Up to 5 Severo Ochoa PhD Fellowships available within the ICFO PhD Program (spring 2026)

ICFO offers up to 5 Severo Ochoa PhD-Fellowship positions to well-qualified graduate students, who wish to obtain a doctoral degree in any of the research topics covered at ICFO.

Our PhD-program brings together top-level training and teaching for young scientists, benefiting from the extensive course offerings of local universities and focused instruction by ICFO professors, in a stimulating, international and interdisciplinary environment. PhD-students have the opportunity to take advantage of our network of excellence, consisting in partners of national and international research institutes and universities, as well as industrial partners in the field.

Our PhD Fellowship Program welcomes applications from individuals with a degree in a field of science and engineering related to the ICFO research activities.

Fellowships will be offered across all ICFO research groups. Research lines include, but are not limited to theoretical and experimental aspects of:

Advanced Materials, Energy & Environment
Study of the fundamental properties and applications of new materials, including nano-materials and 2D materials, with a focus on telecommunications, sensing, solar energy, and environmental monitoring.

Quantum Science & Technology
Study of the fundamental properties and applications arising from the quantum nature of matter, with a focus on communications, computing, sensing, materials, and chemistry.

BioNano and Medical Photonics
Use of light-based techniques, including super-resolution imaging tools, to study processes of relevance in molecular and cellular biology, and in clinical medical processes for di-agnosis and therapies.

Light & Matter and Ultrafast Science
Study of the interaction of light with objects and matter, including linear and nonlinear material responses, bulk and nano-geometries, and continuous wave and pulsed light from picosecond to attosecond timescales.

Please, browse our website for details about ICFO Research Groups and Group Leaders at https://www.icfo.eu/research/groups/. If you are interested in discussing possible research topics, please contact ICFO Group Leaders directly.

Important: During your application, you will be requested to indicate the research group(s) you are interested in accomplishing your PhD with.

This programme has received funding from the Spanish State Research Agency/Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities through the “Severo Ochoa” Centres of Excellence Programme MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 (CEX2024-001490-S).

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https://jobs.icfo.eu/?detail=1066

To be eligible for this call, candidates must:

Have an internationally-recognized Master-equivalent degree. The degree must be completed by the start of your prospective PhD at ICFO, at the latest, and must be in a field of mathematics, science, engineering or medical sciences related to the ICFO research activities. Degrees issued within the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) must have an equivalent to 300 ECTS, out of which a minimum of 60 ECTS must have been obtained in postgraduate studies. Please, if in doubt regarding your academic eligibility, contact us at [email protected]

Candidates who have already been awarded a PhD are not eligible to apply.

Have an excellent academic record, previous research experience and a strong commitment for scientific research.

Have a high working knowledge of English.

Candidates who have already been admitted into the ICFO doctoral program are not eligible to apply to this call.

Candidates who have not been admitted into the ICFO doctoral program and have previously applied to any previous call for equivalent ICFO PhD fellowships (this includes, for example, the Spring and Fall PhD fellowship calls and previous FLIGHT calls), may only apply again if they can demonstrate a substantial change in circumstances in their application. For example, candidates who applied while completing their Master program, who have subsequently completed their degree and corresponding masters thesis research project with significant output (grades, research results) that was not included in their previous application may apply again. Candidates should also explicitly describe any updates to their candidacy in their application documentation.

ICFO is an equal employment opportunity employer. Candidates are selected exclusively on merit and potential on the basis of submitted application material. No restrictions of persons with disabilities, citizenship or gender apply to ICFO positions. ICFO abides by the principles of openness, efficiency, transparency, supportiveness, and international comparability as stated in the European Charter for Researchers and the European Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers.

CONDITIONS

ICFO PhD Fellowships are offered for a period of 4.5 years. The conditions of the positions awarded in the scope of the ICFO PhD fellowship program are as follows:

Initial contract for a period of 6 months (referred to as the “initial trainee period”), while being pre-admitted to the PhD program, with an explicit follow-up/ renewal procedure at the end of this first stage. Note that in certain circumstances the initial trainee period might be shortened or not offered. During this period, students already take part in the ICFO working environment, join a research group, and work with their supervisor to define a research project. The annual gross salary subject to the stipulated fiscal and social security deductions during this period is 26.200€.

