The Royal Society Wolfson Fellowship (Up to £300,000)

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About The Royal Society Wolfson Fellowship

The Royal Society Wolfson Fellowship enable UK universities and not-for-profit research institutions to attract and recruit talented internationally-leading researchers to their organisation.

The objectives of the Royal Society Wolfson Fellowships are to:

• enable UK universities and research institutions to strategically recruit and attract outstanding research leaders to the UK from overseas by offering long-term support and flexible funding to conduct high-quality research
• strengthen research and help build a critical mass of excellence in the UK’s best university departments and research institutions in fields considered to be strategically important by the institution

The Royal Society Wolfson Fellowships programme also includes a visiting strand. 

There are normally three rounds per year.

The scheme is jointly funded by the Wolfson Foundation  and the Royal Society. 

The Royal Society recognises that diversity is essential for delivering excellence in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The Society wants to encourage applications from the widest range of backgrounds, perspectives and experiences to maximise innovation and creativity in science for the benefit of humanity. We regularly review and revise policies and processes to embed equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) principles in all aspects of the grant making process and ensure all talented applicants have an equitable chance to succeed as per assessment criteria.

The Royal Society welcomes applications from disabled applicants and provides support and adjustments to ensure that they can participate fully in the selection process. If you require support or an adjustment when accessing the application form, attending interviews, or for any other part of the application process, please contact the Grants Team on [email protected] or call +44 20 7451 2666. All requests for adjustments are made in confidentiality. Any request for an adjustment will not normally be shared with panel members unless it becomes relevant to the assessment process itself. If we need to share your request with anyone (for example if panel members are required to implement any adjustments during interviews), we will ask for your permission first.

Adjustments can include but are not limited to:

• Extension of the deadline
• Additional support to complete the application form
• Receiving the application form in a different format, such as on a Word document
• Support during interviews as required, including technical support for candidates requiring accessibility software or services
• Additional costs that candidates may incur on account of their particular disability to attend an interview

• Sponsor Organisation: The Royal Society

Benefits of The Royal Society Wolfson Fellowship

This scheme provides up to five years of funding. Up to £300,000 can be requested. 

Funds can cover:

• Salary Enhancement – The institution may include a salary enhancement for the researcher. This will be limited to a maximum of 20% of the total salary
• Research expenses – Including consumables, travel, small pieces of equipment of up to £10,000, and other appropriate and justified costs (including visa costs and fieldwork)
• Research assistance
• PhD studentship(s)

• Relocation and visa costs for Royal Society Wolfson Fellows and their dependents (partner and children). The total grant cap may be exceeded to cover relocation/visa costs if this is well justified in the application

• They provide flexibility to accommodate personal circumstances including part-time working for health reasons or caring responsibilities. 
• There is provision for maternity, paternity, adoptive or extended sick leave, as well as
• Financial support for childcare costs that arise from attending conferences and research visits. 

The Royal Society Wolfson Fellowship Requirements

• You are a mid- or senior career researcher, with a proven track record for high-quality scientific research, which may include, as appropriate: a strong publication record, being invited to conferences as keynote speaker and evidence of scientific leadership and/or supervising or mentoring junior researchers
• You are currently based overseas and have received a firm offer of employment from the UK host organisation. Nominations will not be accepted for researchers wishing to move between UK institutions
• 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.

Applicants can be of any nationality and those requiring a visa are eligible to apply for a Global Talent Visa under the fast-track process of endorsement.

Application Date and Process

Researchers must be nominated by a representative of the host institution before they are able to apply for the Royal Society Wolfson Fellowship: 

• The Vice-Chancellor, or their representative (Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research) or Institute Director will need to contact the Royal Society Grants Office by email on [email protected] and will be sent a link to a nomination form
• After the completed nomination form has been considered by the Royal Society, the Vice Chancellor, or their representative (Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research) or Institute Director (nominator) will be sent a link to invite the nominated researcher (applicant) to complete and submit a full application on Flexi-Grant. 
• Applications received by the application deadline will be considered by the Selection Panel.

Applications will be assessed against the following criteria:

• The research track record of the candidate (taking into consideration any career breaks). Candidates should be talented researchers with a proven track record for high quality scientific research. This may include, as appropriate: a strong publication record, being invited to conferences as keynote speaker and evidence of scientific leadership and/or supervising or mentoring junior researchers.
• The strength of the strategic case for the nomination and fit to the institution’s scientific strategy.
• The high quality and originality of the candidate’s proposed research vision and the contribution that the researcher can make to the furtherance of UK research in their field as well as potential benefit to the UK science base.
• The quality and suitability of the host organisation for the Royal Society Wolfson Fellowship candidate, the organisation’s commitment to supporting the researcher’s longer-term and broader career development.

Applications will be considered by the Royal Society Wolfson Fellowships Committee. All proposals submitted are initially assessed by at least two members of the selection Committee(s) who have the most appropriate scientific expertise. Following initial assessment, the Committee will shortlist applications for further review by at least three independent reviewers. Further to independent peer review, shortlisted applications are discussed at a final Committee meeting. It is expected that applicants will be notified of the final outcome by early January 2026. Limited feedback may subsequently be available on request.

The subject tags you select on your application play a vital role in matching your application with appropriate reviewers, so it is extremely important to select only the most relevant subject tags on your application.

Note: All applications must be approved by the Host Organisation and the applicant’s departmental support must be completed before you can submit via Flexi-Grant®. Late applications will not be accepted.

 

Applications can only be submitted online using the Royal Society’s Grants management system (FlexiGrant®) via https://grants.royalsociety.org.

Further information about the Grants management system can be found via https://royalsociety.org/grants-schemes-awards/grants/flexi-grant/.

If you have not previously used Flexi-Grant®, please follow the registration process from the Flexi-Grant®, homepage. Paper-based applications will not be accepted.

Download this document to know more about the status of your application and the eligibility criteria.

Application Deadline

04 September, 2025

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