Royal Society University Research Fellowship 2027

Benefits & funding

• Applicants may request up to £1,907,400 across eight years.
• For UK awards, eligible costs include an 80% contribution to the fellow’s salary and associated costs, 80% of indirect and estate costs, and 100% of eligible directly incurred research expenses.
• Funding may support equipment, consumables, travel, other research staff, technical support, and four-year PhD studentships; up to £8,000 may be requested for public-engagement activity.
• Relocation and visa costs for the fellow and dependants may be supported and may exceed the overall grant cap when well justified.
• The award allows approved part-time working and provides flexibility for parental, adoptive and extended sick leave.

Eligibility

• Applicants must hold a PhD and normally have three to eight years of actual research experience since the PhD award date by 9 September 2026; eligible career breaks are excluded from this calculation.
• Applicants with less than three years of research experience may be considered as exceptional cases if their Head of Department sends a supporting justification to the Grants team before the application. The structured minimum is set to zero so this stated route is not hidden; applicants below three years remain eligible only through exceptional-case review.
• Applicants may be of any nationality, and no residency requirement is stated.
• The proposed research must fall within the Royal Society’s natural-sciences remit, including biological and biomedical sciences, chemistry, engineering, mathematics and physics; clinical or interventional human research, social sciences and humanities are not supported under this scheme.
• Applicants must not already lead a research group, be the lead applicant on an external award, hold a tenure-track or permanent academic post, or currently or previously hold an equivalent nationally competitive fellowship as defined by the scheme.
• The fellowship must be held at an eligible organisation in the UK or Republic of Ireland. Republic of Ireland applicants must consult the separate Research Ireland scheme notes.

Application process

1. 1
   Confirm eligibility and agree on an eligible host organisation before starting the application.
2. 2
   Register or log in to Flexi-Grant, open the 2027 University Research Fellowship form, and invite the Head of Department and nominated referee to participate.
3. 3
   Complete the career record, personal statement, publication and funding history, five-year research plan with a broader eight-year vision, lay summary, budget and other required form sections.
4. 4
   Ensure the Head of Department, nominated referee and host research office complete their contributions and approvals before 3:00 PM UK time on 9 September 2026.
5. 5
   Eligible applications undergo panel assessment; longlisted proposals receive independent peer review, and shortlisted applicants attend an in-person interview at the Royal Society in April 2027.

Program timeline

1. Applications opened

   Jul 14, 2026

2. Application deadline at 3:00 PM UK time

   Sep 9, 2026

3. Eligibility checks

   2026-09 to 2026-10

4. Initial panel assessment

   2026-11

5. Longlisting

   2026-12

6. Independent peer review

   2027-01 to 2027-02

7. Interviews for shortlisted applicants

   Apr 13, 2027 to Apr 29, 2027

8. Results expected

   2027-05

9. Offer letters expected

   2027-07

10. Fellowship start window

    Oct 1, 2027 to Jan 1, 2028