Admissions period Summer 2026

ICFO offers a limited number of PhD positions to well-qualified applicants who wish to obtain a doctoral degree in any of the research topics available within our Research Groups

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Our PhD-program brings together top-level training and teaching for young scientists in a stimulating, international and interdisciplinary environment.

Research lines include, but are not limited to theoretical and experimental aspects of:

Atto-Science, Ultrafast Optics & Nonlinear Optics

Photovoltaics, Thermal Photonics & Solar Fuels

Optical Sensing & Optoelectronics

NanoPhotonics & NanoMechanics

Ultracold Quantum Gases

Quantum and Low-Dimensional Materials

Quantum Communications, Sensing & Simulation

Quantum Optics & Quantum Information

Nanophotonics, Condensed Matter Physics & Light-Matter Interactions

Medical Optics

Biophysics, Biophotonics & Super-Resolution Imaging

All PhD students admitted to ICFO are provided with a fellowship, with conditions as described in detail below.

Important:

Students applying to join the program are advised to directly contact the Research Group(s) of interest as part of the application process. We will use internal recommendations from Group Leaders to help identify candidates of interest during the admissions period.

As part of your application you will be requested to indicate the research group(s) in which you are interested in undertaking your PhD. Please be as specific as possible here, explaining your motivation to join the groups indicated.

Please, browse our website for details about ICFO Research Groups and Group Leaders at https://www.icfo.eu/research/groups/. In the group profile, you will also see specific available PhD-projects in that particular group (application should be formalized through this present general call with the corresponding selection process applicable). If you are interested in discussing possible research topics, please contact ICFO Group Leaders directly.

ELIGIBILITY

To be eligible for an ICFO PhD position, candidates must:

Have an internationally-recognized Master-equivalent degree. The degree must be completed by the start of your prospective PhD at ICFO, at the latest, and must be in a field of science and engineering related to the ICFO research activities. Degrees issued within the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) must have an equivalent to 300 ECTS, out of which a minimum of 60 ECTS must have been obtained in postgraduate studies. For degrees issued outside the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), “Master-equivalent” is understood as a degree granting access to a PhD in the country where it was awarded. Official documents certifying this will have to be submitted by the candidate. Formal evaluation of equivalence will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Please, if in doubt regarding your academic eligibility, contact us at jobs@icfo.eu.

Have an excellent academic record, previous research experience and a strong commitment for scientific research.

Candidates who have already been awarded a PhD are not eligible to apply.

Have a high working knowledge of English.

CONDITIONS

PhD Students admitted to ICFO will be offered a Fellowship with the following conditions:

Initial contract for a period of 6 months, while being pre-admitted to the PhD program, with an explicit follow-up/ renewal procedure at the end of this first stage. During this period, students already take part in the ICFO working environment, join a research group, and work with their supervisor to define a research project.

After this initial period, students are formally enrolled in the PhD Program, and the full PhD Fellowship activated. Fellowships are offered for periods of three years, renewable for an additional fourth year, and are formalized via a PhD-contract. Continuity and renewal are subject to satisfactory performance in the PhD studies and related research activities, evaluated annually by the Thesis Director and the ICFO PhD Committee.

Selected candidates shall start ideally between October and December 2026.

All ICFO fellowships include medical care coverage and work accident insurance through the Spanish Social Security system, providing access to the Spanish public health care system.

ICFO PhD standard salary conditions apply to the positions and are subject to fiscal and social security deductions.

The salary is 27,257.83 € gross/year for the entire duration of the fellowship (4.5 years).

As part of the fellowship, ICFO will provide budget as deemed necessary and with the corresponding approval from the corresponding Group/Team Leader to enable the PhD fellow to complete his/her assigned research project. This budget is managed by the Group/Team leader, and will include consumables and other materials, training and other related costs, such as registration fees, travel and subsistence costs for participation in national or international events, conference, meetings, schools, and/or other training activities.

Additionally, a family allowance is also available on request and after corresponding approval for people with family charges in the terms described in the corresponding policy.

To apply, suitable candidates are requested to complete online application form and submit (in English) online the following material:

A Presentation Letter with declaration of research interests, as well as (mandatory) indication of the research project and/ or group you are interested in,

A Curriculum Vitae, including contact details,

Scanned copies of the complete (Bachelor and Master equivalent) academic transcripts in English or Spanish including the grading scale,

Scanned copies of the degree certificates, if available at the time of application,

Holders of a degree issued under a foreign education system. In these cases, homologa-tion is not required but the university that awarded the degree must verify that it certifies a level of training equivalent to an official Spanish master’s degree and qualifies the holder for admission to doctoral studies in the country where it was issued. Admission on this basis does not imply homologation of the foreign degree or its recognition for any purpose other than admission to doctoral studies.

Documentation must explicitly indicate equivalence of degree and/or admissibility in a PhD program in the country where it was issued. Examples of documents we accept are:

Official document or website from the degree granting university

Academic transcript including this explicit description

Letter or certificate from faculty, school or department, addressed to ICFO on official letter-head, signed by a person responsible for admissions into the PhD program

The names and contact details of 2 referees. IMPORTANT: These referees will be automatically contacted by ICFO requesting them to complete a standardized evaluation form and submit a letter of support for the candidates into the system. When they do so, the applicant will receive an email confirming that the corresponding reference letter has been submitted. Candidates are responsible for ensuring that referees submit these letters.

If available, scanned copy of standardized test results (GRE, TOEFL, etc.). Note that submission of test results is optional, but they can be particularly helpful for evaluating candidates with degrees obtained outside the European Higher Education Area.

All required application material, including letters of reference, must be complete in order for the application to be considered.

The deadline for submission of applications for the present call is September 22, 2026 and the deadline for referees to submit the reference letters is September 24, 2026.

Applicants with a legally recognized disability, equal to or greater than 33%, have the right to be considered in the applicable reserved quota for the corresponding position, and to have the necessary adaptations for selection & evaluation, as well as for the assigned workplace, if necessary. They must provide the assessment or accreditation of the degree of disability issued or officially recognized by the authorities in the area where the workplace is established, along with the rest of the documentation when applying. Failure to present the accreditation for causes attributable to the applicant will entail their participation in this selection process without any reservation and on equal terms with the rest of the candidates.

ADMISSIONS PROCESS

Candidates will be assessed on a rolling basis until the call deadline according to the following steps:

Eligibility Check.

Evaluation that the candidate is eligible for admission into the PhD program, and that their application is complete.

Admissibility Check.

Confirmation that the candidate fulfils the minimum academic requirements for admission into the PhD program, and one or more research groups may be interested to host the candidate.

Evaluation of candidate.

The admissions committee will evaluate identified candidates.

Assessment is based on demonstrated achievement and potential, measured in terms of academic record, previous experience, and personal achievements. Academic excellence is a must. Pro-activity, participation in community activities, and capacity for team-work are also valued.

Interviews.

Outstanding candidates identified by the admissions committee will be invited to interview:

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candidates will receive invitations for on-line interviews with an admissions committee

in parallel, individual interviews with interested Group Leader(s) may be conducted.

Last interviews are planned to take place by October 2026.

Admissions.

Admissions offers with a corresponding fellowship will be made to the successful candidates shortly after the interviews.

To be admitted into the program, candidates must pass the evaluation by the admissions committee following the interview in step 4a, and have an offer of acceptance into one or more host research groups with confirmed funding for the corresponding fellowship.

Appeals.

A dedicated, external and independent Appeals Panel will be established to rule on the outcome of any appeal from the applicants.

At all stages of the process, candidates may contact the Talent Attraction Team via jobs@icfo.eu.

For complete information about the PhD Admissions process at ICFO, please see https://www.icfo.eu/studies/phd-program/general-eligibility/.

DATA PROTECTION

In accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR) and Organic Law 3/2018, ICFO informs applicants that their personal data will be processed exclusively for recruitment purposes.

Controller: Fundació ICFO – Institut de Ciències Fotòniques, Av. Carl Friedrich Gauss 3, 08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona).

DPO: dpo@icfo.eu

Legal basis: performance of a task in the public interest.

Rights: access, rectification, erasure, restriction, and opposition.

Supervisory authority: Catalan Data Protection Authority (APDCAT) https://apdcat.gencat.cat

All recruitment files will be retained in accordance with the Catalan public-sector archival retention schedule (DOGC 2117).

Reference: 1130

Application deadline: 22.09.26

22nd of September, 2026