CRG Research Fellowships 2026–2027 in Spain (Fully Funded) 🇪🇸🔬🧬✈️

The Centre for Genomic Regulation (Centre de Regulació Genòmica – CRG) in Barcelona, Spain, is internationally recognized as a premier European biomedical research hub affiliated with the Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence network.

For the 2026–2027 academic and research cycle, the CRG has opened applications across two flagship international fellowship pathways:

1. The CRG International PhD Fellowship Programme (4-Year Salaried Employment Contract).
2. The CRG Research Training Fellowship Program (Undergraduate & Master’s Traineeship).

Both routes provide funded placement within laboratories exploring genomics, computational biology, epigenetics, single-cell multiomics, proteomics, and neural systems biology.

The Dual CRG Fellowship Architecture: PhD vs. Trainee Track

Feature	International PhD Fellowship (4 Years)	Research Training Fellowships (Up to 4 Months)
Target Level	Prospective PhD scholars holding BS + MSc	Enrolled Bachelor’s or Master’s students
Duration	4 full years (Full salaried employment contract)	Up to 4 months (Hands-on lab training)
Financial Package	Competitive annual salary under Spanish regulations + full health/occupational insurance + Spanish Social Security	€700 monthly gross stipend + travel grant (up to €1,000 for non-EU / €400 for EU)
Application Mode	Centralized online portal (choose up to 2 labs)	Direct application to specific project lab supervisors
Deadlines	22 November 2026 (23:59 CET)	Rolling basis / Project-specific cutoffs

Track 1: CRG International PhD Fellowship Programme (4-Year Salaried)

The flagship CRG International PhD Programme recruits global early-career researchers directly onto paid employment contracts. Rather than receiving an untaxed education grant, doctoral candidates at the CRG are employed under Spanish statutory researcher frameworks.

Financial & Contractual Benefits:

• 4-Year Employment Contract: Annual salary with standard national increments.
• Social Security & Healthcare: Full enrollment in the Spanish National Health System, occupational hazard coverage, and statutory retirement contributions.
• Travel Coverage for Selection: Shortlisted applicants invited to the in-person interview stage in Barcelona have their flights and hotel accommodation fully booked and paid by CRG.
• Advanced Training: Comprehensive coursework in laboratory technologies, high-performance bio-computing, science communication, and research commercialization.

Eligibility Standards for the PhD Call:

• Academic Degrees: Must hold an official Bachelor’s and Master’s degree within the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) totaling at least 300 ECTS credits, or an equivalent foreign degree enabling doctoral studies in Spain.
• Graduation Timeline: Candidates expecting to complete their Master’s degree by September 2027 are fully eligible to apply.
• Academic Merit: Demonstrable undergraduate and postgraduate academic standing with prior wet-lab or computational bioinformatics research experience.
• English Proficiency: High working command of written and spoken English.
• Ineligibility Rules: Candidates who previously attended final-round interviews in earlier CRG PhD calls, or students who have worked at the CRG for more than 3 months prior to the deadline, cannot apply.

Track 2: CRG Research Training Fellowships (Bachelor’s & MSc)

For students currently pursuing their degrees who want international research exposure, the CRG offers short-term research fellowships:

• Monthly Living Stipend: €700 gross per month for up to 4 months.
• International Travel Allowance: Up to €1,000 for travel from outside Europe and up to €400 for travel within Europe.
• Core Disciplines: Proteomics, single-cell genomics, structural bioinformatics, Python/R/Bash data processing, developmental biology, and machine learning in medicine.
• Key Requirement: The candidate’s home university must be legally authorized to sign an official educational cooperation internship agreement (convenio) with the CRG.

Participating Labs & Research Focus Areas

Approximately 15 elite laboratories across the CRG and affiliated institutes are offering funded positions, including:

• Computational Biology & Genomics: High-throughput transcriptomics, phylogenetic tree reconstruction, single-cell RNA-seq, and 3D genome architecture.
• Mechanisms of Disease & Cancer: Chromatin remodeling, poly(A)-tail-bound proteome regulation in oncogenesis, and epigenetic cellular plasticity.
• Cell & Tissue Dynamics: Cytoskeletal mechanics, synthetic biology models, and neuroscience disorder biomarkers.

Applicants to the PhD track choose a maximum of two preferred laboratories in their initial application.

Application Dossier Checklist

Prepare the following documentation in clear, English-translated digital formats:

             CRG FELLOWSHIP APPLICATION DOSSIER
 ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
 │ 1. OFFICIAL ACADEMIC TRANSCRIPTS:                           │
 │    • Bachelor's & Master's grade sheets with grading scale. │
 ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
 │ 2. DETAILED SCIENTIFIC CV:                                  │
 │    • Detailing lab techniques, coding languages (R/Python), │
 │      publications, abstracts, or poster presentations.      │
 ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
 │ 3. TARGETED STATEMENT OF SCIENTIFIC INTERESTS:              │
 │    • Alignment of your background with your 2 chosen labs.  │
 ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
 │ 4. TWO CONFIDENTIAL LETTERS OF REFERENCE:                   │
 │    • Submitted via automated email requests directly by     │
 │      referees before the deadline.                          │
 ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
 │ 5. HONORS, GRANTS & SCIENTIFIC PRIZES (If applicable).      │
 └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Important Selection Timelines (PhD Call)

• September 2026: Online application portal opens.
• 22 November 2026 (23:59 CET): Hard Application Deadline.
• Late December 2026: Notification of pre-selection outcomes.
• 13 January 2027: Shortlisted online panel screening interviews.
• 23–26 February 2027: On-site final interviews and presentations at CRG in Barcelona (Travel & accommodation covered).
• March 2027: Final job offers issued.
• By October 2027: PhD research contracts commence.

Strategic Admissions & Research Dossier Advisory

Successfully securing funded laboratory placements at European institutes of excellence like the CRG requires strategic proposal drafting, precise mapping of quantitative bioinformatics or molecular lab skills, and targeted personal statements. Biomedical researchers, bioinformaticians, and STEM scholars preparing international doctoral applications can consult Mansory Consultancy.