Empowering ideas, enabling change
The EAIE Doctoral Research Grants support individuals currently pursuing a doctoral degree and doing research for that degree on internationalisation in higher education. Each year, up to five grants of up to €4,500 each are awarded to help cover research-related expenses such as travel, data collection tools, and access to academic resources. The grant is open to doctoral candidates from around the world whose work is relevant to the European context and the EAIE community. In addition to funding, the programme offers visibility, engagement opportunities, and a platform to contribute to the broader field of international higher education.
How does it work?
Below is a quick overview of the application process. For the full details and requirements, please review the Frequently Asked Questions.
Prepare
Gather all required documents, including proof of doctoral student/candidate status, supervisor’s letter, budget worksheet, and other documents, before starting your application.
Submit
Complete the application form and upload your documents by 31 March 2026. Applications are reviewed and assessed by the EAIE Advisory group.
Announcement
Winners will be notified in Spring 2026 and announced at the end of August. Grant funding will be disbursed in October 2026.
Start your research!
Begin your research activities, attend the 2027 EAIE Conference and Exhibition and share your progress through reports and presentations with the EAIE community.
Frequently asked questions
If you haven’t found the answer to your question, please contact us.
How many Doctoral Research Grants are available each year?
Each year, the EAIE awards up to five Doctoral Research Grants to support doctoral candidates researching internationalisation in higher education.
What do the EAIE Doctoral Research Grants cover?
The grant provides up to €4,500 in support of research that forms part of the official requirements for completing a doctoral degree. After thoroughly considering all elements in the application, the EAIE Grants Advisory Group will propose the total amount to be awarded to each grantee.
In addition to financial support via the grant, successful applicants will receive 12 months of free access to the Journal of Studies in International Education, and a fee waiver to attend and present their research at the 2027 Annual EAIE Conference and Exhibition.
The grant may cover expenses such as travel for data collection or conferences, data collection and analysis tools, such as surveys and data analysis software, and access to books, journals, or other paid academic literature.
The grant does not cover activities unrelated to the formal requirements of the doctoral degree, such as additional research not required for degree completion or professional development activities. It also does not cover tuition fees, salaries or fringe benefits, institutional overheads or support, costs incurred before the grant period, article publication fees or the purchase of equipment or hardware such as laptops or cameras.
Who is eligible for a grant?
Applicants must be officially recognised by their degree-awarding institution as current doctoral students or candidates in good standing, with anticipated continuation of doctoral studies/research during the 2026-2027 academic year.
Applicants must be researching some aspect of internationalisation in higher education.
Applicants are not eligible if they are not enrolled in a doctoral programme, if their research does not relate to internationalisation in higher education, or if they currently hold any elected or appointed EAIE position. Current EAIE staff, and individuals with another active EAIE grant or application still under review are also not eligible.
In keeping with the EAIE’s commitment to creating an inclusive environment in which everyone feels welcome and able to contribute, individuals from underrepresented backgrounds are encouraged to apply. Underrepresentation can be viewed in various contexts, including but not limited to, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, ability, age and mother tongue. The application includes a section for biographical information, where applicants are invited to highlight aspects of their identity and background that relate to representation.
The EAIE will only review one grant application per applicant at any one time.
What are the requirements and output for the grant?
2026 grant recipients are required to submit a mid-term report by 31 March 2027 and a final report by 30 September 2027, each no more than 2,000 words. The mid-term report should describe research progress and anticipated spending, while the final report should cover research outcomes and a full accounting of the use of funds.
2026 grant recipients are also required to attend and present their research at the 2027 EAIE Annual Conference in Glasgow, either through a session or as a poster. Recipients must also produce one further output for the EAIE community, such as a blog post or Research Snapshot. Any research presentations or publications that result from the research must acknowledge the support of the EAIE grant.
When are the grant funds disbursed?
The grants are disbursed in three instalments:
- October 2026: 40%
- March 2027: 40% upon acceptance by the EAIE of the mid-term report
- September 2027: 20% upon acceptance by the EAIE of the final report
What are the key dates?
- 31 March 2026: Application deadline
- Mid-May 2026: Decision notifications sent to applicants
- 25 August 2026: Public announcement of Doctoral Research Grant winners
- October 2026: 40% Grant funds disbursed
- 31 March 2027: Mid-term report due
- April 2027: 40% grant funds disbursed
- 01 September 2027: Final report due
- September 2027: Participation in EAIE Annual Conference
- 30 September 2027: 20% grant funds disbursed
What do I need to do to apply?
To apply, you must complete the online application form and upload the following documents:
Note: Documents must be provided in English, or a translated copy must be provided with any documents submitted in another language.
- Official proof of your status as a current doctoral student or candidate. This document should also indicate that your status as a doctoral student or candidate is expected to continue in the 2026-2027 academic year.
- A recommendation letter from your doctoral research supervisor
- A completed budget worksheet, which must include estimated costs related to attending the 2027 EAIE Annual Conference
- Proof of ethics approval from your institution (if your research involves human participants or data)
How is the grant application assessed?
Applications that are complete and that meet the eligibility criteria will be reviewed in detail by the EAIE Grants Advisory Group. This group evaluates applications based on several factors, including:
- Alignment with one or more aspects of the EAIE Taxonomy
- Relevance to the European higher education context
- Relevance to policy and/or practice in the field of international higher education
- Innovative nature of the research topic or methods
- The quality of the applicant’s academic background and/or research experience, as evidenced by the letter of recommendation from the doctoral research supervisor and the applicant’s list of prior publications
The EAIE is committed to helping advance our collective understanding of the impact of internationalisation in higher education. Support for new and emerging researchers is an exciting way to move this agenda forward.
