University Research Fellowship (URF)

Who can apply: You must have between three and eight years of research experience since the award of your PhD by the closing date of the round, excluding career breaks. You must not already lead a research group, hold an external award as Principal Investigator, or hold a tenure-track faculty position or permanent academic post…. What is funded: Up to GBP 1,907,400 over eight years. The award can cover a contribution to the fellow’s own salary, indirect and estate costs, equipment, consumables and travel, a contribution to research assistance including PDRA and PhD studentship staff costs and technical support, and relocation and visa costs for the applicant… Deadline: 9 September 2026. The funder does not state a timezone for this deadline, so check the official page for the exact cut-off time. Round: 2027 round. Opened 14 July 2026, decisions by 31 May 2027..

Read the full call and apply on the official page: The Royal Society, official page.

Who can apply

• You must have between three and eight years of research experience since the award of your PhD by the closing date of the round, excluding career breaks. You must not already lead a research group, hold an external award as Principal Investigator, or hold a tenure-track faculty position or permanent academic post. Applicants can be of any nationality, and relocation and visa costs are eligible expenses, but the fellowship must be held at a host organisation in the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland. Applicants based in the Republic of Ireland are funded by Research Ireland and must read the separate Research Ireland scheme notes. Recent success rates published by the Royal Society are 7 per cent (2022/23) and 6.8 per cent (2023/24).

Stage dates

Dates come from the funder's page for this round. When a round closes, the next round's dates replace these once the funder publishes them.

See all current funding opportunities