Pre-graduate Scholarships | Medical Sciences (Spring)
The instrument covers scholarships for students lasting 6 to 12 months, during which the student can engage in scientific work.
Please note
This page presents the overall framework for the instrument. The full Call for Proposals for Independent Research 2026 can be accessed here or under "Documents” in the right column. Please read this carefully before applying to DFF for funding. In case of discrepancies between the website and the Call for Proposals, the Call for Proposals applies.
Objective
This funding instrument is offered only by DFF | Medical Sciences. The council funds pre-graduate scholarships of 6-12 months’ duration with the purpose of providing the most talented BA and MA students, who have completed at least 2 years of education (finalised with an evaluation) from educations that allow no more than 6 months for the completion of their master’s thesis, with the opportunity to undertake scientific work and strengthen their interest in pursuing a scientific career.
Framework
Budget limitations
Up to DKK 150,000 excl. overhead.
The grant covers 6-12 months’ scholarship.
Project duration
It is a requirement that the research project takes place over a total period of two semesters. The council is willing to accept that the project, if necessary, extends over a three-semester period.
Seniority
As the applicant (main supervisor), you must normally have obtained a PhD degree or equivalent qualifications.
Note that the scholar student must be a BA or MA student, who has completed at least 2 years of education (finalised with an evaluation) from an education that allows no more than 6 months for the completion of the master’s thesis.
Starting dates
Earliest: 1 August 2026
Latest: 1 August 2027
Offered by
About the applicant
Applications for Pre-graduate Scholarships | Medical Sciences must be submitted by the student’s academic supervisor. As a supervisor, you must normally have obtained a PhD degree or achieved equivalent qualifications through your research. The council places emphasis on the fact that you have an independent research profile and that you have the time required to undertake the supervision.
About the scholar student
The student completes a research project of 2 consecutive semesters’ duration. It is expected that one of the 2 semesters is teaching-free, or that the student takes leave during the semester. The second semester must have research as its main focus. If exceptional circumstances prevent the student from taking leave for a semester, this must be accounted for in the application. There is no requirement as to when this consecutive period is placed during the student’s overall education, other than the fact that the period must be completed before the student finishes their education.
Students enrolled in programmes that do not offer the possibility of a research semester are still eligible to apply for a scholarship. In this case, it is likewise expected that the student takes leave for a one-semester period. It is also a requirement that the research project takes place over a total period of two semesters. The council is willing to accept that the project, if necessary, extends over a three-semester period.
Students enrolled in an education that allows more than 6 months for the completion of the master’s thesis (regardless of whether this option is utilised or not) are not eligible to receive a Pre-graduate Scholarship.
As a pre-graduate scholarship is tied to the specific student listed in the application, it is not possible for grant recipients to subsequently transfer the grant to another student.
About the application
When writing an application to the fund, you must pay special attention to ensuring that the application fulfils the objective of the funding instrument and that it meets the fund’s assessment criteria.
In its assessment of the application, the council places emphasis on the student’s qualifications (especially their grades) as well as the student’s role and work tasks in relation to the project. The tasks must form part of an innovative research project and not merely constitute practical routine tasks in support of a larger project. The intention of the scholarship is that the student completes an independent project under the guidance of the supervisor/applicant, and with the aim of the student publishing their contribution. The council does not offer support for pre-graduate scholarships that have already received full or partial funding for the student’s salary from other sources.
You cannot apply for funding for pre-graduate scholarships within the framework of the council’s other funding instruments.
The application must be written in English.
Budget
You can apply for up to DKK 150,000 excl. overhead. The budget must be completed in the mandatory budget template, which can be downloaded from e-grant.
The grant covers 6-12 months’ scholarship for the pre-graduate scholar as well as other operating expenses, and the budget must account for the use of these. The funds can be used throughout the entire approved period.
The funds for a pre-graduate scholarship count as operating grant support (“driftstilskud”) to the supervisor’s research activities in regard to the budget. Thus, the scholar is neither a scientific/academic employee, nor a technical/administrative employee, and the funds for the scholarship should therefore not be listed as salary, but as an operating expense in the budget template. It should be noted in the free text field for the relevant budget item how the funding is distributed between the student’s scholarship and other operating expenses.
The council prioritises applications that include financing of operating expenses, or operating grant support (“driftstilskud”), for the student/pre-graduate scholar over applications that only include financing of other operating expenses.
Project description and appendices
Below is a list of the appendices that must be attached to your application. For some appendices, it is specified that they are only to be attached if relevant. You can read more about the general requirements for the content of the project description, CV, publication list, etc. in section 10, and about the budget in section 11. The definition of roles in the project is described in section 10.3.
Please note in particular that there are character and page limits for the project description and page limits for the applicant’s CV and publication list. Exceeding these limits will result in an administrative rejection. It is always the character count generated by e-grant that applies. You can find more information in section 10.2.
- B10: Project description
The project description must not exceed 3 A4 pages (incl. figures, tables, etc.). The 3 A4 pages must not exceed 9,000 characters incl. spaces, figure captions, formulas, etc. It is recommended to use the “DFF-Project description” template. - B11: List of references/bibliography
List of references/bibliography for the project description. - B12: Description of the student's role
A statement of the student’s role and work tasks in relation to the project. - Budget
Must be completed in the mandatory DFF budget template downloaded from and uploaded to e-grant. - B20: Applicant’s CV
Must be compiled using the mandatory DFF CV template and must comply with the specified formal requirements (see section 10.7). Your CV must not exceed 3 A4 pages. - B21: Applicant’s list of publications (track record)
Must be compiled using the mandatory DFF track record template and must comply with the specified formal requirements (see section 10.7). Your track record must not exceed 3 A4 pages. - B35: Scholar student’s transcript of records
Clear, official, complete transcripts for the student. - B37: Clipping from the study programme (if relevant)
For students from other education programmes than Master of Science (MSc) in Medicine (cand.med.): A clipping from the study programme for the education programme that the student is registered at, documenting that the person in question does not have the opportunity to use more than 6 months/30 ECTS for the completion of their master’s thesis. - B40: Student’s and participant's CV and list of publications
CV and list of publications for the scholar student and all named participants must be attached. At a minimum, a CV for the scholar student must be attached. A list of publications should be included in case the student has already published scientific work. They may choose either to submit a CV and list of publications without using the DFF template, with a combined maximum length of 2 pages, or to use DFF’s templates for CV (B20) and track record (B21), combined into a single PDF. - B57: Letter of acceptance from foreign institution (if relevant)
If activities take place partly or completely at a foreign institution, a written acceptance from the institution must be included, stating that the project can take place at the location in question. - B90: Budget confirmation
Administrator’s confirmation of the budget, etc., in the template “DFF-Budget Confirmation”.
Supplementary information
Timeline
| Deadline | 12 May 2026 at 12:00 PM (noon) |
| Decision | June 2026 |
| Expected reply | June 2026 |
Templates
The budget template must be downloaded in e-grant.
Questions about your application?
Contact the secretariat
Weekdays from 9 am - 12 pm
Tel.: +45 72 31 82 00
Email: dff-opslag@ufm.dk