The Master Projects Fellowship Programme offered by The Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ) is aimed at university graduates from all over the world, to support their enrolment in the URV/ICIQ Master in Synthesis, Catalysis and Molecular Design or other Master programmes, and to follow a research project in the area of chemistry that ultimately leads to the completion of a Master’s Degree.

The Master programme will be developed in English and the students will take advantage of ICIQ’s cutting edge facilities.

These grants are addressed to highly qualified and talented graduate students with a passionate interest in chemistry research. The students will have the opportunity to join one of ICIQ’s research groups and will follow an individual master research project under the direction of an internationally renowned group leader, in a creative and stimulating scientific environment.

Selected graduate students will be awarded a grant in order to complete their master’s research project at ICIQ.

I. Available Projects: See Annex 1.

II. Application Process

The entire application process will be completed online. The call opening is on March 2nd, 2026. Applicants must submit their application through ICIQ’s Career Portal. Applications sent by email will be ineligible.

After completing the personal data fields, applicants must attach in a PDF file the following documents:

1.      Scanned copy of the BSc diploma and academic record of the studies which provide access to the Master’s Programme. The academic record must include the average/final mark, the range of marks used in the corresponding country and the minimum mark to pass.

2.      Curriculum Vitae, specifying the completed degree and any relevant professional experience.

3.      Applicants must supply evidence of their proficiency in written and oral communication in the English language. Preferably, by the submission of a B2 certificate, First Certificate, IELTS 6 or equivalent. Alternatively, late-stage candidates will be interviewed to assess their English level. Applicants from Anglosphere (UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) are exempted from this requirement

Please note that documents sent in hard copy cannot be processed. For academic records not issued in Catalan, Spanish or English, a certified translation in one of the abovementioned languages should be provided.

Only one application per person will be considered. In case of multiple applications, only the first application submitted will be considered.

Once the application has been successfully completed, an acknowledgement e-mail will be automatically sent. Candidates must ensure that all information is included before the deadline. Incomplete proposals will not be considered.

III. Eligibility and evaluation criteria

The programme is open to graduate students, from any nationality that fulfil the following eligibility criteria:

· Hold a University Degree in Chemistry, Physics, Biochemistry, Chemical Engineering or related disciplines that must be completed by the time of enrolment in the Master programme. Applicants with different studies from the abovementioned will be automatically discarded.

When in doubt regarding the eligibility criteria, applicants should contact the ICIQ Human Resources Team at positions@iciq.es prior to submission of the application.

Candidates who fulfil the eligibility criteria will be evaluated according to the following evaluation criteria:

a.      Curriculum vitae.

b.      Academic marks.

c.       English level.

d.      Personal interview for short-listed candidates.

IV. Evaluation and Selection Process

The evaluation and selection of the candidates will be performed by the Master project supervisor and supported by the Human Resources team, following this procedure:

1.      Submitted proposals will be checked for eligibility and those not fulfilling all the criteria will be rejected. It will not be possible to modify the application or to add missing documentation after the call deadline.

2.      The selection will be merit-based according to the evaluation criteria described in Section III.

3.   At the late stages of the selection process, short-listed candidates will be contacted for a personal interview.

4.   The call deadline will be April 5th. The name of the awardees will be published on ICIQ’s website. All applicants will be notified of the selection outcome by mid-June.

ICIQ follows in its selection process a gender equally opportunity policy and a non-discrimination policy on the basis of age, ethnic or social origin, religion or belief, sexual orientation, language and disability.

V. Scholarship Conditions

1.    Awardees will receive a scholarship of 750 €/month to help for their living expenses during the academic course.

2.      On acceptance of the grants, awardees should hand in a copy of the enrolment document to a Master Programme.

3.    The Master programme enrolment costs will not be covered by ICIQ. You can find further information on the URV Master programmes here.

4.    The beneficiary will sign a scholarship credential with ICIQ.

VI. Incompatibilities

The Scholarship is incompatible with any other grant with the same purpose.

Indicative Calendar

Call opening: March 2nd, 2026

Deadline for applications: April 5th, 2026

Start of fellowships: October 2026

Annex 1:

Supervisor: Prof. Marcos G. Suero

Project: Single-Atom Skeletal Surgery to Impact Drug Discovery and Chemical Biology.

Number of positions: 1

Reference: Master 2026-01 MG

Supervisor: Prof. José Berrocal

Project: Sensing force in polymer materials with calixarene mechanophores.

Number of positions: 1

Reference: Master 2026-02 JB