IVORI Master Fellowships in Spain Open at Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia for 2026
TARRAGONA – The Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ) has opened applications for the IVORI Master Fellowship Programme 2026, a scholarship initiative exclusively designed for female university graduates from Latin America. The IVORI fellowship funds a full academic year of master’s-level research at one of Spain’s most decorated chemistry institutes, with a deadline of March 31, 2026.
The IVORI Master Fellowship is not a conventional exchange grant. It places selected scholars directly inside ICIQ’s active research groups, working under the supervision of a group leader on an individual project in chemistry or a closely related discipline. The programme is administered through the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV)/ICIQ joint Master’s track and delivered entirely in English.
What the IVORI Fellowship Covers: Stipend, Tuition, and Research Access
Awardees of the IVORI Master Fellowship receive a monthly grant of €1,200 for the duration of the academic year. From the fellowship start until December 31, 2026, this amount is paid net; from January 1, 2027, until completion, it is paid gross. ICIQ covers the full cost of the URV/ICIQ Master’s programme enrolment, meaning tuition is fully funded. Fellows also gain access to ICIQ’s laboratories and research infrastructure, working alongside 250 researchers distributed across 19 groups specialising in sustainable catalysis, renewable energy, decarbonisation, and molecular medicine.
ICIQ holds two Severo Ochoa Centres of Excellence accreditations since 2014, and its scientists have secured 26 European Research Council grants. Nine group leaders hold ICREA professorships. For a master’s student from Latin America, this level of institutional access is difficult to replicate elsewhere at zero tuition cost.
Who Can Apply: IVORI Fellowship Eligibility for Latin American Graduates
The IVORI Master Fellowship Programme 2026 is open exclusively to female graduates from Latin American countries, defined as Spanish-speaking nations and Brazil. Applicants must hold a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, physics, biochemistry, chemical engineering, or a closely related field, which must be completed by the time of master’s enrolment. Proficiency in English is required, and shortlisted candidates will undergo an interview to assess their language competency.
Applications must be submitted online through ICIQ’s careers portal. Required documents include a scanned BSc diploma and academic transcript showing the final grade, full grading scale, and minimum passing grade, along with a curriculum vitae. Academic records not in Catalan, Spanish, or English require a certified translation. Two recommendation letters are also part of the evaluation criteria. Only one application per candidate is accepted, and incomplete submissions are automatically excluded.
The Strategic Value of the IVORI Fellowship in the Global Scholarship Landscape
Gender-targeted STEM fellowships for Latin American graduates remain rare at this funding level in Europe. Programmes like DAAD’s research grants or Erasmus Mundus joint masters cast a wider net but seldom offer the combination of a dedicated research placement, full tuition waiver, and monthly stipend within a single top-tier institute. The IVORI Master Fellowship fills a pointed gap: it recruits specifically from an underrepresented demographic in European chemistry research and provides a concrete pathway from a bachelor’s degree to supervised laboratory work at an internationally recognized centre.
The fellowship also functions as a pipeline. A successful IVORI year positions graduates competitively for doctoral programmes at ICIQ or elsewhere in Europe, with a research publication or thesis from a Severo Ochoa institute carrying significant weight in PhD admissions.
IVORI Fellowship 2026 Deadline and Application Timeline
The IVORI Master Fellowship Programme 2026 application window opened on January 26, 2026, and closes on March 31, 2026. No modifications or additional documents can be submitted after the deadline. Shortlisted candidates will be contacted for interviews during the selection phase, and all applicants will receive notification of the outcome by May 15, 2026. Fellowships begin in October 2026.