FPI predoctoral contracts (research projects)
Contratos predoctorales para la formación de doctores (FPI) ·Administered by Agencia Estatal de Investigación
The FPI route hires doctoral candidates onto contracts attached to state-funded research projects. Since the standalone national call was retired, positions are awarded inside the Agencia Estatal de Investigación's Proyectos de Generación de Conocimiento calls: the 2024 round pre-awarded 1,149 predoctoral contracts worth €154.2 million, and each university or research centre then runs its own public selection for its contracts (e.g. December 2025 candidate calls). Contracts run four years with an AEI funding module of €31,000 per year (gross salary plus employer social security, updated annually), and additionally cover doctoral tuition fees, research stays and a postdoctoral orientation period of up to twelve months. Pay must respect the EPIF statute floors.
Who qualifies
- Enrolled or admitted in a doctoral program (or in a position to enrol) at the awarded university or centre
- Any nationality; selection is competitive per centre and project
- Not having held an equivalent predoctoral contract for more than 12 months, nor already holding a doctorate
How to apply
Apply to the candidate calls published by each university or research centre that won predoctoral positions — not centrally. Watch your target group's project awards and your university's research office announcements.
Deadlines: Candidate selection runs at each awarded university/centre — e.g. December 2025 windows for the 2024 project round
Recent & announced changes
The 2025 project round (€700M, BOE 31-10-2025) is resolving during 2026; its number of predoctoral contracts is still pending.
Sources
- El MICIU destina 667 millones de euros para 3.252 proyectos de investigación y 1.149 contratos predoctorales — Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (retrieved 10 July 2026)
- Extracto de la Resolución de 29 de octubre de 2025 — convocatoria 2025 de Proyectos de Generación de Conocimiento y actuaciones para la formación de personal investigador predoctoral — Boletín Oficial del Estado (retrieved 10 July 2026)
- Actuaciones predoctorales — Agencia Estatal de Investigación (retrieved 10 July 2026)
Last verified 10 July 2026
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