After this initial training period, students are formally enrolled in a PhD Program with a local university (as a general rule, the UPC PhD in Photonics program administered by ICFO), and the full PhD Fellowship activated. Fellowships are offered for periods of three years, renewable for an additional fourth year, and are formalized via a PhD-contract. Continuity and renewal are subject to satisfactory performance in the PhD studies and related research activities, evaluated annually by the Thesis Director and the ICFO PhD Committee.

Selected candidates may start by May - July 2026.

All fellowships include medical care coverage and work accident insurance through the Spanish Social Security system, providing access to the Spanish public health care system.

As part of the fellowship, ICFO will provide budget as deemed necessary and with the corresponding approval from the corresponding Group/Team Leader to enable the PhD fellow to complete his/her assigned research project. This budget is managed by the Group/Team leader, and will include consumables and other materials, training and other related costs, such as registration fees, travel and subsistence costs for participation in national or international events, conference, meetings, schools, and/or other training activities.

Additionally, a family allowance is also available on request and after corresponding approval for people with family charges in the terms described in the corresponding policy.

Applications sent by email or any other means will be ineligible.
To apply, suitable candidates are requested to submit (in English) online the following material:

A Cover Letter addressing research interests and motivation for application, as well as specific indication of a project and an ICFO research group of interest,

A Curriculum Vitae, including contact details,

Scanned copies of the complete (Bachelor and Master equivalent) official academic transcripts in English or Spanish,

Scanned copies of the degree certificates, if available at the time of application,

Holders of degrees issued within European Higher Education Area outside Spain shall also submit the European Diploma supplement, if available. If not submitted during the application, this will be compulsory to be submitted in further steps of the selection process.

Holders of degrees issued in outside European Higher Education Area shall submit documentation that explicitly indicate equivalence of degree and/or admissibility in a PhD program in the country where it was issued. If not submitted during the application, this will be compulsory to be submitted in further steps of the selection process. Examples of documents we accept are:
Official document or website from the degree granting university

Academic transcript including this explicit description

Letter or certificate from faculty, school or department, addressed to ICFO on official letter-head, signed by a person responsible for admissions into the PhD program
If available, scanned copy of standardized test results (GRE, TOEFL, etc.). Note that submission of test results is optional, but they can be particularly helpful for evaluating candidates with degrees obtained outside the European Higher Education Area.

The names and contact details of 2 referees. IMPORTANT: These referees will be automatically contacted by ICFO requesting them to complete a standardized evaluation form and submit a letter of support for the candidates one week of the application deadline. When they do so, the applicant will receive an email confirming that the corresponding reference letter has been submitted.

Extenuating circumstances (optional; 1-page max). Candidates may submit a statement regarding any career interruptions (care of dependents, birth of children, etc.) or any other aspects, which will be taken-into-account in evaluating their applications.

All required application material, including letters of reference, must be complete and submitted by deadline in order for the application to be considered.

The deadline for submission of applications for the present call is February 9, 2026and the deadline for referees to submit the reference letters is February 11, 2026.

SELECTION PROCESS:

In a first step of the selection procedure, applications will be assessed by the selection committee based on merit and potential, measured in terms of the academic record and personal achievements. Academic excellence is a must. Pro-activity, participation in community activities, and capacity for team-work are also taken into account.
Applicants will be notified the results of the first evaluation stage by the end of February, 2026.
In the second step of the selection procedure, shortlisted candidates will receive invitations for remote interviews with the selection committee and ICFO Group/Team Leaders, planned to take place by the beginning of March 2026.

The final list with candidates recommended for fellowship concession, as well as reserve candidates, will be available by mid-March 2026. Being the last condition that shortlisted candidates find a hosting group at ICFO, candidates are then asked to contact the Group Leader(s) of choice to negotiate directly a potential PhD in their group, on a fellowship. Candidates and Group Leader should confirm within one week whether an agreement has been reached. Candidates without a match cannot be confirmed the fellowship.

A dedicated, external and independent Appeals Panel will be established to rule on the outcome of appeals from the applicants.

At all stages of the process, candidates may contact ICFO Human Resources and Education via [email protected] ; for complete information about the PhD Admissions process at ICFO, please see https://www.icfo.eu/studies/phd-program/

9th of February, 2026