researcher wearing spectacles and safety glasses on top, and a white lab coat, looking intently at a large instrument made of silver metal. A row of bright green LEDs are visible through a clear window in the side of the instrument. There are fumehoods in the background.

Royal Society University Research Fellowships

Independent-level fellowships

Details

Funding is available for 8 years (maximum award £1.83M) and includes the applicant's salary, generous funding towards research expenses (including students and PDRAs) and overheads. Full details are available on the funder's website. Applications are submitted through the Royal Society's application portal - Flexigrant.

Eligibility

This scheme is for outstanding scientists at an early stage of their career who have the potential to become leaders in their field. Applicants must not hold a permanent academic position at the round deadline, nor hold or have previously held an equivalent independent research fellowship that provides an opportunity to establish a research group. Applicants should have between 3 and 8 years post-PhD experience at the close of the round, career breaks (such as parental leave, long term sickness etc) and part-time working are taken into account and generous additional allowance is given for some career breaks in addition to the actual time spent away from research (see page 5 of the 2024 funder scheme notes for full details). The scheme is open to applicants of all nationalities and is eligible for the Global Talent Visa. 

Additional information

The Royal Society provide flexibility to accommodate personal circumstances including part-time working, sabbaticals and secondments within the fellowship. There is provision for financial support for childcare costs that arise from attending conferences and research visits. The Royal Society welcomes applications from scientists with disabilities and provides adjustments to ensure that they can participate fully in the selection process (see 'Support for Disabled Applicants' on the funder's webpage for further details). Applicants who have an ongoing need for flexibility may also consider applying for the Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship (DHF) in addition to the URF. 

Oxford Physics process

The department runs an Expression of Interest (EOI) stage to select candidates to apply to the scheme each year. Applications are capped at 3 applicants per sub-department with the internal selection taking place at the EOI stage by sub-department panels. 

Applicants interested in the 2024 Call should submit an EOI to the Research Facilitation team at fellowships@physics.ox.ac.uk by 23.59pm on 1st July 2024 to be considered to apply through Oxford Physics. Your EOI should contain:

  •  a one-page outline of the proposed research,
  • your CV and publication/other research outputs list.
  • Name of the sub-department you're apply to
  • Please cc in your Oxford Physics sponsor (an Oxford Physics academic who supports your application).

Should any candidates have difficulty in securing a sponsor within the department or need further guidance on this please contact the facilitation team and we will endeavour to support you. Similarly, if there are any additional factors or circumstances that you wish to be considered during our assessment of your EOI – this might include (but is not limited to) career breaks, caring responsibilities, part-time working, disability etc – or if you are likely to need any specific support or accommodations during the application process, please communicate this to us (in confidence if required): fellowships@physics.ox.ac.uk.

Timeline (2024 call):

  • 1st July 2024 - Internal EOI Deadline for internal selection (see above).  
  • Mid-Late July - Results of the EOI selection announced.
  • 26 July & 27 July - Training for successful EOI applicants.
  • Late July - Successful EOI applicants to start application in Flexigrant. Give Research Facilitators access under the 'Research Support' role (applications@physics.ox.ac.uk). Invite the appropriate Head of Sub-Department and your referees.
  • 31 July - Send initial costing requests to Research Facilitators
  • 7 August - Send first draft of your application to Research Facilitators and your sponsor and second reader.
  • 27 August - Confirm your application is complete to Research Facilitators for final checks and internal approval.
  • 3 September - Head of Department sections and referee sections completed. Applications to be submitted to Research Services on Flexigrant.
  • 10 September, 3pm - Research Services to make final submission to Royal Society on Flexigrant. 

EOI Assessment criteria

EOIs will be assessed by sub-department panels based on the Royal Society’s criteria for the scheme: 

  • The scientific track record of the applicant commensurate with research experience: past achievements, research career to date, publication record, likely contribution to research field, future potential to become a research leader.
  • The scientific merit, originality, significance and quality of proposed research project and likelihood of achieving goals.
  • The suitability of host organisation including appropriate expertise/equipment and research environment. Support for career development

The Royal Society has a useful webpage with detailed information and helpful tips  including  details of assessment criteria, what makes a good research proposal and what the assessment panels look for.

Further guidance and useful information

If selected to apply, you will need a second reader for your application. This is a second academic in the department who supports the application process in addition to your main sponsor. Your sponsor can provide help with this. 

Selected candidates will be given our internal guidance documents. We also provide training for this scheme (dates above).

A full application must contain a statement of support from both the Head of Department and two nominated referees. One should be someone who has worked closely with you and one should be external to your current research group. One should be from outside of your chosen host institution and should ideally be international. Both referees (and the Head of Department) must sign in to Flexigrant to directly upload their statements of support, so you must make sure you've invited them from within the portal and that they are able to log in and complete the references well in advance of the funder deadline. The portal will not allow your application to be sent through the mandatory institutional approval steps until all components are marked as complete.

The interview stage is an important part of the selection process so if you are invited for interview please notify the facilitation team and your local academic contacts as soon as possible so that mock interviews can be arranged in advance of the real interview.