Postdoctoral fellowships
Many of the schemes below have internal Imperial deadlines, and it is the applicant's responsibility to allow sufficient time to develop a strong application.
Enquiries: tian.chen@imperial.ac.uk. Refer to How to apply for instructions.
Fellowship schemes
| Scheme | Deadline | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Royal Commission 1851 Research Fellowship | Mid-January. Opens October | Three years. Normally no more than three years of postdoctoral experience, with the research at a different institution from the PhD. |
| 1851 Brunel Fellowship | Mid-January. Opens October | One award a year in civil, mechanical, electrical, and aeronautical engineering, for proposals on the infrastructure of modern society: buildings, transportation, and energy supply. Up to three years of postdoctoral experience. |
| Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship | Mid-February. Imperial internal deadline falls the preceding October to December | Three years. A UK degree, or at least four months in a UK academic post. Imperial selects a limited number of applicants internally. |
| Newton International Fellowship | March. Opens mid-January | Two years. For non-UK researchers based outside the UK with up to five years of postdoctoral experience. |
| UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship | June. Opens February; internal expression of interest in January | Four years, renewable for three more. Imperial selects a limited number of applicants internally. |
| RAEng Research Fellowship | Expression of interest late June; invited full application in early December | Five years. The PhD must have been awarded no more than four years before the expression of interest deadline. Each institution may submit two to four applications. |
| Imperial Research Fellowship | Late July. Departmental deadlines are earlier | Four years. The PhD must have been awarded within five years of the start date, and the application requires a senior Imperial sponsor. |
| Eric and Wendy Schmidt AI in Science Postdoctoral Fellowship | Late July | Two years. For applying artificial intelligence methods in the natural sciences, engineering, and mathematics. |
| Royal Society University Research Fellowship | Early September. Opens mid-July | Eight years, with a review in year four. Three to eight years of post-PhD research experience. |
| Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship | Early September. Opens April | Up to eight years of research experience since the PhD, and no more than twelve months living or working in the UK in the three years before the deadline. |
| Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship | Late October. Opens early September | Eight years. No more than six years since the PhD, for researchers who need flexible support because of caring responsibilities or a health condition. The AIM Lab supports part-time and flexible working arrangements. |
| Royal Society Career Development Fellowship | Mid-November. Opens late September | Four years. A pilot for researchers from a Black heritage background with fewer than 24 months of postdoctoral experience and UK nationality, part of their education in the UK, or a prior UK postdoctoral post. |
| EPSRC mathematical sciences early independence fellowship | Any time. Assessed twice a year, in April and September | Up to five years, full time or at least half time, for researchers with a PhD and postdoctoral experience. |
| EPSRC postdoctoral, open, and open plus fellowships | Any time | The general engineering and physical sciences remit. |
| Daphne Jackson Fellowship | Any time | For researchers returning after a career break of two or more years. Usually half time over three years, with retraining. Applicants must be resident in the UK with the right to work. |
Royal Society dates for all schemes are published at royalsociety.org/grants/application-dates.
National mobility schemes
Many countries fund their own researchers to work abroad. These schemes are less competitive than the open international competitions and are often the most practical route. If you hold or intend to apply for one, say so in your first message.
Switzerland: SNSF Postdoc.Mobility; Netherlands: NWO Rubicon; Germany: DFG Walter Benjamin, DAAD PRIME; Japan: JSPS Overseas Research Fellowships; Hong Kong: Croucher Fellowships for Postdoctoral Research; Taiwan: NSTC Postdoc Research Abroad Program; Singapore: A*STAR International Fellowship; Israel: Rothschild Postdoctoral Fellowships; Sweden: Swedish Research Council International Postdoc Grant; Norway: FRIPRO Researcher Project with International Mobility; Poland: NAWA Bekker Programme; Canada: NSERC Canada Postdoctoral Research Award; China: China Scholarship Council programmes; Finland: Research Council of Finland postdoctoral funding; any country: Branco Weiss Fellowship.