What does a PhD pay? Data reveal huge gaps across Europe

How much do PhD students earn? The first comprehensive overview of PhD income shows vast imbalances across much of Europe¹.

The report, which investigated the earnings of first-year doctoral candidates in 2024–25 across 26 countries, was published by the European Council of Doctoral Candidates and Junior Researchers (Eurodoc) in September.

“Collecting comparative data on remuneration across Europe is notoriously difficult,” says Norbert Bencze, one of the authors of the report and president of Eurodoc — an international federation based in Brussels that represents early-career researchers and doctoral candidates across Europe. “Our aim is to draw attention to the disparities, and to encourage more data collection.”

Co-author Pil Maria Saugmann, an academic governance researcher and former Eurodoc president, says that these figures contribute to a “brain drain” directed towards Scandinavia and the Benelux countries from many other parts of Europe (see ‘Is it a job?’).

But Estonia has shown that it is possible to buck that trend, Saugmann adds. A 2022 doctoral education reform replaced a student stipend of around €8,000 (about US$9,000) a year with a guaranteed salary of about 2.5 times that amount, boosting applications for doctoral positions, as well as connections to industry, she says.

Accounting complexities

Remuneration schemes can be difficult to compare, says Bencze. Some doctoral candidates are employed with salaries, others are on scholarships and some have mixed arrangements. The cost of living, which differs widely between places, also matters.

For paid employment, income is taxed, so individuals will take home a much lower figure — but they might receive compensations such as pension entitlements and parental leave. By contrast, scholarship money is generally exempt from taxation, but might not come with any other benefits.