Fellowship opportunities

The Physics department supports several fellowship schemes every year, and a list with detailed timelines is given below.

To ensure submission of high-quality proposals, the department runs an internal selection process for all major fellowship applications. Successful candidates would be offered a permanent post at the end of the Fellowship, subject to criteria being met, for schemes like ERF, URF and FLF.

At University of Liverpool, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where all belong. We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in our physics workforce. These include people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, disabled people, LGBTQI+ people, and women.

We advise to get in touch as soon as possible (as early as 3 months in advance) with Head of Department, Head of Research & Impact and Heads of each research area sending an email to Fellowship_Physics@liverpool.ac.uk to express interest and discuss fit to the Department Research strategy. We also recommend to secure, prior application, the sponsorship of a local academic faculty member in the department, who will help to provide a strategic justification for supporting your fellowship within the context of the department’s research strategy. Once internally selected, a team of academic experts will be available to work with applicants over extended periods to develop high-quality proposals. This process is particularly relevant for schemes who apply a quota on number of applications for each Department.

STFC Ernest Rutherford Fellowships Opening of scheme for 2025 is expected in late Spring

The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) offers approximately 10 Fellowships each year to early-career researchers in astrophysics, particle physics, nuclear physics and accelerator 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 team in charge of Fellowships (Fellowship_Physics@liverpool.ac.uk, inclusive of HoD, HoR and all cluster leaders) OR to the STFC-contact (Prof. Monica D’Onofrio, onofrio@liverpool.ac.uk), as well as a member of academic staff with a research area similar to your interests as soon as possible for further information and guidance.

^4thJune 2025	Intention to Submit Deadline.  Please send us your name, the title of your project and the main areas of research involved.
16^thJune 2025	Expression of Interest Deadline - The department sets an internal sifting process; following the schedule suggested by STFC, applicants are asked to submit the ERF Expression of Interest to Fellowship_Physics@liverpool.ac.uk. Additional documentation required is a complete 2-page CV. and publication list. External applicants should have (and cc in) their local sponsor if they have one (note: head of research clusters are part of the mailing list above).
Mid-July 2025	Decision Taken - final decision is taken by the Research panel and communicated to applicants. The successful candidates will iterate with their local sponsor and experts in research and impact in the department to further develop their scientific case and a high-quality proposal. We will also offer advice on all costs that will need to be included, and on the support that can be provided by the Department. Support from Faculty team will also be organised if possible.
1^st October 2025	Applications are submitted by the deadline.

The Royal Society - University Research Fellowships Opening of scheme for 2025 is expected in late Spring

This scheme is for outstanding scientists in the UK at an early stage of their career who have the potential to become leaders in their field.

The deadline is on the 10^th of September.

Applicants must not hold a permanent academic position, nor have previously held an independent research fellowship and must have between 3 and 8 year’s experience since your PhD at the close of the round.

The scheme is open to applicants of all nationalities. Funding is available for up to 8 years and includes the applicant's salary and funding towards research expenses as outlined in the funder guidance website.

Please read them carefully. Applications are submitted through the Royal Society's application portal - Flexigrant.

While there is no quota associated to this scheme, the department runs an annual internal selection process to ensure that applications are of high-quality and fit well within our departmental strategy. Intention to Submit and Expressions of Interest + other documents as in STFC ERF guidance should be sent to Fellowship_Physics@liverpool.ac.uk (inclusive of HoD, Head of Research, Head of Clusters) with the following timeline:

^4thJune 2025	Intention to Submit Deadline.  Please send us your name, the title of your project and the main areas of research involved.
16^thJune 2025	Expression of Interest Deadline -  The department sets an internal sifting process; following the schedule suggested by STFC, applicants are asked to submit the ERF Expression of Interest to Fellowship_Physics@liverpool.ac.uk. Additional documentation required is a complete 2-page CV. and publication list. External applicants should have (and cc in) their local sponsor if they have one (note: head of research clusters are part of the mailing list above).  Note the EoI form is the same as for ERF for convenience.
Mid-July 2025	Decision Taken - final decision is taken by the Research panel and communicated to applicants. The successful candidates will iterate with their local sponsor and experts in research and impact in the department to further develop their scientific case and a high-quality proposal. We will also offer advice on all costs that will need to be included, and on the support that can be provided by the Department. Support from Faculty team will also be organised if possible.
10^thSeptember 2025	Applications are submitted by the deadline.

Note: The UoL offers a voluntary peer review and mock interview at Institutional level. That process is not a replacement for departmental approval (mandatory) but could complement the review process for further support in the final preparation stages. If interested, please let us know asap and we can help liaising with the Peer Review Team.

UKRI Future Leaders Fellowships Round 11 [new!]

