EMBO Postdoctoral Fellowships pay for life scientists to spend up to two years in a laboratory in another country, most often in Europe. They are awarded twice a year after a written pre-screen, an interview with an expert and a committee meeting, and the European Molecular Biology Organization receives more than 1,400 applications a year. Rules on mobility are strict, and from the autumn 2027 round each researcher will get only one attempt.
- Level
- Postdoc
- Study or work in
- Europe (EMBC member states), EMBO global partners and, for some applicants, the rest of the world
- Who can apply
- PhD within 2 years of applying (or by the start), a first-author paper, and a move to a new country; any nationality for EMBC member states
- What it covers
- Salary or stipend at the host country rate, a relocation allowance, support for fellows with children, and free leadership courses
- Length
- Up to 24 months (at least 12)
- Application window
- Open all year; cut-offs on the fourth Friday of January and the second Friday of July
Open now (1)
How to apply
Apply on EMBO's online system with a project agreed with the host lab. Two reference letters (one from the PhD supervisor) and an acceptance letter from the host must be uploaded before the application counts as complete.
Who can apply
Applicants must hold a PhD by the start of the fellowship; those who already hold one must have obtained it within the two years before they submit. Parental leave extends this (a year per child for women, and at least three months per child for men), as do military or civil service and, case by case, serious illness or caring for an ill relative. Any exception must be agreed with the fellowship office before submitting.
Applicants also need at least one first or joint-first author research paper, published or accepted in an international peer-reviewed journal, when they submit. A first-author preprint counts only if it has public, in-depth reviews from an independent preprint review service such as Review Commons or Peer Community In. Reviews, book chapters and conference abstracts do not count.
The mobility rules
Every fellowship involves a change of country. Anyone, of any nationality, can apply to work in an EMBC member state. To work in one of the global partner countries, applicants must come from, be nationals of, and have done their PhD in an EMBC member state or a partner. To work anywhere else, they must meet all three conditions for an EMBC member state, and no more than 30 percent of fellowships go to that group.
Applicants cannot go to the country where they obtained or carried out their PhD, back to their PhD supervisor, or to a lab where they have already worked for more than six months. They may have lived or worked in the host country for at most six months in the 18 months before submitting. The project must be a biological question within EMBO's subject areas, not a continuation of the PhD, and applied or clinical work without a clear biological question is not eligible.
What fellows receive
Fellowships last 24 months, or less on request, down to 12. They pay a salary or stipend at the rate EMBO publishes for each host country, a relocation allowance and support for fellows with children. Fellows may spend up to 20 percent of the time in another institute or country while still paid by the host.
Fellows join the EMBO Fellows' network. They can take the EMBO Laboratory Leadership courses online free of charge, and one-day courses on writing papers and designing figures, and those awarded two or three years earlier are invited to the EMBO Fellows' Meeting in Heidelberg. A fellow who ends the award early because of other funding can become a non-stipendiary EMBO Fellow.
How selection works
- Complete application. The application counts only when the form, two reference letters (one from the PhD supervisor, none from the host institute) and the host's acceptance letter are all in the online system. Anything completed after 2pm on the cut-off day goes to the next round.
- Pre-screening. The office checks eligibility, then Fellowship Committee members review a condensed form: achievements and publications, the project summary and significance, the choice of host lab and the letters. Results come six to eight weeks after the cut-off, and normally the top 20 to 25 percent go on.
- Interview. An EMBO Member or Young Investigator in the applicant's field interviews them online for 90 minutes: a 30-minute presentation of PhD work and the project, then an hour of questions.
- Committee evaluation. Committee members independently evaluate the full application with the interviewer's report.
- Committee meeting. At the twice-yearly meeting the committee decides. Candidates in the grey zone give a seven-minute presentation and answer questions for ten minutes online. Everyone hears within two weeks: results for the spring round come in June and for the autumn round in December.
Questions
Is there a deadline?
The system is open all year, but there are two cut-offs: the fourth Friday of January and the second Friday of July, at 2pm Central European time.
Do I need my PhD before applying?
No. You need it by the start of the fellowship. If you already hold it, it must be less than two years old on the day you submit.
Can I apply if I am a clinician?
Holders of an MD can apply if they also hold a PhD. Those with research experience equivalent to a PhD should ask the office first.
Will I get feedback?
No. With more than 1,400 applications a year, EMBO uses the money that detailed feedback would cost to fund more fellowships.
Can I change project or lab after the award?
Only in extraordinary circumstances. The award rests on the project and host, so a major change normally ends the fellowship.
Can I work in industry?
Yes, in an industrial or for-profit lab doing basic biological research, but not to develop commercial products.
Related programmes
Sources
Official pages last checked 27 September 2026.