ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

The IBEC-VHIR International PhD programme fellowships offer a 4-year predoctoral contract at IBEC with the following gross annual salary:

• 19,500 € for the first two years
• 23,713 € for the 3rd year
• 25,079.85 € for the 4th year

In addition, €6,860 is provided over the four-year period to cover mobility expenses and doctoral programme enrolment fees. The salary includes full social security coverage, including health and accident insurance, pension contributions, and unemployment benefits.

Working conditions include:

• A 4-year contract (candidates who have previously held a predoctoral contract for more than 6 months are not eligible).
• 23 working days of paid annual leave.
• 9 personal leave days per year.
• Work–life balance measures, including maternity and paternity leave (16 weeks) and breastfeeding leave.
• Flexible working hours.

DURATION

4 years

CANDIDATES PROFILE AND ELEGIBILITY CRITERIA

1. Candidates must have obtained a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree, or hold an official qualification from a European Higher Education Area institution with a minimum of 300 ECTS, including at least 60 ECTS at Master’s level. Candidates expecting to obtain these qualifications by October 2026 are also eligible to apply.
2. Candidates must be within 2 years of completion of their Master’s degree or 5 years of completion of their Bachelor’s degree at the application deadline (31 March 2026).
3. Candidates must have a minimum average Bachelor’s degree grade of 7/10 (Spanish grading system or equivalent).
4. Candidates must demonstrate a strong commitment to scientific research and an excellent academic record.
5. Candidates must have a good working knowledge of English.
6. Candidates must not hold a doctoral degree at the time of application.
7. Candidates must not have held a PhD contract exceeding 12 months by October 2026.
8. Candidates must not have held any fellowship from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities for the development of a PhD thesis at the application deadline (31 March 2026).
    

SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

Applications must be formalised by the applicant in his/her own name and interest prior 31/03/2026 (closing date).

DOCUMENTATION TO SUBMIT

1. Personal data and CV. The name of this document must be: “1.IBEC-VHIR_PhD_CV_Surname”
2. Cover letter, including motivation for applying. The name of this document must be: “2.IBEC-VHIR_PhD_CoverLetter_Surname”
3. A scan of your Certified Academic Record, showing grades obtained (degree and masters). If these are not in Catalan, Spanish or English, applicants should attach a translation in one of these languages. In the case of international studies, the grade of the academic record must be calculated by the National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation (ANECA). It is the applicant’s responsibility to ask ANECA for the aforementioned equivalence. More information can be found here. The name of this document must be: “3.IBEC-VHIR_PhD_Academic_Surname”
4. Explanatory PDF document certifying that the candidate is eligible to apply for a doctoral programme when the number of ECTS does not appear in the Certified Academic Record. This explanatory document may be an official description of the country’s educational system issued by the university or published on its website, or the admissions requirements to the university’s doctoral programme. The name of this document must be: “4.IBEC-VHIR_PhD_ECTS_Surname”
5. PDF documents including research experience.The name of this document must be: “5.IBEC-VHIR_PhD_Research_Surname”
6. PDF document including current working situation. The name of this document must be: “6.IBEC-VHIR_PhD_Working_Surname”
7. PDF document including Publications, Presentations in conferences, Awards/fellowships. The name of this document must be: “7.IBEC-VHIR_PhD_Merits_Surname”
8. 2 letters of recommendation from lecturers or researchers with whom you have studied or worked and who can judge your potential as a PhD student. Only letters with official letterhead and signature will be accepted. Reference letters cannot be provided by the future supervisors of the fellow. Please be sure to inform your referees that their letters must be uploaded in the online application tool before the deadline (March 31st, 2026). The name of theses documents must be: “8.IBEC-VHIR_PhD_RecommendationLetter_Surname”
9. PDF document indicating the three PhD research projects in which the candidate is most interested. The name of this document must be: “9.IBEC-VHIR_PhD_Projects_Surname”.

We want to encourage you to apply to this call.

If you have any further questions about IBEC-VHIR International PhD Programme fellowships, or if there are particular issues you would like to discuss regarding your application, please contact ajuts@vhir.org or laura.plata@vhir.org