DKFZ Marie Skłodowska-Curie MasterClasses

Do you want to do excellent research supported by one of the most prestigious postdoctoral programs in Europe? Do you want to work at a leading research institution with colleagues from all over the world? Do you want to be mentored by world-class scientists? Do you want to expand the frontiers of your knowledge by accessing cutting-edge research facilities and state-of-the-art labs? Do you want to contribute researching for a Life without Cancer? Our DKFZ Marie Skłodowska-Curie MasterClasses support you achieving it.
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships are granted by the European Commission and fund postdoctoral research projects for up to 24 months. Benefits include:
- Postdoc salary including social security contributions and health insurance.
- Budget for research, training and networking.
- Access to a worldwide network of fellows and alumni.
Our support actions
Is this your first time writing a research proposal? Are you unsure about how to write a successful research plan? Not sure, who can be your supervisor? We help you with this:
- List of available Principal Investigators at DKFZ will be published on this website Mid-March 2025.
- You submit your pre-application and we check your eligibility for this call and put you in contact with the Principal Investigators of your choice.
- If there is a match between you and a DKFZ PI, we support you during the whole application process.
- Marie Skłodowska-Curie MasterClasses: three online workshops between June and July 2025 on how to plan and write a successful proposal.
- 1 to 1 feedback and consultation with experienced grants experts during the whole preparation and application process.
Please, note that the application to the MSC Postdoctoral Fellowship is highly competitive. To guarantee a high-quality support during the whole process, only the candidates with the best success chances for this fellowship will be pre-selected to participate in the DKFZ Marie Skłodowska-Curie MasterClasses.

“The sessions and the power points were very useful for writing the proposal. The reviewing of the proposal and feedbacks were very project-specific and helpful to improve the quality of the proposal.”
Participant of the DKFZ Marie Skłodowska-Curie MasterClass 2024
Eligibility

To be eligible for the call 2025 of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships you:
- Need to hold a PhD degree. Your thesis must be defended before September 10, 2025.
- Must have a maximum of 8 years of postdoctoral research experience from the date of defense of your PhD and until September 10, 2025. Career breaks (parental leave, military service, work outside research, etc.) do not count towards the amount of research experience.
- Must not have resided or worked in Germany for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before the September 10, 2025.
“I am really thankful for all your feedback and support along the process. The material was super helpful and crucial to apply to such a complicated grant having little time or other compromises. Even if I don't get the fellowship, I learned a lot of new project management and writing skills during the application process. thank you for your support!”
Participant of the DKFZ Marie Skłodowska-Curie MasterClass 2024
How to participate?

More information on how to submit your pre-application will be available Mid-March 2025. In the meantime, you can contact us at mariecuriemasterclass(at)dkfz-heidelberg.de.