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. 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.

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

Research fellowships

Calls

 

EPSRC Doctoral Prize fellowships

  • Closed.
  • Department quota - two to three into the College process
  • Nominations closed 16th June 2022

EPSRC Postdoctoral & Open Fellowships

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

Imperial College Research Fellowships 

  • Closed
  • Department quota - one per Research Group

Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships 

  • Closed
  • Department quota - none

  • Confirmation to the Department closed 1st September 2022

NERC Independent Research Fellowships

  • Closed
  • Department quota - none

  • Nominations closed on 19th September 2022. The Grantham Institute at Imperial is providing support for candidates to apply for the 2022 round. Applications within any NERC remit will be considered. Eligible candidates will first need to be nominated by a co-host department at Imperial.

RAEng UK Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Research Fellowships

  • Closed
  • Department quota - none

  • Nominations closed 31st March 2022. Nominations consist of CV, publications list and a one page outline.

Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellowships

  • Closed
  • Department quota - two into the College process
  • Nominations closed 27th June 2022. Nominations consist of a College application form.

Royal Astronomical Society Fellowships 

  • Closed
  • 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 

  • Open
  • Department quota - five
  • Nominations to the Department closed 8th December 2022.
  • Nominations consist of CV, publications list and a one page outline

Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship 

  • Closed
  • Department quota - none
  • Nominations to the Department closed 1st September 2022. Nominations to the Department consist of your CV, publications list and a one-page outline.

Royal Society Newton Fellowships

  • Closed
  • Department quota - five
  • Nomination closed 10th February 2022. Nominations consist of CV, publications list and a one page outline.

Royal Society URF

  • Open
  • Department quota – twelve
  • Please contact a Research Group in your areas of interest. Group nomination deadline 11th July 2023
  • Nominations to the Department consisted of your CV, publication list and a Request for Support from Imperial Physics form-URF

STFC Ernest Rutherford Fellowships

UK Research and Innovation Future Leaders Fellowships

  • Closed
  • Department quota - one per Research Group
  • College nominations closed 15th August 2022

UKRI Stephen Hawking Fellowship

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

    Further Info

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


    If you have any general questions about the fellowship process please contact our Research Operations Team (Louise Hayward & Enrico Buonaura). 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: