CIN Grant Call 2026
The Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience (FPN), the Mental Health and Neuroscience Research Institute (MHeNs), and the MUMC+’s Brain & Nerve Centre are proud to announce the 9th round of the annual Grant scheme within the framework of the Centre for Integrative Neuroscience (CIN).
The CIN fosters and strengthens inter-faculty research cooperation in the broad field of neuroscience and thereby increases the visibility, recognition, and appreciation of neuroscience research inside and outside Maastricht University. To facilitate these objectives, the CIN launches an annual call to grant inter-faculty neuroscience initiatives. Scientists from FPN, MHeNs, and the Brain & Nerve Centre are invited to submit a proposal.
Researchers who have been awarded a CIN grant within the past two years are not eligible to apply for any of the grant options in the current round.
Starting this round, this collaboration may include neuroscientists from the other Maastricht University faculties and the other FHML Research Institutions. Here, the key criterion is that at least two of the three core partners (i.e., FPN, MHeNs, Brain & Nerve Centre) are involved and that they financially contribute to the proposed project. Compared to previous calls, this year’s CIN call will offer multiple new grant options to facilitate inter-faculty collaborations. The following grant options are available:
Grant options
- 50% matching of a 4-year PhD trajectory, plus a maximum of EUR 25,000 for other costs directly related to the PhD project;
- 100% matching of a part time (i.e., 0.2 fte) PhD position for a Brain & Nerve Centre resident;
- 100% matching of 0.3-0.4 fte for a Brain & Nerve Centre clinician working on one of the ‘speerpunten’ for a period of 3 to 4 years (depending on the availability of financial resources);
- 50% matching of a 2-year post-doc position, plus a maximum of EUR 10,000 for other costs directly related to their project;
- 100% matching of EUR 50,000 for a project submitted by an assistant or associate professor. The project must involve curiosity-driven and innovative research that involves the rapid exploration of a promising idea.
Selection Criteria
The following criteria will be used to evaluate all submitted eligible proposals:
- Scientific Quality of the Research Proposal, with particular emphasis on the added scientific value of establishing a joint inter-faculty collaboration.
- Quality and Complementarity of the Research Team, including expertise, track record, and collaborative potential.
- Feasibility of the Project, both practically and financially, including a detailed financial plan covering the mandatory PhD salary matching and the projected research expenses (importantly: this includes costs that are not funded/covered by the CIN grant).
Please send your application, using the attached application form to CIN@maastrichtuniversity.nl