doc.funds

The funding program doc.funds supports the structured scientific and artistic-scientific training of doctoral candidates in Vienna and throughout Austria. It offers an "on-top funding" for up to four years, including grants for personnel costs, training expenses (up to €5,000 per doctoral candidate per year), as well as general project costs (8%). The goal is the sustainable consolidation and strengthening of existing doctoral programs that have been established for at least two years at Austrian research institutions with the right to award doctorates. Eligible applicants are universities and non-university research institutions that offer an international, structured doctoral program within a consortium of at least five individuals active in scientific or artistic-scientific fields. The composition of the consortium must reflect a balanced gender distribution, with the underrepresented gender comprising at least one third. Binding institutional core funding, established quality assurance procedures, and clear supervision concepts are further prerequisites.

Evaluation is based on the innovativeness and quality of the research, the qualifications of the faculty, the training structure, the organizational embedding, as well as the added value for doctoral candidates and the research institution. Applications are submitted exclusively online via the elane portal and must be written in English. Required documents include, among others, Proposal.pdf (project description with attachments), PI_publication.pdf, Publication_lists.pdf, Supervision_list.pdf, and Dissertation_topics.pdf. Submission is ongoing; the application is considered submitted upon approval by the research institution. Through the transparent combination of excellent supervision structures and attractive framework conditions, the program makes an important contribution to the international competitiveness of the Austrian research location.