Overview of EPSRC's Fellowship Scheme
The EPSRC Fellowship aims to provide greater support to aspiring and current world-leading individuals who are delivering the highest quality research to meet UK and global priorities. Through links to our strategic priorities and focusing on areas where growth is required, EPSRC Fellowships develop the next generation of researchers with the greatest potential across the postdoctoral, early and established career stages. The EPSRC Fellowship is a personal award which enables applicants
to design a flexible package to facilitate delivery of a novel and outstanding piece of world-leading research. Fellowships also support training for the duration of the award to enable them to develop research leadership skills, raise the profile of STEM and EPSRC and gain the experience required to enable them to advance their career.
The difference between a Research Grant and a Fellowship
A Research Grant is a mechanism to support a research team led by a Principal Investigator (PI) and Co-Investigator (Co-I) to perform the research in the proposed project. The PI should normally hold a permanent post but fixed-term employees may be eligible provided that the EPSRC can be satisfied that the host research organisation is prepared to give the individual all the support normal for a permanent employee.
The time (and salary) claimed on a Research Grant by the PI and Co-I can be well below 50% (in other words, this is not the maximum allowed) and PIs and Co-Is often have many other duties in their department related to other research projects and / or teaching.
A Fellowship is a personal award, designed to provide the recipient with the necessary support to establish or further develop themselves as a leader of the future. This type of award enables Fellows to devote most of their time to a program of activities to deliver a proposed research vision. An EPSRC Fellowship is aimed to position the fellow and their research topic within the wider academic field, to develop leadership by establishing or extending a research group, and to act as an advocate for the STEM disciplines in general and EPSRC specifically.
Three-step guide to start your Fellowship application
- Postdoctoral Fellowship: look at which priority areas within the Capability and Challenge Themes are open for applications. If in doubt, please contact the relevant theme contact.
- Early and Established Career Fellowships: Ensure your application fits into the EPSRC remit. If in doubt, please contact the relevant theme contact.
- Competency profile: making reference to the published aims and outcomes for the individual career stages determine, with help from your university’s research office, your competency profile and therefore to which career stage you should apply against.
- How to apply: carefully read the guidance documents provided below, the funding guide and general instructions on writing proposals.