How to Find a PhD Position in Europe: A Step-by-Step Plan

PhD positions in Europe do not sit in one place. Universities post some. National agencies post others. The European Commission runs a shared job board. This guide shows you where to look and how to search well. Looking in only one place means you miss most of the real openings, since no single site lists every call in every country.

Where European PhD positions are posted

Most European PhD positions come from one of these sources:

A university's own job page or "vacancies" page.
A national or EU-wide job portal, such as EURAXESS.
A funding call from a national research agency or a doctoral school.
A professor's own lab page, posted when they win a grant.
A subject-specific mailing list or professional society, which often shares calls before they reach a general job board.

Check all five sources. A position may appear on only one of them.

How to use EURAXESS, the EU's own job portal

EURAXESS is a job and funding portal run by the European Commission. It lists job offers, funding offers and hosting offers from more than 40 countries in Europe and beyond.

You can filter EURAXESS results by:

Academic Level: choose "PhD Positions" to remove postdoc and other listings.
Country: choose one country or leave it open.
Research Field: choose your subject area, from physics to sociology.
Researcher Profile: "First Stage Researcher (R1)" is the normal profile for a new PhD student.
Funding Programme: filter for Horizon Europe, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), or other EU programmes.

The list changes every day. New offers appear with their own deadline, so sort by "Deadline" if you want to see which calls close soon.

Tip: Save a search with your field and "PhD Positions" selected. Check it on the same day each week, so you do not miss a new call.

Country portals: look at the national level too

Some countries run their own PhD job portal, built for international applicants. Two examples:

Germany: the DAAD runs PhDGermany, a database of PhD positions at German universities, companies and research institutes. You apply directly at the offering institution, not through the DAAD. The DAAD also runs a database of English-taught international PhD programmes, and a site called "Research in Germany" with PhD and funding news.
France: Campus France runs a directory of doctoral schools ("écoles doctorales"), searchable by discipline. Each French doctoral school sets its own process and dates. Find the school in your field, then read its own page for the current call and deadline.

If you target one country, search for its national agency (a ministry, a research council, or an academic exchange service). These agencies often list funded PhD positions that do not appear on EURAXESS.

PhD Atlas also tracks open positions by country. See our pages for the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, Germany, France, Austria, Finland, Switzerland, Belgium and Spain, or browse all open PhD positions.

How to search well

Follow these steps for each portal you use:

Pick two or three keywords from your field. Use broad terms first (for example "machine learning"), then narrow terms (for example "federated learning").
Set the academic level filter to PhD, so postdoc and staff jobs do not fill your results.
Sort by newest offer first, then switch to sort by deadline, so you see both new calls and calls that close soon.
Open every listing that fits your field, even if the title looks unclear. Titles do not always describe the project well.
Read the full call before you apply. Check the funding type, the duration, and the required degree.
Note the deadline in a calendar, with a reminder one week before it closes.
Turn on email alerts on EURAXESS and on university job pages when they offer one, so new matches reach your inbox instead of you checking by hand every day.

How often to check

New PhD offers appear every day on EURAXESS and on university pages. Check your saved searches at least once a week. During peak hiring months (October to January, and again in April to June at many European universities), check twice a week.

Do not rely on one portal alone. A position funded by a national grant may appear only on the university's own page, days or weeks before it appears anywhere else.

Common mistakes

Searching one portal only. EURAXESS does not list every position. Many university and national calls never reach it.
Ignoring the funding type. A "self-funded" PhD position means you must bring your own funding. Read the call text, not only the title.
Applying without reading the full call. Eligibility rules (degree, language, nationality) differ for every call. Check the official page for the current rules; do not assume last year's rules still apply.
Missing the deadline window. Some calls close in under three weeks. Set a reminder as soon as you find a call that fits you.
Checking only in your own language. Some positions are posted only in the host country's language, even when the project itself runs in English.

For funded positions specifically, also check our page on funded PhD positions. If you plan to apply to the United States instead of Europe, see our guide to US PhD programs.

Tip: Contact the supervisor named in the call before you apply, if the call allows it. A short, specific email can tell you whether the position is still open.

Next steps

Build a simple routine: pick your portals, save your searches, and check them on a fixed day. PhD Atlas matches new open positions to your CV and research field, so you spend less time searching and more time preparing a strong application.