Rubicon is a talent grant from the Dutch Research Council (NWO) for researchers who recently earned, or are about to earn, a PhD in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It funds one to two years at a research institute outside the Kingdom; for a few topics, such as the Kingdom’s languages and cultures or local law, the host may be Dutch.
Applicants pick one of four domains: Science (ENW), SSH, AES or ZonMw. Round 2026-3 is open until 1 December 2026.
Benefits & funding
- Salary including fringe benefits for 12 to 24 months at one host institute; a stay cannot be split across institutes.
- Travel expenses and a limited amount of research costs.
- Overheads such as housing, computers and infrastructure are not covered.
- Round budget: 3,145,000 euros, split across the four domains by number of eligible applications.
Eligibility
- Currently doing doctoral research (with the supervisor’s written approval of the thesis), or awarded a doctorate in the 12 months before the deadline.
- Before the project starts, the PhD must come from a research organisation listed in article 1.1(1) of the NWO Grant Rules (Dutch research organisations).
- Any nationality; no residence rule.
- Individual applicants only; each person may apply for Rubicon once.
- Maternity, parental care or care leave, extended sick leave, or clinical-specialist training can extend the 12-month window.
Application process
- 1Choose the domain (ENW, SSH, AES or ZonMw); it cannot be changed after submission.
- 2Obtain a signed acceptance form from the host institute (employment or secondment).
- 3Complete the English application form: a proposal of at most 6 pages and 2,000 words plus a narrative CV; add a thesis approval form if the PhD is not yet awarded.
- 4Submit via ISAAC (ENW, SSH, AES) or MijnZonMw (ZonMw) by 1 December 2026, 14:00 CET.
Program timeline
Round 2026-3 deadline, 14:00 CET
Dec 1, 2026
About April 2027
Decisions on round 2026-3
First 2027 round deadline, 14:00
Apr 6, 2027
Second 2027 round deadline, 14:00
Oct 5, 2027