TWAS-FAPESP Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme for Developing Countries
UNESCO-TWAS (The World Academy of Sciences) and FAPESP
Up to 20 twelve-month postdoctoral fellowships in Sao Paulo, Brazil for researchers from developing countries in the natural, applied and social sciences. Full proposals close 1 April 2027; a Sao Paulo supervisor must register interest by 1 November 2026.
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Eligibility
- Who can apply
- Developing countries
- Education required
- Phd completed
- Fields
- Natural sciences, Agriculture, Health sciences, Engineering, Mathematics, Social sciences, Economics
- Language
- Oral and written proficiency in English sufficient to carry out the research project, proven by a formal statement from the fellowship supervisor.
- Residency
- Must be a permanent resident and natural-born citizen of a country on TWAS's developing-countries list (excluding Brazil); must not hold a temporary or permanent residence visa in Brazil or in any developed country; candidates already in Brazil are not eligible.
- Also required
- Doctorate in a natural, applied or social sciences area, obtained within the last 7 years (with an allowance for maternity/paternity leave)
- Official acceptance by a supervisor at a host institution in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil
- The supervisor must be a principal investigator or co-principal investigator on an ongoing FAPESP research grant
- Postdoctoral fellows funded under FAPESP Call 54/2023 are not eligible for this call
About this opportunity
The Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) and UNESCO-TWAS jointly offer postdoctoral fellowships to researchers from developing countries in all areas of the natural, applied and social sciences. Up to 20 fellowships are available in this call. Each fellowship lasts 12 months, is non-extendable, and is held at a host institution in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, supervised by a principal investigator or co-principal investigator on an ongoing FAPESP research grant.
Eligible nationalities are, in TWAS's own words, all developing countries, which includes Ghana and the rest of sub-Saharan Africa; TWAS publishes the country list at twas.org/subset/all-developing-countries. You must be a permanent resident and natural-born citizen of one of those countries, must not hold a temporary or permanent residence visa in Brazil or any developed country, must not already be in Brazil, must hold a doctorate in a natural, applied or social science, and must apply within seven years of obtaining it (with an allowance for maternity or paternity leave). There is no age limit. You also need official acceptance from a supervisor at a Sao Paulo host institution and oral and written proficiency in English, attested by that supervisor.
The timeline runs in two stages. The call opened on 8 September 2026. Sao Paulo supervisors submit preliminary proposals, described by FAPESP as an expression of interest, by 1 November 2026, and the list of potential supervisors is published on 1 December 2026 - that list is how an African postdoc identifies a host. Full proposals are then due by 1 April 2027 (midnight Brasilia time), results are published from August 2027 and approved projects start from August 2027. Contact potential supervisors early: the conditional acceptance letter is the step most likely to run out of time.
- Level
- Postdoc
- Where
- Brazil
- Duration
- 12 months, non-extendable
- Number of awards
- Up to 20 fellowships in this call
- Difficulty
- High · about 12 weeks to prepare
Funding
Funding varies
- stipend
The fellowship is awarded under FAPESP's Post-Doctoral Fellowship (PD) modality and FAPESP's standard PD rules apply. The call states that, exceptionally, these fellowships do not receive Technical Reserve funds or the Research Internship Abroad Scholarship (BEPE). Neither the TWAS programme page nor the FAPESP call summary states a stipend figure; TWAS refers applicants to the Call for Proposals document, which it says 'contains full information, including the Financial Support provided by the Fellowship'.
What you will need
- Research proposal
- CV / résumé
- Admission offer
Applicants must obtain a conditional acceptance letter from a potential supervisor at a Sao Paulo university using the template downloadable from the TWAS programme page, plus a formal statement from that supervisor attesting English proficiency. Full submission requirements are in the FAPESP/TWAS Call for Proposals document.
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