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The ERC Starting Grants 2026 call closed for applications on 14 October 2025.
These are the preliminary data on submitted proposals:
- The ERC received 4 807 applications, marking a 22.4% increase compared to the previous call, which already saw 13% increase from the year before.
- The highest number of applications came from the Physical Sciences and Engineering domain with 1 980 submissions (41%) followed by Social Sciences and Humanities with 1 568 submissions (33%), and Life Sciences with 1 257 submissions (26%).
Women submitted nearly 43% of proposals, the highest rate since 2007.
In its ERC Work Programme, the ERC Scientific Council earmarked €705 million for an estimated 450 Starting Grants in 2026.
The ERC is now beginning the evaluation of the proposals. The projects selected for funding are planned to be announced in summer 2026.
