Funding for Early Career Researchers
Browse the categories below for information and links to funding and grants available to Early Career Researchers (ECRs).
Funding for Postdoctoral Research Associates (PDRAs)
- Research Student Conference Fund (Institute of Physics)
- International Research Visit and Collaboration Funding (Scottish Universities Physics Alliance)
- Researcher Development and Travel Grants (Royal Society of Chemistry)
- Chancellor’s Fund (University of Glasgow)
- Early Career Mobility Scheme (University of Glasgow)
- Public Engagement (University of Glasgow)
- Internationalisation (University of Glasgow)
- Impact development/partnership development (University of Glasgow)
Small grants
- Royal Society Research Grant
(Seed funding for equipment/consumables - £20k.) - Carnegie Trust Research Incentive Grants
(Up to £10k to support a short research project, either of a stand-alone nature or in the form of an initial study that could be expected to lead to a more extensive project.) - Royal Society Short industry fellowship
- Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation Project grants
(These support activities that develop good relations between the UK and Japan, with a particular interest in the areas of science and technology, medicine and health, environment and social issues, Japanese studies and the Japanese language. There is no set budget, but awards do not normally exceed £5,000 to £6,000 for larger-scale projects.) - Douglas Bomford Trust Project
(Grants over £1,500. These aim to advance knowledge, understanding, practice, competence and capability in the application of engineering and physical sciences to agriculture, horticulture, forestry, amenity and allied land-based and biological activities, for the sustainable benefit of the environment and mankind. Grants are worth at least £1,500 each.) - Return to research support bursary from Science and Technology Facilities Council
(This enables those seeking to resume an academic research career to develop a proposal suitable for submission to the STFC fellowship scheme. The award is worth up to £2,500 over six months.)
Full research grants
- New Investigator Awards (EPSRC)
(If applying for an EPSRC New Investigator Award, please contact the for support. They can provide guidance, and feedback on your draft proposals.) - NERC Standard grant scheme also includes a route for New Investigators
- BBSRC New Investigator Scheme
- ESRC New Investigator Grants
(There are no fixed closing dates - £100-300k.)
International Networking and Partnerships funding
- Overseas travel grants (EPSRC)
(These enable visits to recognised universities or industrial organisations outside the UK, and travel to start or develop international collaborations. There is no limit on the funding amount or length of the grant, although the council does not expect to support any single visit lasting six months or more, or multiple visits exceeding one year in total. Research Professional - further information.) - Seed funding (Canada-UK Foundation)
(This funds occasional grants outside the Canada-UK Foundation advertised awards programme. Funding is worth up to £2,000. Research Professional - further information.) - Newton international fellowships
(The following information is subject to change. These felowships enable early-career researchers from any country outside UK to undertake research at a research institution in the UK in the disciplines covered by the society. Fellowships cover subsistence, research and other associated costs. Research Professional - further information.) - European Cooperation in Science and Technology
(This supports networking activities such as meetings, short-term scientific missions, training schools and dissemination activities in the areas of science and technology. Research Professional - further information.) - International exchanges scheme - Taiwan cost share programme (Royal Society)
(This stimulates new collaborations within the natural sciences between scientists in the UK and Taiwan. The Royal Society provides up to £12,000 for the UK teams airfare to Taiwan and the Taiwanese teams subsistence whilst in the UK. Research Professional - further information.) - Kan Tong Po visiting fellowships
(The following information is subject to change. These fellowships enable UK- or US-based scientists to collaborate with Hong Kong-based academics, or Hong Kong-based scientists to collaborate with academics in the UK or US. Fellowships provide up to £3,000 for airfare and subsistence for visits lasting up to three months. Research Professional - further information.) - International exchanges scheme - China cost-share programme
(This stimulates new collaborations within the natural sciences between scientists in the UK and China. Up to £12,000 for the UK teams airfare to China and the Chinese teams subsistence while in the UK is provided. Research Professional - further information.) - International exchanges scheme - Japan cost-share programme
(This stimulates new collaborations within the natural sciences between scientists in the UK and Japan. The Royal Society provides up to £12,000 for the UK teams airfare to Japan and their subsistence whilst in Japan. Research Professional - further information.) - International exchanges scheme - Italy cost-share programme
(The following information is subject to change. This programme stimulates new collaborations within the natural sciences between scientists in the UK and Italy. Up to £12,000 over two years is available. Research Professional - further information.) - International exchanges scheme - standard programme
(This stimulates new collaborations within the natural sciences between scientists in the UK and overseas. Grants are worth up to £12,000 each for up to two years. Research Professional - further information.)
Pairing/partnership funding
- Network grants (EPSRC)
(These support the creation of new interdisciplinary research communities and topics by developing interaction between the research community and appropriate science, technology and industrial groups. There is no limit to the amount of funding that can be applied for, however networks should last for up to three years. Closing date: None. Research Professional - further information.)
UKRI funding via our Impact Acceleration Accounts (IAA)
UK Research Innovation (UKRI) awarded the University £5.2M across a portfolio of Impact Acceleration Accounts (IAA) in 2022. The funding is meant for projects that translate research into impact.
As a researcher at the College of Science and Engineering, you can apply for funding from two IAA accounts:
Building your team - encouraging other ECRs to join
If you are an Early Career Researcher, you’ll want to start to build your team. If you know researchers finishing their PhD or undertaking PDRAs at other universities they might be interested in applying for an early career fellowship. Schemes include:
- Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowships
- Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellowships (internal selection process generally starts around April/May)
- Royal Society University Research Fellowship
- Science and Technologies Facilities Council Ernest Rutherford Fellowships
- Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 Research Fellowships
- other University internal schemes (e.g. Edinburgh’s Chancellor’s fund Fellowships)
- Marie Curie Fellowships
- New Investigator Awards (EPSRC)
If applying for the New Investigator Award, contact the for guidance and feedback on your draft proposals. You are also recommended to apply for training and mentoring support within the proposal. -
- Fully Funded Fellowships – specific calls will be issued both internally and externally for these.
- Leadership Awards – provides £100k for those applying to 3year+ fellowships, plus additional funding can be applied for to extend fellowships to 5 years. You must apply for LKAS before you apply for the external fellowship, unless you are an external candidate already holding a fellowship and wish to apply for £100k to bring your fellowship to Glasgow.
- College of Science and Engineering Industrial Studentship Scheme
The Graduate School offers 50 per cent towards fees and stipend of a studentship if you secure at least 50 per cent from an industrial partner. - The Industrial Biotech Innovation Centre (IBioIC), CENSIS and Energy Technology Partnership (ETP) all run industrial studentship competitions.
This generally requires an industry partner to commit funds towards the studentship.
Email scieng-gradschool@glasgow.ac.uk for more information.
European/international funding
- The University's overseas team can provide support to develop and submit EU/International grant proposals.
- Mobility Scholarships for PhD students
- International Partnership Development Fund
- The Royal Society International Exchanges scheme