Funding

Salary · Grant

Program dates

TBA

Fellowship•Global

NWO Rubicon Grant

Dutch Research Council (NWO)

Application Deadline

September 1, 2026

Official Page

Rubicon is run by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) as part of its talent line, and it pays for a researcher who has just finished a doctorate in the Kingdom of the Netherlands to spend one to two years at a research institute outside the country. The grant is personal: it funds the applicant’s own salary at the host institute, not a project run by a team. Applicants pick one of four assessment domains — Science (ENW), Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH), Applied and Engineering Sciences (AES), or Health Research (ZonMw) — and that choice is final once the proposal is submitted. Independent multidisciplinary committees outside NWO assess the proposals within each domain. There are three submission rounds a year; the round now open closes on 1 September 2026 at 14:00 CEST, with a budget of 3,145,000 euros divided proportionally among the four domains. Every applicant may submit a Rubicon application only once in their career.

Benefits & funding

  • Salary at the host institute, including fringe benefits, for a placement of 12 to 24 months.
  • Travel expenses and a limited amount of research costs.
  • A budget of 3,145,000 euros is available for the round closing on 1 September 2026, divided proportionally across the four NWO domains.
  • Overheads are not covered: housing, computers and infrastructure are explicitly excluded.
  • The standard amounts NWO applies to salary, travel and research costs are set out in chapter 7 of the call document rather than on the call web page.
  • The host institute arranges either employment or a secondment; NWO provides a separate acceptance form for each route.

Eligibility

  • Open to researchers currently doing doctoral research, and to those awarded a doctorate in the twelve months before the deadline.
  • The doctorate must come from a research organisation listed under article 1.1 paragraph 1 of the NWO Grant Rules — in practice, a research organisation in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. This is the central gate: the programme exists to send researchers trained in the Dutch system abroad.
  • Nationality is not a criterion. Researchers of any nationality who completed their doctorate at an eligible Dutch research organisation may apply.
  • The research is carried out at a research institute outside the Kingdom of the Netherlands. For specific topics the work may stay inside the Kingdom — the programme page names languages and cultures of the Kingdom, and local law, as examples.
  • Applications are individual. Pairs and teams may not apply, and each researcher may apply for Rubicon only once.
  • The intended host institute must sign an acceptance form. Candidates whose doctorate has not yet been awarded also submit a thesis approval form.
  • An extension of the twelve-month window can be claimed for maternity leave, parental care leave, care leave, extended sick leave, or training as a clinical specialist.
  • No age limit and no minimum years of work experience are set.

Can you apply?

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Application process

  1. 1
    Choose the assessment domain — Science (ENW), Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH), Applied and Engineering Sciences (AES), or Health Research (ZonMw). The choice cannot be changed after submission.
  2. 2
    Agree the placement with the intended host institute abroad and obtain its signed acceptance form, for either employment or secondment.
  3. 3
    Write the research proposal, at most 6 pages and 2,000 words.
  4. 4
    Prepare the narrative CV: an academic profile of 400 to 700 words plus up to 10 key outputs.
  5. 5
    Add the thesis approval form if the doctorate has not yet been awarded.
  6. 6
    Submit through ISAAC for the ENW, SSH and AES domains, or through MijnZonMw for health research, before the deadline.
  7. 7
    Wait for assessment by the external multidisciplinary committee, which weighs the quality of the applicant, the quality of the proposal, the quality of and fit with the host institute, and the scientific or societal impact.
  8. 8
    NWO announces the awards about four months after the deadline.

Program timeline

  1. Round 2026-1 deadline, 14:00 CET

    Mar 24, 2026

  2. Round 2026-2 deadline, 14:00 CEST — the round currently open

    Sep 1, 2026

  3. Round 2026-3 deadline

    Dec 1, 2026

  4. About four months after each deadline

    NWO announces which applications have been granted