Doctoral Research Grants Advisory Group
Hans de Wit
Hans de Wit is Distinguished Fellow of the Center for International Higher Education (CIHE) at Boston College (USA) and Emeritus Professor of the Practice in International Higher Education at Boston College. He is IAU Senior Fellow of the International Associati.on of Universities (IAU). He has been Director of the Centre for Higher Education Internationalisation (CHEI) at the Università Cattolica Sacro Cuore in Milan, Italy, Professor of Internationalization of Higher Education at the Amsterdam, University of Applied Sciences, and Vice-President International of the University of Amsterdam.
Hans is the Founding Editor of the Journal of Studies in International Education, and Co-Editor of Policy Reviews in Higher Education (SRHE). He is also Co-Editor of International Higher Education. He is founding member (1989) and past president (1993-1994) of the European Association for International Education (EAIE) and was presented with the Constance Meldrum award in 2008 for his continue achievements on international education not only in Europe, but worldwide. He has (co)written many books and articles on internationalisation of higher education and is actively involved in quality assurance on international education
Ellen Hazelkorn
Ellen Hazelkorn is joint managing partner at BH Associates education consultants, and Professor Emeritus at Technological University Dublin, Ireland. She is also Joint Editor of Policy Reviews in Higher Education. Ellen works with, inter alia, the European Commission, OECD, UNESCO, European Investment Bank and numerous national governments. Ellen is currently a member of the Co-ordinating Council for Higher Education in Portugal and the Expert Panel on Further Education and Training (FET/TVET) Practitioners Staffing Structures (Ireland). She is also a member of the Committee for Strategic Advice, EURASHE and the HEInnovate Expert Group (EU/OECD). Ellen was policy advisor to, and board member of, the Higher Education Authority (Ireland), and consultant to OECD. She previously served as Vice President at Dublin Institute of Technology, overseeing the Faculty of Applied Arts, and then research, innovation, and enterprise development. She has published widely on higher education policy, governance, rankings, science and innovation. Ellen was awarded a BA and PhD from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and the University of Kent, UK, respectively.
Ellen received the 2018 Tony Adams Award for Excellence in Research for her outstanding work on the rise of international university rankings.
Simon Marginson
Simon Marginson is Professor of Higher Education at the University of Oxford and Joint Editor-in-Chief of Higher Education. He is also an Honorary Professor at Tsinghua University in China, a Professorial Associate of the University of Melbourne, a Fellow of the British Academy, the Academy of Social Sciences in UK and of the Society for Research into Higher Education, and a member of Academia Europaea. He formerly worked at Monash and Melbourne universities in Australia and at UCL Institute of Education in London, and from 2015-2024 was Director of the ESRC Centre for Global Higher Education (CGHE).
In 2014 Simon was the Clark Kerr Lecturer on Higher Education at the University of California, Berkeley, and received the Research Achievement Award at the US Association for the Study of Higher Education. He has advisory functions at Peking University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (the Academic Ranking of World Universities), the University of Tokyo, Lingnan University in Hong Kong, the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), and the National University of Chile. Simon’s scholarship is widely published and cited (Google h-index 85). His research is focused primarily on global, international and comparative higher education, global science, higher education in East Asia, and the contributions of higher education to public and common good, including social equality.
Simon received the 2024 EAIE Award for Vision and Leadership for his exceptional contributions and leadership in fostering global dialogue on a wide range of issues in the field of international higher education (IHE), as well as his decade-long leadership in founding and leading the ESRC Centre for Global Higher Education.
Jeanine Gregersen-Hermans
Jeanine Gregersen–Hermans is a researcher and practitioner focusing on the internationalisation of higher education, intercultural and global competence development, and education for sustainable development. She is currently connected to the research centre Sustainable International Business at Zuyd University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands. She is also on the Supervisory Board of Thomas More University of Applied Sciences (the Netherlands), holding the portfolio for quality of education and research. She has participated in several EU-funded projects, most recently as a partner in the ICI Project - Inclusive Comprehensive Internationalisation (2022- 2025) and coordinator in the IBE_ReGloMi project- Innovating Business Education for Responsible Global Minds (2022-2025).
Jeanine Gregersen-Hermans received the Bo Gregersen EAIE Award for Best Practice in 2008 for her contributions to education and training.
Since 2024, Jeanine has been a member of the EAIE Thematic Committee Research on internationalisation.
Sonja Knutson
Dr Sonja Knutson is a long-time practitioner and scholar in the field of International Education in Canada. She has been an invited guest speaker and instructor in over a dozen countries on five continents, sharing research and insights into the international education role. She is Chair of the not-for-profit provincial association, International Education Newfoundland and Labrador (IENL), and is an Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Education at Memorial University.
In 2022, she developed a Graduate Diploma program offered through Memorial's Education Faculty on Internationalization of Higher Education (IHE). Dr. Knutson recently retired from her administrative role as Senior International Officer at Memorial, in order to have more time to devote to teaching, research and service to the IHE field. She is a constant advocate for the IHE profession and has held volunteer leadership roles with both NAFSA and CBIE. She has also participated in EAIE activities, as well as with the University of the Arctic. As a passionate leader in international education, Dr Knutson takes every opportunity to engage with colleagues, from newcomers to veterans in the field.
In 2025, Sonja became a member of the EAIE Publications Committee.
- Twitter:
- @SonjaEKnutson
- LinkedIn:
- https://linkedin.com/in/sonjaknutsonphdmun/