Faraday Discovery Fellowships — Fellowship

The Faraday Discovery Fellowships are Royal Society awards for established mid-career STEM research leaders. Each award supports one principal investigator to build a UK-based team and pursue an ambitious, original research programme.

The scheme has no thematic priorities within the Royal Society’s natural-sciences remit and accepts applicants of any nationality through an eligible UK host organisation. Awards may run for up to ten years and the 2027 cohort may start from 1 October 2027.

Benefits & funding

Applicants may request up to £8 million over ten years: up to £6 million in core funding plus up to £2 million requiring an exceptionally strong scientific justification.
The grant can support a research team and eligible programme costs; international collaborator costs may not exceed 25% of the request, while industry-partner collaboration costs should not exceed 20% of the grant.
Award holders may access training, networking and mentoring, and visa applicants may use the fast-track Global Talent Visa endorsement route.

Eligibility

Applicants should normally have 10–20 years of research experience after a PhD or equivalent; exceptional candidates with fewer years may be considered, while career breaks and non-linear paths are taken into account.
Researchers with more than 20 years of post-PhD experience are normally ineligible, but a clear and substantive change of discipline may be considered if approved by the Faraday team before application.
Applicants must be recognised research leaders with experience managing significant grants as principal investigator and must hold a permanent academic post, be in the later stage of a recognised long-term fellowship, or have equivalent experience.
Applicants of any nationality are eligible, but the research must be conducted through an eligible UK higher-education institution or not-for-profit research organisation; researchers based mainly in industry are ineligible.
The lead applicant must have a STEM track record and the programme must remain within the Royal Society’s remit, which excludes clinical trials, treatment development and research directed at health outcomes.
Award holders must spend at least 80% of their time on research and at least 50% managing this programme, and they may not hold another personal fellowship concurrently.

Can you apply?

Open to all applicants

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

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Application process

1
Confirm that the applicant, research remit and proposed UK host meet the scheme rules, using the scheme notes and the Faraday team for any exception request.
2
Submit Stage 1 through Flexi-Grant with the required career record, project summary, personal statement, research vision and Head of Department support.
3
Ensure every participant section and the UK host organisation’s approval are complete by 15:00 UK time on 22 September 2026.
4
Invited applicants submit a full Stage 2 application; shortlisted proposals undergo independent peer review followed by a written rebuttal, with no interview.

Program timeline

Stage 1 opened.
5 August 2026
Stage 1 application deadline.
22 September 2026, 15:00 UK time
Stage 1 decision due by this date.
30 November 2026
Stage 2 opens for invited applicants.
2 December 2026
Stage 2 application deadline.
3 February 2027, 15:00 UK time
Final decision due by this date.
31 July 2027
1 October 2027
Fellowships may commence from this date.
The next annual Stage 1 round is expected to open; an exact date has not been published.
August 2027