Launched in April 2018, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).
Apply for an STFC Ernest Rutherford Fellowship (ERF) to work on an independent research project. Projects must be within the remit of STFC’s core science programme.
Who is eligible to apply
Ernest Rutherford Fellowships are intended for early career researchers who do not hold a tenured academic position at lecturer level. You are not eligible if you currently hold an academic position at lecturer level or the equivalent in institutions other than universities. If you secure an academic position at lecturer level prior to the offer of a fellowship, you will be ineligible to hold the fellowship.
You must hold a PhD or have relevant experience at the time of applying for an Ernest Rutherford Fellowship.
Years of experience
We do not define eligibility for Ernest Rutherford fellowships in terms of a minimum number of years of experience. Instead, you should read the assessment criteria to determine if you have the skills, knowledge and experience to apply for an Ernest Rutherford Fellowship.
Eligible institutions
Fellowships may be held at an eligible UK research organisation with an STFC ERF quota.
ERF departmental quota
You are advised to contact your proposed host department as early as possible and certainly well ahead of the deadline for submission of applications.
Departments may have internal processes to select which candidates to support and the deadlines for these may be several weeks in advance of the STFC closing date. Departments should not expect you to accept an offer to be hosted before 18 July 2025.
We set a strict limit on the number of applications that each department may submit. Therefore, it may not be possible for a host to support all interested applicants.
See the list of departments, contacts and internal deadlines (PDF, 203KB).
Any departments who exceed their limit will be required to withdraw the excess applications. It is therefore very important that you seek assurance from your proposed host department that your application can be accommodated within its limit.
Fellowship applications associated with the Cockcroft or John Adams institutes are made through the relevant partner institution but are counted against the Cockcroft or John Adams Institute limits and should be flagged in their application.
Fellowship applications associated with the UK Astronomy Technology Centre are counted against the University of Edinburgh School of Physics and Astronomy limit.
Inclusive selection process
Host organisations must provide a statement describing the inclusive process they have used to select their chosen candidates by completing an online survey by 1 October 2025. Submission of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I) statement is mandatory for departments submitting an ERF application.
The intention of this survey is to better understand the process by which departments are selecting candidates and to identify examples of best practice. The statement should describe the process used to identify potential candidates. It should not include personal details of potential candidates nor any details that may enable them to be identified.
Applications submitted by host organisations will be assessed by the STFC Education, Training and Careers Committee.
A list of the questions that will be on the survey can be found in the ‘Additional information’ section.
Choice of organisation
We recognise that mobility is not the only means to acquire the skills and experiences necessary to build a research career. We also recognise the need for having a fixed institution to provide unique facilities or opportunities, and other circumstances where moving would be unsuitable, such as domestic arrangements.
To demonstrate a commitment to the development of ERFs, we expect you to have agreed with the Head of Department of the host institution their support, and evidence this in the appropriate ‘Host organisation support’ section of the application.
Resubmissions
You can apply to the 2025 fellowship round if you were previously unsuccessful with the same, modified or a different fellowship application providing that you still meet the eligibility criteria. If you are resubmitting the same project, you should ensure that any feedback previously given by the panel has been addressed. We reserve the right to reject an application if the panel’s comments have not been addressed.
Unsuccessful research grant applications submitted to other schemes are not eligible to be resubmitted to the STFC Fellowship scheme unless the work proposed is substantially different in terms of objectives or work to be carried out.
Please note the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) submission policy is under review and we may not accept uninvited resubmissions in future opportunities.
International applicants
• Fellowships are open to applicants of any nationality. Where applicable, you will need to comply with UK Visas and Immigration requirements and hold a work permit prior to taking up the fellowship. Work permits are a matter for direct negotiation between the institution, the UK Visas and Immigration and the Home Office.
• All successful applicants who require a visa to work in the UK will be eligible to be considered under the Global Talent visa route.
• In line with the highly prestigious nature of the award, this visa route is designed for people who are internationally recognised as world leaders or potential world-leading talent in the fields of science and the arts and enables the holder to be both adaptable and flexible during their research in the UK.
• The grant of any visa is always subject to the standard Home Office general grounds for refusal of a visa. UKRI is able to provide additional guidance regarding the appropriate evidence required to complete the visa application process under the Global Talent visa route.
• Applications are welcome from candidates who intend to use the fellowship as a means of re‐establishing themselves in the UK following a period overseas.
Scope
The aim of an Ernest Rutherford Fellowship is to support future scientific leaders to establish a strong, independent research programme.
The project must afford scope for original work and align to STFC strategic objectives and core business areas:
• astronomy, solar and planetary science
• particle physics
• particle astrophysics
• nuclear physics
• accelerator science
• computational science
• quantum technologies
To apply
Select ‘Start application’ near the beginning of this Funding finder page.
1. Confirm you are the fellow.
2. Sign in or create a Funding Service account. To create an account, select your organisation, verify your email address, and set a password. If your organisation is not listed, email support@funding-service.ukri.org
Please allow at least 10 working days for your organisation to be added to the Funding Service. We strongly suggest that if you are asking UKRI to add your organisation to the Funding Service to enable you to apply to this opportunity, you also create an organisation Administration Account. This will be needed to allow the acceptance and management of any grant that might be offered to you.
3. Answer questions directly in the text boxes. You can save your answers and come back to complete them or work offline and return to copy and paste your answers. If we need you to upload a document, follow the upload instructions in the Funding Service. All questions and assessment criteria are listed in the How to apply section on this Funding finder page.
4. Allow enough time to check your application in ‘read-only’ view before sending to your research office.
5. Send the completed application to your research office for checking. They will return it to you if it needs editing.
6. Your research office will submit the completed and checked application to UKRI.
Additional Information
Funding type : Fellowship
Total fund : 6,000,000 pound
Closing date : 1 October 2025 4:00pm UK time
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