Applications for Research Fellowships

Candidates wishing to select Imperial Physics as their host institution are advised to contact the relevant Research Community to discuss their application. You are encouraged to contact them early for initial discussions to maximise the support we can give you and also because this is a two-way process and you need to assess if we’re the right fit for you.

To ensure the submission of high-quality, competitive proposals, the Department runs a competitive internal selection process.  The deadlines for Research Communities to submit their supported nominated candidates to the Department are given below and you will need a member of the academic staff to act as an internal sponsor during the application process. Requests received after these dates will not be considered.

The Physics Department is committed to being a welcoming and supportive environment for everyone and has put in place a number of measures to promote a collaborative and stimulating culture. Individuals who identify as female and those who consider themselves as underrepresented are particularly encouraged to apply. 

We are committed to equality of opportunity, to eliminating discrimination and to creating an inclusive working environment for all. We therefore encourage candidates to apply irrespective of age, disability, marriage or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion and belief, gender reassignment, sex or sexual orientation. Further information about how the College strives to create and support an equitable workplace can be found here.

We want to make our application process as inclusive and accessible as possible so if you experience any barriers that we may have overlooked please tell us and we can make adjustments.

If you are approved to submit a formal application the Department will assist you throughout the application process. We set internal submission deadlines which are substantially earlier than the sponsor deadlines to allow for sufficient preparation and approval time, you will be advised of this.

The Imperial Postdoc and Fellows Development Centre provides a host of ongoing support from preparing the application to mock interviews available to anyone who is applying through Imperial.  You are strongly encouraged to take advantage of this support in conjunction with that from your host Research Community.  For more information, applicants should read the guidance on their web pages and contact pfdc-support@imperial.ac.uk.

We’ve successfully supported many research fellowship applications. See the summary of started researcher fellowships in Physics from 1 August 2013 - Fellowships Physics (updated 25.07.23).

Research fellowships

Calls

 

Eric and Wendy Schmidt AI in Science Postdoctoral Fellow, a Program of Schmidt Futures 

  • Closed.
  • This scheme is managed by Imperial.
  • Department quota - none
  • College deadline was 20th September 2024
  • This scheme is applied for through the Imperial recruitment system Talentlink, You must have an Imperial mentor to apply but the Department shortlisting is done after the application deadline.

 EPSRC Doctoral Prize fellowships

  • Open
  • This scheme is managed by Imperial.
  • Department quota - two
  • Please contact a Research Community in your area of interest.
  • Department nomination deadline 6th January 2025.
  • Nomination paperwork is College required documents (Case for Support, CV, Letter from PhD supervisor)

Imperial College Research Fellowships

  • Closed.
  • Physics only accepted applications for ICRFs supported by Schmidt Futures under the AI in Science theme.
  • Community quota: two
  • College deadline was 19 August.

Marie Sklodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships

  • Closed
  • Department quota – none.
  • Confirmation to the Department (via phys-ra@imperial.ac.uk) and ECAS Part A completed was 4th September 2024.
  • Imperial participates in the standard European Fellowship mode of the MSCA PF scheme but does not participate in the Global Fellowships mode.
  • Check the Imperial's EU Team webpage with advice and information to help applicants. Some areas of the webpage require an Imperial login, ask your sponsor to share the information. You can also contact the team with questions mscapostdocfellowships@imperial.ac.uk

NERC Independent Research Fellowships

  • Closed
  • Department quota – none
  • The Grantham Institute at Imperial provides support for candidates and you are encouraged to consider this.
  • Applications within any NERC remit will be considered. Eligible candidates will first need to be nominated by a co-host department at Imperial.
  • Nomination deadline TBC (NERC advise will open January 2025)

RAEng UK Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Research Fellowships

  • Open
  • Department quota - none
  • Department Nomination deadline 27 March 2025
  • Nominations consist of CV, publications list and a one page outline.

Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellowships

  • Closed
  • Department quota - two into the College selection process
  • Please contact a Research Community in your area of interest.
  • Department Nomination deadline 7 May 2024.  
  • Nominations consist of a College application form and any (optional) letters of support.to be sent to phys-ra@imperial.ac.uk

Royal Astronomical Society Fellowships 

  • Closed
  • Department quota – five.
  • Please contact a Research Community in your area of interest.
  • Confirmation to the Department (via phys-ra@imperial.ac.uk) copied to your sponsor was 1st November 2024.

Royal Commission 1851 Research Fellowships 

Royal Society Career Development Fellowship

  • Close
  • Department quota – none
  • Please contact a Research Community in your area of interest.
  • Department nomination deadline was 21st October 2024.

 Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowships

Royal Society Faraday Fellowships

  • Closed
  • Department quota – none
  • Expression of interest closed end of June 2024.

Royal Society Newton Fellowships

Royal Society URF

  • Closed
  • Department quota – 12 
  • Please contact a Research Community in your areas of interest.
  • Department Nomination deadline 4 July 2024
  • Nominations to the Department consist of your CV, publication list and an EOI form (Imperial Physics Request for Support - URF 2024).

STFC Ernest Rutherford Fellowships

  • Closed
  • Department quota – 7 set by STFC
  • Please contact a Research Community in your areas of interest.
  • Department Nomination deadline 4 July 2024 
  • Nominations to the Department consist of your CV, publication list and an EOI form (Imperial Physics Request for Support - ERF 2024).

UK Research and Innovation Future Leaders Fellowships

  • Open for Round 10
  • College nomination deadline 3rd March 2025 (see above link for details)
  • The Department is willing to accept enquiries related to all relevant research areas. Please contact the relevant Research Community before starting an application.
    Further Info

    If you are at Imperial, you can register for the online funding news service Idox ResearchConnect.

    If you are looking for information on how to write a narrative CV, please check out these resources:


    If you have any general questions about the fellowship process, please contact our Research Operations Team (Louise Hayward). Note that you have to contact the Research Groups to find a sponsor. 

     

    Things to remember

    Before applying, please keep in mind...

    • Timeliness of Fellowship at this point in your career
    • Independent Researcher
    • Current standing within the national / international community
    • Referees & their comments
    • Quality, originality and potential impact of proposed research
    • Broader context surrounding the research 
    • Abilty to plan and manage resources 
    • Ability to communicate to a generalist audience 
    • Potential to fulfil the wider responsibilities of an academic career (teaching, public engagement etc) and evidence of leadership ability
    • Appropriateness of the Group with whom you want to work with
    • Alignment with the strategic priorities of the research council/sponsor
    Fellowships Elsewhere
    Group Information

    Some of the Research Groups have Fellowship opportunities pages with their Group information:

    Support for all fellowship applicants

    Imperial Postdoc and Fellows Development Centre