PRELUDIUM

PRELUDIUM is NCN's basic-research grant for PhD candidates who do not yet hold a doctoral degree at the submission deadline. It is designed to give early-stage researchers their first independent project under the National Science Centre in Poland. The spring 2026 call, PRELUDIUM 25, carries a total budget of 50,000,000 PLN. The programme uses fixed award ceilings by project length: 70,000 PLN for 12 months, 140,000 PLN for 24 months, and 210,000 PLN for 36 months. Applications are submitted through the host institution in OSF, and the call follows NCN's spring and autumn cycle. The route remains limited to university and research-organisation applicants in Poland. PRELUDIUM suits doctoral candidates who need a contained first project and a clear supervisory environment. The programme sits at the beginning of NCN's career ladder and is meant to build an independent research record before a researcher moves on to larger competitions such as SONATA or OPUS. Teams that can define a small, coherent research question and document institutional backing should be the strongest fit.

Each grant below is a distinct funding opportunity with its own eligibility, scope, and deliverables.