The aim of the European Court of Auditors Postgraduate Research Grant Programme is to promote original research into the EU’s public finances, EU policies, and the development of the EU's accountability. It also seeks to nurture a community of researchers interested in these areas.

Funding Information

• Successful applicants will receive a research grant of €5000 to cover all research expenses, including:
  • One round trip between the grant holder’s permanent residence and Florence;
  • Accommodation in Florence for the duration of the grant holder's use of the archives.
• The grant will be paid in two instalments:
  • A first instalment of €2000 at the start of the research, as attested by the Director of the Historical Archives of the European Union;
  • A second instalment of €3000 after an essay on the grant holder’s research subject has been submitted to the Selection Committee.

Eligibility Criteria

• Postgraduate students (master’s and doctoral candidates), postdoctoral students, and early career academics who have completed their master's degree or doctorate within the past ten years and who currently hold an academic post are eligible to apply.
• Applicants should be preparing a thesis, dissertation, or scholarly article relating to EU public finance or EU policy in any of the disciplines of human and social sciences (e.g. law, political science, economics, sociology, public administration and history).
• Research projects presented by postgraduate students or postdoctoral researchers should preferably be directly related to their master’s or doctoral field of research.
• In view of the nature of the files concerned, candidates should have a sound knowledge of English and French. Knowledge of other EU languages would be an advantage.
• Only individual applications will be considered for the programme.
• Candidates may not submit an application with the same research subject on more than two occasions.
• Candidates must be nationals of a Member State of the European Union. These eligibility criteria will be strictly applied.

Application Requirements

• Completed application files should include:
  • CV with any previous publications (max 2 pages);
  • Presentation of the research proposal, including a description of the research subject, its academic significance, the proposed research methodology and timetable, and plan for scholarly publication of the research results (max 5 pages);
  • Bibliography of sources and studies related to the research (max 5 pages);
  • Justification of the need to use primary archival sources at the HAEU in Florence (max 2 pages);
  • Letter of recommendation from a university or university-level research institute providing an evaluation of the scholarly significance of the project and an assessment of the candidate’s qualifications, abilities and motivation to carry out the proposed research.

For more information, visit EUI.