Profesor Chris Hays (in focus) and (out of focus) a diagram of the ATLAS detector which forms part of the LHC at CERN, with lines to show a particle collision and the resulting outputs of that collision.

STFC Ernest Rutherford fellowships

Fellowship applications

The Science and Technology Facilities Council offer 10 Fellowships each year to early-career researchers in astronomy, solar and planetary science, particle physics, particle astrophysics, cosmology and nuclear physics. A quota system applies for each university and so the department runs an annual internal selection process for this scheme. It is therefore essential that you contact the research facilitation team fellowships(at)physics.ox.ac.uk and a member of academic staff with a research area similar to your interests as soon as possible for further information and guidance.

Funding is available for 5 years including applicant's salary, and limited research expenses and travel funding. Applicants must not have a permanent academic position, or equivalent and should refer to STFC's competency profile to determine their eligibility. The scheme is open to applicants of any nationality and further guidance is available on the STFC website. Applications are submitted via Je-S. 

Deadlines and timescales (2022)

  • 4th July 2022 - Internal EOI Deadline. The department is running an internal sifting process and applicants are asked to submit an expression of interest (EOI) by the 4th of July to fellowships@physics.ox.ac.uk.
  • EOIs should consist of a one-page summary of the research proposal, CV and publication list. Applicants should cc in their Oxford Physics sponsor and also include the name of their second reader for the application.  
  • Applicants are also asked to provide an informal personal reference by your chosen external referee who will write your letter of support for your ERF application. At this stage we ask for an informal email reference (either emailed to yourself and forwarded to us or emailed directly to fellowships@physics.ox.ac.uk) to be sent to us by the internal EOI deadline (4th July 2022). The email of support should highlight your research career, suitability for a fellowship and willingness of the referee to provide a full letter of support for the application should you be supported to apply for the fellowship. A full formal letter of support is not needed at this stage and will be asked for later in the application process for chosen applicants. Please note, the reference must be provided by someone who is not based at Oxford (and is separate from having support from an Oxford Physics sponsor). 

Guidance and useful info

Once we know that you intend to apply, and have been selected as one of the department's allocated entries we will be able to send you our internal guidance documents.

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.