Research fellowships

Applications for Research Fellowships

Candidates wishing to select Imperial Physics as their host institution are advised to contact the relevant Research Group to discuss their application. You are encouraged to contact them early for initial discussions to maximise the support we can give you and also because this is a two-way process and you need to assess if we’re the right fit for you.

To ensure the submission of high-quality, competitive proposals, the Department runs a competitive internal selection process.  The deadlines for Research Groups to submit their supported nominated candidates to the Department are given below and you will need a member of the academic staff to act as an internal sponsor during the application process. Requests received after these dates will not be considered.

We strongly encourage applications from all backgrounds, especially those historically underrepresented in Physics. The majority of the schemes we support applications to can be held part time for personal circumstances such as caring responsibilities or disability/chronic health conditions. Applications are welcome from applicants who are returning from a career break or those working outside of academia. We are an IoP JUNO Practitioner and an Athena Silver SWAN Award winner reflecting our commitment to building a supportive, inclusive and highly motivated community. See our EDI webpage for more information and further resources/support for working at Imperial on our Opportunities page. 

We want to make our application process as inclusive and accessible as possible so if you experience any barriers that we may have overlooked please tell us and we can make adjustments.

We also recognise the unequal impacts that COVID-19-related disruption might have had. Where disruptions have occurred applicants can highlight this within their application if they wish.

If you are approved to submit a formal application the Department will assist you throughout the application process. We set internal submission deadlines which are substantially earlier than the sponsor deadlines to allow for sufficient preparation and approval time, you will be advised of this and you can also see the deadlines on the application guidance webpage.

The Imperial Postdoc and Fellows Development Centre provide a host of ongoing support from preparing the application to mock interviews available to anyone who is applying through Imperial.  You are strongly encouraged to take advantage of this support in conjunction with that from your host Research Group.  For more information, applicants should read the guidance on their web pages and contact pfdc-support@imperial.ac.uk.

We’ve successfully supported many research fellowship applications. See Summary of started researcher fellowships in Physics from 1 August 2013 - updated 01.07.23

Research fellowships

Calls

 

Eric and Wendy Schmidt AI in Science Postdoctoral Fellow, a Program of Schmidt Futures 

  • Closed.
  • This scheme is managed by Imperial.
  • It is expected that next call (Wave 4) will open in July 2024
  • This scheme is applied for through the Imperial recruitment system Talentlink, You must have an Imperial mentor to apply but the Department shortlisting is done after the application deadline.

 EPSRC Doctoral Prize fellowships

  • Closed
  • This scheme is managed by Imperial.
  • Department quota - two
  • It is expected that next call will open in June/July 2024
  • Department nomination deadline was 3rd August 2023.
  • Nomination paperwork is College required documents (Case for Support, CV, Letter from PhD supervisor)

EPSRC Postdoctoral & Open Fellowships

  • Always open
  • Department quota – none
  • Please contact a Research Community in your area of interest. Nomination paperwork is CV, publications list and brief research proposal.

Imperial College Research Fellowships

  • Closed. Physics only accepted applications for ICRFs supported by Schmidt Futures under the AI in Science theme.
  • Group quota: two
  • College deadline was 21st August 2023.

Marie Sklodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships

  • Open
  • Department quota – none.
  • Confirmation to the Department (via phys-ra@imperial.ac.uk) and ECAS Part A completed 4th September 2024.
  • Imperial participates in the standard European Fellowship mode of the MSCA PF scheme but does not participate in the Global Fellowships mode.
  • Check the Imperial's EU Team webpage with advice and information to help applicants. Some areas of the webpage require an Imperial login, ask your sponsor to share the information. You can also contact the team with questions mscapostdocfellowships@imperial.ac.uk

NERC Independent Research Fellowships

  • Closed
  • Department quota – none
  • Nomination deadline was 15th September 2023
  • The Grantham Institute at Imperial is providing support for candidates to apply for the 2024
  • Applications within any NERC remit will be considered. Eligible candidates will first need to be nominated by a co-host department at Imperial.
  • Nomination deadline TBC 

RAEng UK Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Research Fellowships

  • Closed
  • Department quota - none

  • Nominations closed 29th March 2024. . Nominations consist of CV, publications list and a one page outline.

Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellowships

  • Open
  • Department quota - two into the College selection process
  • Department nominations close 7th May 2024.  Nominations consist of a College application form and any (optional) letters of support.to be sent to phys-ra@imperial.ac.uk
  • Please contact a Research Community to discuss your application as you need an internal sponsor to support your nomination.

Royal Astronomical Society Fellowships 

  • Closed (will open again in 2024).
  • Department quota: five
  • Nominations to the Department closed on 26th September 2022. Nominations consist of CV, publications list and a one page outline.

Royal Commission 1851 Research Fellowships 

  • Closed
  • Department quota - five
  • Department nominations closed on 4th December 2023. Nominations consist of CV, publications list and a one page outline.

Royal Society Career Development Fellowship

  • Closed
  • Department quota – none
  • Department nominations closed on 4th December 2023. Nominations consisted of your CV, publications list and a one page outline.

 Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowships

  • Closed (call opens 2nd September 2024)
  • Department quota – TBC
  • Nomination deadline – 29th August 2024 
  • Please contact a Research Community in your areas of interest.
  • Nominations to the Department consist of your CV, publication list and a Request for Support from Imperial Physics form-DHR – the latter is being introduced for 2024 and will be available shortly.

Royal Society Newton Fellowships

  • Closed
  • Department quota – five
  • Please contact a Research Community in your areas of interest.
  • Nominations to the Department closed 1st February 2024.
  • Nominations to the Department consisted of your CV, publications list and a one-page outline

Royal Society URF

  • Closed (call opens 11th July 2024)
  • Department quota – 12 
  • Nomination deadline 4th July 2024
  • Please contact a Research Community in your areas of interest.
  • Nominations to the Department consisted of your CV, publication list and a Request for Support from Imperial Physics form-URF the latter is being updated for 2024 and will be available shortly.

STFC Ernest Rutherford Fellowships

  • Closed (call expected to open 3rd June 2024)
  • Department quota – seven set by STFC
  • Please contact a Research Community in your areas of interest.
  • Nomination deadline 4th July 2024 
  • Nominations to the Department consist of your CV (STFC format), publication list and a Request for Support from Imperial Physics form-ERF – the latter is being updated for 2024 and will be available shortly.

UK Research and Innovation Future Leaders Fellowships

  • Closed
  • Round 9 was only open to Imperial Physics academic/proleptic staff
  • College deadline was 18th March 2024

UKRI Stephen Hawking Fellowship

  • Open
  • Department quota - none
  • Please contact a Research Community in your area of interest. 
  • Nomination paperwork is CV, publications list and brief research proposal.
  • Scheme has moved to The Funding Service as part of EPSRC Fellowships.

    Further Info

    If you are at Imperial, you can register for the online funding news service Idox ResearchConnect.

    If you are looking for information on how to write a narrative CV, please check out these resources:


    If you have any general questions about the fellowship process, please contact our Research Operations Team (Louise Hayward). Note that you have to contact the Research Groups to find a sponsor. 

     

    Things to remember

    Before applying, please keep in mind...

    • Timeliness of Fellowship at this point in your career
    • Independent Researcher
    • Current standing within the national / international community
    • Referees & their comments
    • Quality, originality and potential impact of proposed research
    • Broader context surrounding the research 
    • Abilty to plan and manage resources 
    • Ability to communicate to a generalist audience 
    • Potential to fulfil the wider responsibilities of an academic career (teaching, public engagement etc) and evidence of leadership ability
    • Appropriateness of the Group with whom you want to work with
    • Alignment with the strategic priorities of the research council/sponsor

    Fellowships Elsewhere

    Group Information

    Some of the Research Groups have Fellowship opportunities pages with their Group information: