Fellowships

Information and resources to support you in planning and developing a research fellowship application

What is a Fellowship?

A fellowship is an externally funded personal award that offers a step-change in your career and enables you to move towards your research ambitions through the delivery of innovative research. It presents a unique opportunity to develop your research expertise and methodologies, network, and leadership where and how you want.  

Knowing what it is you want to do and why a fellowship and what type is right for you will help in identifying relevant opportunities. Fellowship opportunities can vary significantly in their duration, budget, and focus. All fellowships require significant support from a host organisation that supports you in your development and the delivery of the project.  

To develop your research idea, identify the best fit for a host institution, and write a fellowship application takes time. We advise that you plan your application well in advance, in detail, and with plenty of support. This webpage aims to bring together key information and signpost to resources.  

A Comprehensive Guide to Fellowship Applications  

Developed by the University of Edinburgh and the University of Leeds, our open access resource From Idea to Interview: A Comprehensive Guide to Fellowship Applications demystifies the process by explaining what fellowships are, where to look for opportunities, and what to consider in preparation for writing a competitive proposal. 

The guide includes interactive templates to aid your planning and development that you can type straight into or print off alongside case studies from successful research fellows and insights from research funding specialists.  

The link below leads you to the word document of the guide. If you require the guide in a different format, please contact: Anna Pilz (anna.pilz@ed.ac.uk) or Taryn Bell (taryn.bell@leeds.ac.uk). 

Download A Comprehensive Guide to Fellowship Applications via the link below

Choosing a host for your Fellowship  

For any externally funded fellowship, you must identify a host institution. Your choice in School / Centre / Institute will depend on the type of research you are seeking to undertake, access to expertise and equipment your project requires, the support and network that you wish to build, and the skills and expertise you seek to develop.  

Finding the right fit for you, your research and career is pivotal to a competitive application. To ensure strong support, it is essential that you discuss your idea with a prospective mentor or Head of School and Director of Research.  

The information gathered in this section supports you in identifying if the University of Edinburgh and which local unit is the best fit for you. College-specific information brings together webpages with information on local fellowship support and processes.  

Research and Innovation Strategy 2030 

Take a look at our Research & Innovation Strategy 2030 to learn more about our research strengths and priorities to find points of connection with your research idea and vision. 

Research and innovation 

Our Colleges and Schools 

If you are considering applying for a Fellowship to come to the University of Edinburgh, please contact the relevant University School/Centre/Institute hosting you in the first instance. You can explore the University of Edinburgh’s Colleges and Schools under the link below. 

Colleges and schools 

Identifying a mentor  

If you are looking for a research mentor/collaborator and are unsure where to start, the Edinburgh Research Explorer provides a public view of the University's research activity and highlights our esteemed researchers in different areas of work.  

University of Edinburgh | Research Explorer 

Research environment and culture  

The University’s wider research environment is an important factor in supporting you throughout your fellowship journey. This includes existing research clusters and networks, training and development opportunities, and local support such as postdoctoral staff societies and mentoring schemes. You can find out more about the University of Edinburgh’s research environment by exploring the information on the webpages linked to below: 

Doing research 

Community & networking 

Research networks

Research Cultures 


Information and links on fellowships with relevance to the College are provided here:  

Business School  

School of Divinity  

School of Economics  

Edinburgh College of Art 

Moray House School of Education and Sport  

School of Health in Social Science  

School of History, Classics and Archaeology  

School of Law  

School of Literatures, Languages, and Cultures  

School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences  

School of Social and Political Science  

Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities (IASH) 


Information and links on fellowships with relevance to the College are provided here:  

Fellowships 

Edinburgh Medical School  

Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies  

School of Genetics and Cancer  

School of Population Sciences  

School of Regeneration and Repair  

School of Neurological and Cardiovascular Sciences  


Information and links on fellowships with relevance to the College are provided here:  

School of Biological Sciences  

School of Chemistry  

School of Engineering  

School of GeoSciences  

School of Informatics  

School of Mathematics 

School of Physics and Astronomy  


If you are an external researcher interested in pursuing a fellowship opportunity hosted at the University of Edinburgh, please contact a relevant academic staff member within the School/Institute you would like to be based to discuss your potential application in the first instance. Your academic staff contact will be able to introduce you to the local research office and provide you with relevant information. You can explore our Colleges and Schools with links to fellowship opportunities under the sections above.  

We recommend you reach out as early as possible, at least 6 months before the funder deadline to ensure you are aware of any internal selection processes. 


Support for applicants

The University of Edinburgh offers a wide range of workshops, events, and resources to support you throughout the application journey, from developing your research idea to crafting your fellowship proposal. To identify what’s most relevant, reflect on what you need support with – whether it’s in understanding the funding landscape and fellowship opportunities, writing a Narrative CV, learning about what makes a competitive fellowship application, how to embed research cultures and impact in a research proposal, reflecting on your leadership values or career ambition. 

The sections below lead you to different institutional units that offer development opportunities. 

Navigating the UK funding landscape  

If you’re new to the UK’s research environment, you can learn more about the funding landscape with support from the following resources: 

Understanding the UK funding landscape (University login required) 

Guide for applying for UK funding (University login required) 

Fellowship opportunities  

To identify appropriate fellowship funding opportunities for your research idea and career ambition, you can engage with information and signposting to funding databases here:  

Identifying funding | Edinburgh Research Office  

Identify funding | Edinburgh Research Office [University login required] 

Funding Databases - Research Professional

Research Professional allows you to search for and receive updates about international research funding opportunities. The University of Edinburgh is a subscriber to this database that gives all staff and students access. You can search for tailored opportunities by type of research funding, funder, career stage, nationality of researcher, and discipline; explore options through key word searches or access curated lists; and set up funding alerts to access open funding calls in your research area.  

Access the database selecting "University of Edinburgh" and login with your usual University login. Optimise your searches by engaging with our support resources on Using Research Professional and join our institutional group.  

Research Professional [External link]

Using Research Professional (University login required) 

Other funding databases you can access are: 

Funding opportunities for Early Career Researchers - ECRcentral 

Euraxess (European Commission) 

Jobs.ac.uk (some institutions advertise their interest in supporting prospective applicants for externally funded schemes through this website)  

Opportunities – UKRI 

Local research office support & Edinburgh Research Office  

If you are currently based at the University of Edinburgh, you can approach your local research office to discuss your funding plans and/or contact Edinburgh Research Office. You can identify relevant contact details here:  

Find my Research Funding Specialist (University login required)  


Throughout the academic year, you can access a variety of workshops, events and writing retreats that facilitate networking and learning with peers, reflecting on ambitions and leadership, hands-on sessions to draft proposals and pitch to peers, as well as protected time to progress with writing your proposal and more. Your local School / Institute will also run events and offer tailored support. Details are shared via regular emails/newsletters or on local SharePoints.  

Edinburgh Research Office regularly run the half-day workshop ‘How to Write a Competitive Fellowship Application’, ‘Planning and Preparing Funding Proposals’, ‘Embedding Research Cultures in Funding Proposals’ and Writing Retreats for Fellowship Applicants as well as funder-specific sessions. 

Our Engagement and Impact Team has online resources available that provide advice on how to engage for impact and how to cost impact into funding proposals. They also run training events. 

Researcher Development offers a wide range of events ranging from career management to project management, crafting Narrative CVs, leadership development, and writing retreats. 

Edinburgh Innovations offers training and events for staff and researchers engaging in translational research and commercialisation activities. 

Digital Research Services has a range of resources, case studies and support available to assist researchers in planning their research management.  

Our Department for Social Responsibility and Sustainability provides resources and training for researchers to design and deliver projects with sustainable research practices in mind.  


Successful funding applications are a valuable resource to gain insights into requirements, project designs, and format among other things. Your local research office / school / department / institute might have previously successful samples on file that you can access.  

Edinburgh Research Office has a central database of successful funding applications that you can search by College or funder: 

Successful research funding applications  (University login required) 

Resources to develop your research idea, identify funding, and craft your application are available from the Edinburgh Research Office. Information, guidance, and templates are available on the HUBsite for the research community, which requires your institutional login: 

Edinburgh Research Office | HUBsite for the research community 

Develop your idea 

Identify funding

Craft your application  

Funder and scheme specific guidance with insights from peer reviewers and successful applicants is available for the following:  

Applying to the ERC: how we can help 

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions 

ERC Starting Grant 

Crafting a successful Wellcome application


Staff at the University of Edinburgh can access 1:1 support. These consultations and coaching options offer you the opportunity reflect on your career vision, leadership, and development plans that can inform the person narrative of your fellowship proposal. The consultations do not offer scheme specific guidance or feedback on written drafts.  

Research Profile Consultations 

You can book a 45-min consultation to discuss your career and research vision to tease out the ‘added value’ of a fellowship application for your proposal. 

Research Profile Consultations 

Leadership Development Consultations  

You can book a 30-min consultation to discuss your development plan.  

Leadership development consultations

Coaching for Leadership session  

You can book a one-off session to discuss your leadership.  

Coaching 

You may also be able to access local 1:1 support that includes feedback on drafts. Reach out to your local research office to learn about available support. 


This article was published on