Ernst Mach Grant worldwide

The Ernst Mach Grant worldwide is a research grant, not a study grant. You come to Austria for a short research stay, hosted by an Austrian university, and you do not enrol as a regular student. The OeAD runs the programme for the Federal Ministry.

The current call is for stays during the Austrian academic year 2027/28, which starts in September 2027. The earliest you could come to Austria is September 2027. If you are a national of a non-EU country planning a stay of more than 6 months, the OeAD advises starting from November or December because of the long processing time for a residence permit.

All Austrian universities can host awardees. You need a written confirmation of supervision from an Austrian university lecturer to support your project, and that supervisor also has to confirm the project can be done in English.

The grant may not cover all your expenses. Grant rates assume actual living costs in Austria are higher than the grant itself, so own funds are required. Costs to plan for include compulsory health insurance, accommodation, travel to Austria, a deposit for your accommodation, and travel to the Austrian representative authority for a visa.

Applications go through an online account. Formal criteria are checked first, then experts in your field evaluate the formally valid applications, and a selection committee awards the scholarships. Results are expected at the beginning of July 2027.

• Postgraduates pursuing a doctoral or PhD programme outside Austria.
• Postgraduates and postdocs who want to do research in Austria with a view to an academic career and who finished their studies at a university outside Austria after September 30th, 2025.
• Postdocs working as lecturers or researchers at a university outside Austria.
• Applicants must not be older than 35 years when they start their research stay.
• You must not be a regular student at an Austrian university.
• Applicants already permanently resident in Austria, or who completed their academic education mainly in Austria, are not eligible.
• You cannot apply for your present stay in Austria, and you must not have lived, studied, pursued research or pursued academic work in Austria in the last six months before taking up the grant.
• The grant does not finance a complete or partial regular PhD, Master or study programme in Austria.
• You need a written confirmation of supervision from an Austrian university lecturer.

• A grant for a short research stay at an Austrian university, in any discipline.
• All Austrian universities are eligible to host Ernst Mach grant awardees.
• You do not have to enrol as a regular student at an Austrian university.
• The scholarship may not cover all expenses for your research stay, and own funds are required.
• The scholarship rate cannot be increased.

1. Find an Austrian university lecturer who will supervise your research project. Browse the websites of Austrian universities to find an institute that suits your profile, and ask professors directly.
2. Ask your supervisor for the written confirmation of supervision, using the OeAD template, with date, signature and university stamp. Your supervisor cannot also write you a letter of recommendation.
3. Arrange your letters of recommendation. They can be freely worded but must include a letterhead, date, signature of the person recommending you and the stamp of the university or department. All letters must be no older than six months at the time of the application.
4. Prepare your documents. If a document is neither in English nor German, upload a copy of the original plus an English or German translation; an officially certified translation is not required. Upload a valid biometric passport (an identity card is only acceptable for applications from the EU).
5. Fill in the sections of the online application thoroughly, including your planned research activities, and respect the minimum number of words. A separate research proposal upload is not necessary. Declare any use of generative AI and document which tools you used and to what extent.
6. Upload your letters of recommendation into your online application account. If your professors do not usually hand out signed letters, ask them to send the letters to [email protected] as scanned attachments before the deadline.
7. Submit your application before December 1st, 2026, 23:59 CET. Do not wait until the last moment, because the system checks your entries on submission and technical support is not online outside office hours.
8. Confirm every detail on the official page before you apply.