Funding

Grant

Program dates

TBA

Fellowship•Hybrid

EDGE Fellowship

ZSL (Zoological Society of London) — EDGE of Existence programme

Application Deadline

Closed · June 10, 2026

Reopens ~Jun 2027

Official Page

The EDGE Fellowship is run by ZSL, the Zoological Society of London, through its EDGE of Existence programme. EDGE stands for Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered: species with few close relatives left on the tree of life, often unusual in how they look and live, and usually overlooked by conservation funding. The fellowship is a capacity-sharing programme that backs early-career conservationists to design and deliver a conservation project for one of these species in their own country, over 28 months. Fellows are nationals or long-term residents of the country where the project runs, and the programme describes them as coming from regions of high biodiversity importance and from lower- and middle-income countries. From 2027 each annual cohort will include at least 14 fellows from countries outside the G12, the EU, New Zealand and South Korea. The current cohort runs from January 2027 to May 2029; its Expression of Interest window closed on 10 June 2026 and ZSL states that applications for the 2027-2029 fellowship are now closed.

Benefits & funding

  • A grant of GBP 15,000 for project implementation.
  • Six weeks of in-person training.
  • Support to develop a comprehensive project plan.
  • Wraparound mentorship and professional development opportunities.
  • Ongoing technical support from the EDGE team, plus membership of a global network of EDGE Fellows.
  • Training covers project and budget design and management, science communication, community engagement and putting lasting conservation strategies in place.
  • The fellowship runs 28 months; the current cohort is dated January 2027 to May 2029.
  • ZSL publishes no personal stipend or salary for fellows, and does not state where the six weeks of training take place.

Eligibility

  • Early-career conservationists committed to leading conservation action for an eligible EDGE species.
  • Nationals or long-term residents of the country where the project will take place, with strong links to the specific region or landscape.
  • Able to demonstrate the local conservation need for the proposed work.
  • Ready to take part in training, mentoring and peer learning as part of the fellowship, and to join the global network of EDGE Fellows.
  • The proposed project must focus on a species included in the EDGE species list published for the call — the 2026 list for the 2027 round.
  • Species in that list carry a priority category of Higher, Medium, Lower or Ineligible. Applications on Higher priority species are likely to be prioritised; Medium and Lower priority species are still welcome where the applicant explains the conservation importance and local relevance clearly.
  • Species marked Ineligible are excluded and do not appear in the Expression of Interest form. Species downlisted to Near Threatened or Least Concern in the 2026.1 IUCN Red List update are also not eligible.
  • No degree, age or minimum years of experience is published as a requirement for this call.

Can you apply?

Open to all applicants

No nationality, residency, education, or experience limits are listed.

We only check the criteria we have data for. Always confirm full eligibility on the official page before applying.

Application process

  1. 1
    Download the EDGE species list published for the call from the fellowship page and confirm that the intended species is eligible and which priority category it sits in.
  2. 2
    Read the application guidance on the fellowship page before starting.
  3. 3
    Submit an Expression of Interest using the form on the fellowship page, before the stated deadline.
  4. 4
    Wait for the shortlist. Only shortlisted applicants are invited to submit a full application.
  5. 5
    Submit the full application by its own deadline.
  6. 6
    Attend an interview during the selection window.
  7. 7
    Receive the outcome, then begin the fellowship at the start of the cohort. Questions about the process go to EDGEFellowship@zsl.org.

Program timeline

  1. 13 May 2026

    Expression of Interest opens for the 2027-2029 cohort

  2. Expression of Interest deadline

    10 June 2026, 17:00 BST

  3. Shortlisted applicants invited to submit a full application; ZSL has posted a short delay to this step because of the number of submissions received

    8 July 2026

  4. Full application deadline

    26 August 2026, 17:00 BST

  5. Interviews and final selection

    21 September to 8 October 2026

  6. Applicants notified of the outcome

    End of October 2026

  7. The fellowship runs

    January 2027 to May 2029

  8. Next call

    the programme states that cohorts are annual from 2027, but no dates for the following round are published yet