- Role type — studentship, fellowship, or staff grade?
- Funding — salary scale, stipend, or “bring your own fellowship”?
- Contract — fixed-term length, full-time/part-time, start date.
- Eligibility — degree level, language, nationality/visa notes.
- Deadline — calendar date and time zone; late applications are usually ignored.
- Apply path — portal URL vs email vs PDF form.
Checklist
Signals that change the catalog
- “Doctoral student / PhD position / early-stage researcher” with thesis enrolment → usually Open PhD.
- “Postdoctoral fellow / Research Fellow (post-PhD)” → Postdocs. Watch for early-career windows (e.g. some SLU ads: PhD ≤ 3 years) — they are per vacancy.
- “Junior researcher / scientific officer / technician” without doctoral enrolment → Jobs for Researchers.
- Permanent concours / CRCN / CR grades → Jobs track, even for early-career PhD holders.
- Employed PhD (CLA / TV-L / collective agreement salary) — still a PhD path if the outcome is a doctorate; do not confuse with a staff-only researcher grade.
- Ifremer: careers board vs university doctoral school programmes — read which call you are in.
Employment offer ≠ always admission
Some German graduate schools require a separate doctoral-candidacy registration after (or beside) a research contract. Example: TUM DocGS admission is not the same step as employment as a research associate — see TUM application steps and requirements.
At WUR, funded categories include employed PhD and scholarship PhD; both still need programme admission rules on the admission page. Document packages go through Hora Finita / required documents.
What our cards summarise
Each listing highlights institution, country, disciplines, and key apply metadata when available. The long description is editorial or rewritten from the source — the official page remains authoritative. For degree-level patterns, see how to apply & eligibility.
Frequently asked questions
How do I tell Open PhD from a staff researcher ad?
Look for doctoral enrolment or a thesis goal. Staff grades (junior researcher, technician, scientific officer) without that enrolment belong in Jobs for Researchers.
What does “PhD ≤ 3 years” mean on a postdoc ad?
It is an early-career window used on some individual calls (for example certain SLU postdoc ads). Treat it as vacancy-specific — not an EU-wide rule.
Whose deadline should I trust?
The official institute page. Aggregator cards may summarise dates; late applications are usually ignored.
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