Romania Foreign Researchers Grants 2026 | €5,000 for a 3-Month Research Internship by the Romanian Cultural Institute

Omran Aburayya
Apr 27
4 min read

If you are a PhD student or established researcher with a study project centred on Romanian society, culture, or heritage — the Romanian Cultural Institute (ICR) is now accepting applications for its 2026 Grants for Foreign Researchers, and this could be the opportunity that takes your work to the next level. Three fully funded research grants of €5,000 each are on offer, supporting a three-month immersive research internship at a specialized institution in Romania, from June to December 2026. Whether your field is visual arts, musicology, architecture, literature, cultural heritage, social sciences, or economics, this programme is designed to bring serious international scholarly attention to the richness and complexity of Romanian society — and to give you the institutional access, time, and financial support to do it right. The deadline to apply is 4 May 2026, so now is the time to put your file together.

💲 Grant at a Glance

Location: Romania (at a specialized institution of the grantee's research area)
Host Institution: Romanian Cultural Institute (ICR), Bucharest
Grant Type: Research internship grant
Target Group: Foreign PhD students (working on Romanian topics) and established researchers from any country
Fields of Study: Visual arts, curatorship & art criticism, museology/museography; Music & musicology; Architecture, town-planning & design; Literature & literary criticism; Cultural heritage & cultural management; Economic sciences; Human & social sciences
Award Value: €5,000 per grant (flat amount for the full internship period)
Award Duration: 3 months — between 15 June and 15 December 2026
Number of Grants: 3 (three) awarded in 2026
Application Deadline: 4 May 2026, 17:00 Romanian time
Eligible Nationalities: Open to all foreign researchers (non-Romanian)

📚 Grant Overview

The Romanian Cultural Institute (ICR), headquartered in Bucharest, was established in 2004 and has since developed an 18-strong global network of chapters with a presence firmly established in Europe, North America, the Middle East, and China, making it Romania's main promoter of international cultural relations.

Among its flagship initiatives, the Institute runs non-refundable financing programmes, scholarships, and courses — including research scholarships for foreign researchers — as a key tool for supporting both cultural activities in Romania and the international promotion of Romanian culture.

The 2026 Scholarships and Residencies Programme has a total budget of €64,000 and offers 21 grants across six distinct calls, including the Foreign Researchers Grant, which sits alongside the Lucian Blaga Scholarship for Romanian researchers, residencies for emerging translators, the Ion Mincu Architecture Scholarship, and grants for foreign cultural journalists and professional translators.

🧩 Grant Format

The grant funds a 3-month research internship to be carried out at a specialized institution in Romania relevant to the applicant's field of research. The programme is residential and immersive: grantees are expected to be physically based in Romania for the duration, using their time for active research and documentation within their chosen institution.

The internship window runs between 15 June and 15 December 2026, giving grantees flexibility on the precise timing of their three-month stay within that broader period. The grant targets two distinct categories of applicant:

PhD students working on a thesis with a Romanian topic, using the internship for doctoral preparation and research
Established researchers seeking to deepen or extend existing scholarly work on aspects of Romanian society

Selection is carried out by an independent commission of specialists on the basis of the submitted application file. All documentation must be written and submitted in English.

🎁 Grant Benefits

€5,000 grant per awardee — a flat financial support package for the full three-month internship period
Institutional access to a specialized Romanian institution relevant to your field of research
Dedicated research time in Romania — immersed in archives, collections, academic environments, and cultural institutions
Opportunity to build direct professional and academic networks with Romanian scholars and institutions
Contribution to a programme that directly strengthens international partnerships and promotes Romanian cultural values globally, increasing Romania's visibility through relevant cultural projects
A compelling CV credential — previous grantees have included academics from renowned institutions across Europe and North America

ℹ️ Note: The €5,000 grant is a financial support package, not a full cost-of-living subsidy. Applicants should factor accommodation and travel costs into their planning, as these are not separately covered by the grant.

✅ Eligibility Criteria

Must be a foreign national (non-Romanian) — open to all nationalities
Must be either a PhD student working on a topic related to Romanian society/culture, or an established researcher with a relevant academic track record
Must have a research project centred on one of the eligible fields (visual arts, music, architecture, literature, cultural heritage, economic sciences, or human/social sciences) and specifically addressing topics related to Romanian society
Must have publications in the last two years in a recognized journal in the relevant field
Must be enrolled in an accredited doctoral programme (for PhD student applicants — documented proof required)
Two letters of recommendation from field specialists are required

📝 Application Procedure

All applications must be submitted online by email to: foreignresearchers@icr.ro before 4 May 2026 at 17:00 Romanian time. All documents must be written and submitted in English as a single application file.

The complete application file must include:

Registration form (official ICR form)
Curriculum Vitae (CV)
Copy of identity card or passport
Research project description
2 letters of recommendation from specialists in the field
Copies of publications from the last two years in a recognized journal in the chosen research field
Work plan for the period of the requested internship
For PhD students: copies of official documents certifying enrolment in an accredited doctoral programme
Affidavit stating that all submitted documents are in accordance with the originals