Ernst Mach Grant – Worldwide (OeAD, Austria)

Unlike Austria's ISTA PhD Program, which funds enrolled doctoral study at a single elite research institute, the Ernst Mach Grant is a shorter, more flexible research-stay instrument aimed at students and academics who are already pursuing a degree or research career at an institution outside Austria and want to spend one to nine months conducting research abroad — for example, gathering thesis data, using specialised Austrian laboratory facilities, or collaborating with an Austrian supervisor.

Applicants across all disciplines can apply, from natural sciences and engineering to social sciences and the humanities, provided they can secure a written invitation from a host institution in Austria confirming the professor or research group willing to supervise the stay. This host confirmation is the single most important document in the application and should be arranged well before the deadline.

Financial support includes a monthly grant rate, waived tuition fees at the host institution, health insurance assistance, and an international travel subsidy, making the total package genuinely cover the cost of a multi-month stay in Austria — one of the more expensive countries in the EU for daily living costs, particularly in Vienna.

Because the grant funds a stay rather than a full degree, it is particularly well suited to PhD candidates who want an Austrian research component within a doctorate being completed at their home university, as well as postdocs seeking a short-term international research placement.