Dates: 13–17 September 2027

Event organised by: GRITIM-UPF at Universitat Pompeu Fabra in collaboration with the EuroMedMig Marie Skłodowska-Curie PhD Project

Event location: The PhD school will take place at the Ciutadella Campus, Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF) in Barcelona, Spain

Deadline for application submissions: 15 November 2026

Organising Committee: Prof. Ricard Zapata-Barrero, Director of GRITIM-UPF and Coordinator of EuroMedMig and Dr. Luisa Faustini Torres, EuroMedMig PhD Network Project Manager

Call for Applications

Migration has long been studied through national and global perspectives. While these approaches remain essential, they can overlook the regional dynamics that shape how migration is governed, experienced and transformed. Regions are more than geographical spaces; they are political, economic, social and cultural arenas in which mobility is facilitated, regulated, negotiated and contested.

Regional organisations, labour markets, historical ties, environmental systems and geopolitical relationships influence migration patterns across national borders. Free movement regimes, regional integration projects, migration corridors, borderlands and cross-border cooperation all point to the importance of the regional scale for understanding contemporary human mobility.

Migration also contributes to the making and remaking of regional-building. Population movements transform labour markets, cities, political institutions, social identities and patterns of inter-state and translocal cooperation, creating new forms of connectivity as well as new political, economic and governance challenges.

The IMISCOE PhD School 2027 takes this reciprocal relationship between migration and regions as its starting point. It invites participants to critically examine how regions are imagined, constructed, governed and transformed through migration, and to consider the theoretical and methodological implications of studying migration beyond national boundaries.

Bringing together doctoral students with senior researchers working across different region of the world, the IMISCOE PhD School will create a space for comparison across regional contexts and for critical discussion of how a regional approach can contribute to migration studies.

Thematic Focus

The five-day programme is organised as a progressive exploration of regional migration studies, moving from conceptual foundations to governance, migration drivers, socioeconomic transformations, and the methodological and practical challenges facing migration research today:

Welcome & Setting the Stage – Why regional migration studies? Conceptual foundations, research agendas and the value of moving beyond state-centric and global generalisations. Participants will consider how regions are defined and constructed and how regional perspectives can help address methodological nationalism.

Institutions, Power and Regional Governance – Regional governance, institutions and comparative policy perspectives, including mobility regimes, border management, externalisation and multi-level governance across the Mediterranean and other world regions.

Geography and Politics of Migration Drivers – The environmental, geopolitical, economic, demographic and historical dynamics shaping intra- and inter-regional mobility, and the ways in which these drivers interact across different regional contexts.

Migration, Society and Development Across Regions – The effects of migration on societies, labour markets and regional development, including transnational connections, diaspora engagement, social cohesion and the migration-development nexus.

Doing Regional Migration Research in Uncertain Times – Emerging methodological, ethical and practical challenges for migration research in contexts marked by geopolitical change, digitalisation, disinformation and shifting policy environments, alongside discussion of future directions for regional migration studies.

Across these themes, the PhD School will connect the Mediterranean with experiences from other world regions and encourage participants to reflect on how regional comparison can strengthen their own doctoral research.

The Programme

The IMISCOE PhD School combines academic training with opportunities for participants to discuss and develop their own doctoral research. Over five days, the programme combines a variety of learning formats to promote active participation and collaborative learning:

• Keynote lectures introducing major theoretical debates and regional perspectives.
• Interactive workshops focusing on research methods, digital tools, and ethical and policy engagement.
• Roundtable discussions encouraging dialogue between scholars working across different world regions.
• Parallel PhD sessions where participants present their research and receive personalised feedback.
• Networking and social activities designed to foster collaboration and strengthen the international migration research community.

Particular attention will be given to exchange across regions. Participants will be encouraged to reflect on how concepts and approaches developed in one regional context travel to others, where comparison is useful, and where regional specificities require different analytical perspectives. Participants will also take an active role in the PhD School by contributing to discussions and helping to coordinate selected panels and lectures.

