IAEA Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship Programme (MSCFP)

Who can apply

Female candidate holding the nationality of an IAEA Member State
Accepted by or already enrolled in an accredited university's Master's programme in a nuclear-related field
Preference given to applicants with above-average academic credentials (75% or above, or GPA above 3.0 out of 4.0)
One reference letter is mandatory, sent directly by the referee rather than the applicant; a second is preferred
Must declare any other scholarships held for the same programme, with supporting documents
The official university admission letter submitted must itself name the nuclear-related field of study and the programme's duration; all documents must be in English, with an official translation attached if the original is in another language, and incomplete applications are not considered
If selected, you must confirm acceptance of the offer within one week

The award is really two capped figures, not one

The headline figure here is really two figures: up to €20,000 for tuition and, separately, up to €20,000 for living costs, both capped rather than guaranteed at that level. Read the “other scholarships” clause carefully before you rely on the full amount. IAEA is explicit that holding any other scholarship for the same Master’s programme cuts its own support down to tuition only, and failing to disclose that in a timely way risks the whole award being suspended.

Applications are open now and close 31 October 2026, confirmed directly on IAEA’s own page. This replaces an earlier closed window this entry previously tracked, so treat this as a live deadline to act on rather than a date to bookmark for later.

What counts as a complete application

The paperwork is specific about what counts as complete. Alongside a passport or ID copy, IAEA wants an official university admission letter that itself names your nuclear-related field of study and the programme’s duration, a statement of tuition costs, and disclosure of any other scholarship you hold for the same programme. One reference is mandatory and a second preferred, but neither comes from you: referees submit their own reference template directly to IAEA by the deadline. Everything must be in English, with a certified translation attached if your original documents are not, and IAEA states plainly that incomplete applications will not be considered.

How selection actually works, and what happens if you’re offered a place

Selection runs through IAEA’s own MSCFP Technical Selection Committee, which weighs entry requirements, educational background and prior achievements, motivation, and how the fellowship would affect the applicant’s career goals and commitment to public service, alongside a deliberate look at geographic, field-of-study and linguistic diversity across the cohort. All applicants are told the decision by email. If you are offered a place, you have one week to confirm acceptance, and the offer sets out the payment arrangements and conditions. Two conditions are worth knowing before you apply: IAEA expects you to complete the master’s, and if you fail to graduate or meet the scholarship’s requirements the award ends and IAEA can ask you to repay the tuition and living-cost support you received. It also requires you to declare any other scholarship in a timely and transparent way, and says failing to do so may lead to suspension of its support. and a limited number of separate, competitively awarded internship placements exist alongside the master’s scholarship track for those interested in that route instead.

History and mission

The programme launched in March 2020 and sits inside IAEA’s broader “Together for More Women in Nuclear” initiative, alongside a separate, related Lise Meitner Programme. It is named for Marie Skłodowska-Curie, the physicist and two-time Nobel laureate, and is framed explicitly around closing the gender gap in nuclear and STEM fields more broadly, not simply funding individual master’s degrees in isolation; it sits alongside other options in the roundup of scholarships for women in STEM.