Physicists discussing a problem around a blackboard in the Beecroft building, Department of Physics

Fellowship applications

Research funding support

Fellowships at the Department of Physics

Fellowships are externally-funded grants that provide salary and research expenses for early career researchers. They are designed to support progression towards research independence, typically bridging the gap between postdoctoral and academic positions. 

Fellowships fall broadly into two categories:

  • Postdoctoral Fellowship - Shorter (and/or more junior) fellowships including the Horizon Europe Marie Sklodowska Curie Individual Fellowship and Royal Society Newton International Fellowship. 
  • Independent Fellowships - Longer (and/or more senior) fellowships, such as the Royal Society University Research Fellowship, or STFC Ernest Rutherford Fellowships. These are comparable in status to academic positions, with fellows expected to develop their own independent research programme, co-supervise graduate students and researchers, and (where permitted) apply for additionall funding.

Fellows are not expected to take on significant teaching or administrative responsibilities (funder rules typically prohibit spending more than 6 hours per week on non-research activities), but there are opportunities to teach and become involved in departmental matters if you wish to. 

The department provides office and laboratory space, access to shared research facilities, and a mentor (often your academic sponsor) to advise on, and support, career development. Almost all of our fellows progress to permanent academic posts, often at extremely prestigious departments/institutions worldwide. However the department cannot guarantee a permanent post at the Department of Physics following your fellowship.

Fellowship Opportunities

Mailing list

The Research Facilitation team circulate a monthly Fellowship Opportunities email, providing a clear summary of relevant fellowship schemes and upcoming opportunities. This is open to final-year PhD students, postdoctoral researchers, and any staff interested in fellowship opportunities. Subscriptions are reviewed annually each December.

Sign up here: Fellowship Opportunities 2026 Mailing List – Sign Up – Fill in form

Fellowships we commonly support

Use the links below to explore the different fellowships that we regularly support:

We also maintain information on other sources of funding, (e.g. travel grants, innovation or outreach funding). Please contact fellowships@physics.ox.ac.uk for more details.

Fellowships application support

Our expert team of in-house Research Facilitation teams provides support across all stages of fellowship applications, for both internal and external candidates, from postdoctoral to established career levels. 

If you are considering applying for a fellowship hosted by the Department of Physics, further details are provided below and on the  scheme-specific pages. For advice or to discuss a potential application please contact fellowships@physics.ox.ac.uk.

Applying with Oxford Physics

The Department operates a internal selection process for all schemes to ensure submission of high quality, competitive applications. In many cases we can only support a small portion of the interested candidates, selected by a competitive departmental sift process.

Typically applicants are required to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) from all interested candidates ~ 3 months before the funder deadline. This typically includes:

  • 1-page research proposal
  • 2-page CV and Outputs document
  • Name of sub-department applied to

Applicants must have secured the support of an academic sponsor from the department faculty before submitting an EOI. Details of upcoming EOI deadlines are available on the scheme-specific pages, and are circulated via our monthly Fellowship Opportunities email (see above).

Expression of Interest - Guidance

In many cases, a scaffolded EOI template is used for EOI submissions, available on the scheme-specific pages.  Where this is not provided we ask for a 1-page Research Proposal, which should include:

  • Brief introduction to the scientific background
  • What is the scientific problem or question that you propose to address?
  • How do you propose to tackle this, and what is particularly novel about your approach?
  • Why are you the best person to do this work? 
  • Why at Oxford and why now?
  • What would be the step change for the field/world if this work was funded?
  • What are your longer-term career goals and how will this fellowship help you move towards those goals?

Inclusive Support for Applicants

The department is welcoming of fellowship applicants from diverse backgrounds, and individuals from underrepresented groups in physics are particularly encouraged to apply. 

Many fellowships can be held part time to accomodate personal circumstances, including caring responsibilities disability, or chronic health conditions. We also welcome applications are  from applicants who are returning from career breaks or those transitioning from working outside of academia. More details are available on our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion webpage: https://www.physics.ox.ac.uk/research/research-funding-support/fellowship-applications/equality-diversity-and-inclusion 

If you wish to discuss your circumstances or require any adjustments to the application or internal selection process, please contact fellowships@physics.ox.ac.uk.

General fellowship tips

The research facilitation team offer support with each step of the process; we work with applicants over extended periods to develop high-quality proposals;

  • Have a CV and short project summary ready early – this will be necessary for securing departmental approval to apply - see above;
  • Get in contact with potential collaborators in the Department of Physics to discuss your ideas, and understand how your research will fit with our department. All our fellowship applicants must have the support of a local academic (sponsor). The sponsor will help to provide a strategic justification for supporting your fellowship within the context of the department’s research strategy. They will also be the best people to help you to develop your scientific case;
  • Read the scheme guidance published on the funder website. Make sure you have checked whether your idea fits with what they wish to fund – ask our team if you have any queries;
  • Be upfront about what your proposed research will cost (especially if you need access to specific equipment or facilities) and make sure you understand what can be accomplished with the funding on offer so that your proposal is realistic. Ask if you are not sure! We can offer advice on all costs that will need to be included in your proposal;
  • Read the guidance that we send to you/publish on our website and note the timescales; the mandatory internal approval process can take up to 2 weeks so your application needs to be finished ahead of the funder deadline;
  • Many fellowship applications need letters of support from Heads of Department, or sometimes Pro Vice-Chancellors. These can usually only be requested once the application is nearly complete and it is in your interest to allow sufficient time for these to be written well. Your sponsor will be very involved in developing your letter.

If you want to apply for a fellowship that isn’t listed on our pages, please contact us for advice: fellowships@physics.ox.ac.uk.

Other contacts

For details about DPhil admissions and funding please refer to the department and university graduate admissions and funding pages. This is outside of the remit of our team.

https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/graduate

https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/graduate/courses/mpls/physics

Postdoctoral Fellows may be eligible to apply for college Junior Research Fellowship (JRF), which are administered by individual Oxford colleges. Details of these openings can be found on the specific college websites and ocassionally in the Gazette, or University of Oxford jobs board.

 

Headshots of fellows at the Department of Physics