Confirmed experts and speakers

• Sebastián Umpiérrez de Reguero (Institute of Public Goods and Policies, Spanish National Research Council – IPP-CSIC, Spain; Tallinn University, Estonia; Casa Grande University, Ecuador)
• Camille Schmoll (École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales – EHESS, France)
  
• Ernesto Castañeda (American University, United States)
  
• Andrew Geddes (Migration Policy Centre, European University Institute, Italy)
  
• Gerasimos Tsourapas (University of Birmingham, United Kingdom)
  
• Leander Kandilige (Centre for Migration Studies, University of Ghana, Ghana)
  
• Ahmet İçduygu (Koç University and MiReKoc, Türkiye)
  
• Evren Yalaz Özen (Trilateral Research, United Kingdom)
  
• Nena Močnik (GRITIM-UPF, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain)
  
• Laavanya Kathiravelu (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore)

Additional institutional contributors will include the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and the European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed). Individual speakers representing these institutions will be confirmed at a later stage. The detailed programme will be announced soon on the IMISCOE PhD School website.

Who Should Apply?

The PhD School welcomes applications from doctoral researchers working on migration and human mobility from the disciplines of social sciences and all geographical areas. A maximum of 30/35 participants will be selected. In selecting participants, attention will be given to ensuring diversity, equity and inclusion, with particular consideration for regional representation, gender balance, diversity of perspectives, and candidates from under-resourced institutions.

Applicants are required to ensure that their doctoral research engages meaningfully with a regional perspective on migration and connects to a thematic focus of the programme—whether as a scale of analysis, an empirical context, a comparative framework, or an object of critical inquiry.

The PhD School aims to bring together a diverse cohort in terms of geographical focus, disciplinary background, methodological approach, academic institution and stage of doctoral research.

Fees & Scholarships

The IMISCOE PhD School is primarily designed for in-person participation. Registration fees are differentiated according to IMISCOE membership and the location of the applicant's institution.

Online participation may be considered only in exceptional circumstances that prevent an accepted participant from attending in person, such as visa-related difficulties or comparable situations.

Scholarships and Fee Waivers 

• Two (2) full scholarships, covering the registration fee, plus travel and accommodation expenses up to a combined maximum of €800 per scholarship.
• Two (2) registration fee waivers, covering the registration fee only.

Selection criteria

Applications for the full scholarship and the fee waivers will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

• Relevance to the PhD research — the degree to which participation in the programme contributes to the applicant’s doctoral research, academic training, or professional development.
• Financial need — priority will be given to applicants who do not have access to sufficient alternative funding to cover the proposed costs.
• Declaration of other funding — applicants must declare any other funding available or received for the proposed activity. The scholarship or fee waiver cannot be used to cover expenses already financed through other sources.
• Equal opportunities — consideration may be given to applicants who face particular barriers in accessing research or training opportunities.

Applicants for the full scholarship must also provide a concise justification of the proposed travel and accommodation costs and demonstrate the need for financial support.

How to Apply

Applications should be submitted in English through this online application form by 15 November 2026.

Applicants will be asked to provide:

• CV – maximum 2 pages.
• PhD project outline – maximum 300 words. The outline should briefly present the research question(s), theoretical approach, methodology and/or cases, and expected contribution of the doctoral project. It should clearly indicate how a regional perspective is relevant to the research, as well as the current stage of the PhD.
• Motivation letter – maximum 300 words. Applicants should explain their research motivation for participating in the PhD School, indicate the current stage of their doctoral research, and describe how participation would contribute to the development of their PhD project. They should also outline how they expect to benefit from engaging with regional and comparative perspectives on migration.
• If applying for scholarships: Financial support statement – maximum 200 words. Applicants should briefly explain why financial support is necessary for their participation, indicate whether they have access to any other institutional, project, mobility, or travel funding for this activity, and identify any particular circumstances that may limit their ability to participate without financial support. Applicants must declare any other funding received or requested for the PhD School, as costs already covered by another source cannot be funded through the scholarship or fee waiver. Applicants for the full scholarship should also provide an indicative estimate of their expected travel and accommodation costs.

For applicants pursuing a PhD at an IMISCOE Member Institute: Please verify that your name is listed on your institute's website, as internal verification will be conducted.

Applications will be reviewed by the IMISCOE-EuroMedMig PhD School selection committee. The selection will consider the quality and clarity of the doctoral project, the relevance of the regional perspective, the applicant’s motivation, and the expected contribution of participation in the PhD School to the development of the PhD research.

For any questions or queries, please contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.