Royal Society University Research Fellowship 2026 in UK (Fully Funded)

The University Research Fellowship (URF) is a fully funded program by the Royal Society that supports outstanding early-career scientists who have the potential to become future leaders in their field. This prestigious eight-year fellowship allows researchers to build an independent career at a UK university or research institution, with flexible funding, professional development, and networking support. The Royal Society is committed to promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion, encouraging applicants from all backgrounds to apply and contribute to cutting-edge scientific research that benefits humanity.

Eligibility

• Applicants can be of any nationality
  • those requiring a visa are eligible to apply for a Global Talent Visa under the fast-track process of endorsement.
• You have between three and eight years of research experience excluding career breaks, since the award of your PhD by the closing date of the round; please refer to the scheme notes for further detail about the review of career breaks
• You do not hold a permanent post (including proleptic appointment) in a university or not-for-profit research organisation
• You do not hold, or have not previously held, an equivalent fellowship that provides an opportunity to establish an independent research group and therefore independent researcher status
• Your research is within the Royal Society’s remit of natural sciences,
  • which includes but is not limited to:
    • Biological research and biomedical sciences
    • Chemistry
    • Engineering
    • Mathematics and physics.
    • For a full list, please see the breakdown of subject groups and areas supported by the Royal Society.

Program Date/Location

• Application Deadline: September 10, 2025
• Duration of Program: up to 8 years
  • with years six to eight being subjected to satisfactory progress demonstrated in a mid-fellowship review at the start of year four
• Final Decisions Announced: June 30, 2026
• Location: UK, any eligible UK university or research institution

Program Benefits

Fellows can apply for up to £1.87 million in funding over eight years, covering a wide range of research and personal support:

 Financial Support:

• Salary contribution for the award holder
• Research costs (equipment, consumables, travel, etc.)
• Research staff funding, including salaries and overheads
• Support for new 4-year PhD studentships
• Relocation and visa costs for the fellow and their dependants (can exceed the grant cap if justified)
• Indirect and estate costs for the host institution

 Personal Flexibility:

• Part-time working options
• Sabbaticals and secondments
• Leave provisions (maternity, paternity, shared parental, adoptive, extended sick leave)
• Childcare support for conference/research travel

Career Development:

• Access to training in leadership, science communication, and public engagement
• Opportunities through science policy and schools engagement teams
• Networking and professional growth resources

More details, case studies, and full funding rules are available in the Royal Society scheme notes and funding guidance.

Application Process

• Apply through our application and grant management system, Flexi-Grant®.
  • See the ‘Application and assessment process’ page for a general overview of the application and selection steps and below for details specific to this scheme.
• Assessment of your application will be overseen by one of our five Research Appointment Panels (Standing Committees) based on your research area:
  • Ai: Astronomy, cosmology, physics, earth sciences, environmental physical sciences & geosciences
  • Aii: Chemistry and engineering
  • Aiii: Pure and applied mathematics, computer science, statistics, communications and computer engineering; the mathematical aspects of astronomy, physics, cosmology, gravitation, theoretical physics
  • Bi: Molecular and cellular biology, zoology, plant sciences and physiology
  • Bii: Biomedical Sciences
• Assessment of your application will be overseen by one of the five Research Appointment Panels.
  • Following eligibility checks, applications are initially assessed by a minimum of two panel members who have the most appropriate scientific expertise.
  • Applications that are crossing the remit of two Panels will be assigned to a Primary Panel (i.e. the Panel covered by your primary subject area).
  • Additional members will be seconded to the to the Review Panel to enable appropriate assessment of interdisciplinary applications.
  • A longlist is drawn up, with longlisted applications subject to independent peer review.
  • Following completion of independent peer review, a shortlist for interview is drawn up with oversight from the Panel Chairs.
  • At the end of the interview stage, the Panels will confirm the recommendations for funding.

For more detailed information, including all the official noted for The Royal Society Fellowship (Scheme), please click here.