The opening day of the call for round 11 of the UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship scheme is on February 2nd. Full details of the scheme can be found / will be available here.

Applicants must be early career researchers/innovators who are looking to establish or transition to independence and developing their own original and ambitious plans within a commercial setting.

Successful applicants are expected to be supported with an open-ended position in line with organisational employment policies and practices, after the funded period of the fellowship.

Demand management: UKRI limits the number of applications an institution can make. Therefore, the Department and University are each running a demand management process and engagement with this is mandatory.

How to apply: If you are interested in applying, please submit to Fellowship_Physics@liverpool.ac.uk by the end of 6th of February the following documents for the Department review process:

CV (no page limit)
A short document (2 pages maximum) that covers:

Aims and objectives of the proposed research project with evidence of quality, novelty and feasibility
What your proposed research brings to the department that is new and possible synergies
Description of how your career trajectory aligns with the Fellowship programme

Applications will be first reviewed by the department in a process coordinated through the R&I Board with outcomes being communicated tentatively by mid-February.

Applicants supported by the department to go forward will need to complete a very short form (link to be provided for external candidate, or available here) by the 18th of February with their intention to submit. Candidates will be supported by department experts and sponsors in putting together their application going forward to University review with ultimate deadline 9th of March 2026.

At that stage, a university panel will assess and agree which candidates should go forward, and applicants will be notified late April. Applicants will be supported in developing full proposals to submission to UKRI via the Department, RSO and the Research & Partnerships Development team.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: The scheme is open to, and UoL encourages applicants from, a diverse range of research and innovation candidates. This includes candidates from a variety of career paths such as those returning from a career break or returning to research/innovation following time in other roles, or responsibilities.

External Applicants: Applications are also very welcomed from external researchers and innovators from the UK or abroad. Forms to be submitted for University management available upon request.

If you have any queries regarding applying or documentation, please either contact Monica D’Onofrio as Head of Research and Impact and Tim Veal as Head of Department.

EPSRC Fellowships NOW CLOSED

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council now offers two categories of Fellowship – a postdoctoral Fellowship in a limited range of scientific areas and an “Open Fellowship” applicable across the whole portfolio of physical, engineering and energy sciences.

Interested applicants should consult the EPSRC fellowships pages for more information on expected career stage for each fellowship type and further details of when applications should be made. Applications are made through Je-S. You cannot resubmit the same project proposal should your application be unsuccessful.

Postdoctoral Fellowships

EPSRC selects which scientific areas they will fund postdoctoral fellowships in at different times so you should refer to EPSRC's list of priority areas to check whether applications are currently being accepted for your scientific area. As of January 2023 applications are currently being accepted in 'energy', 'mathematical sciences' and 'synthetic biology'. Funding is available for up to 3 years, which includes your salary, travel and subsistence and research expenses including consumables, but only equipment costing under £10k.

Open Fellowships

Funding is available for up to 5 years, which includes your salary, salary support for PDRAs, travel and subsistence, and research expenses including equipment as per EPSRCs funding rules. Open Fellowships now provide opportunities not only for traditional research Fellowships, but also enable applicants to focus on innovation, instrumentation/technique development or software engineering or to include non-technical elements to create positive change in the research community should they wish. Note that EPSRC say Open Fellowships are suitable for those who “have already been in receipt of significant funding, or have been leading in an area of technical development” and hence are most likely to have several years of postdoctoral experience.

Deadlines and timelines (2024)

There is no formal submission deadline for EPSRC Fellowships.

Please send an email to Fellowship_Physics@liverpool.ac.uk if you are willing to apply with us so that we can help in the preparation of applications.

For all Fellowships you will require a letter of support from the Head of Department which will be written in collaboration with the leader of the appropriate research area. Any equipment required will need departmental support (including funding) so please make the facilitation team aware at an early stage in the application process if you are hoping to include a request for equipment in your application.

H2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships

MCSA Individual Fellowships are for two years only and usually involve joining an established research group in the Department. An academic member of the Department will be needed as a host, so please contact the person whose group you wish to join. The next deadline is in September and your CV will be required at an early stage in order to gain approval to proceed with the application.

European Research Council Grants

ERC Starting Grants are open to researchers of any nationality with 2-7 years of experience since completion of PhD, a scientific track record showing great promise and an excellent research proposal. Consolidator Grants targeted more experienced researchers, whilst Advanced Grants are available for international research leaders who have demonstrated their potential for ground-breaking research. There are calls for all three schemes each year. If you think that our Department would be ideal to host your ERC application, please contact the mailing list Fellowship_Physics@liverpool.ac.uk or a member of academic staff in the relevant research area at an early stage to establish the required support.