Fellowships

Mentorship Programme

Applications are currently closed. The next round opens 1 February 2025.

The mentorship programme aims to support strong senior Independent Research Fellowship (IRF) applications to join the Department of Biology.

Successful applicants can expect to be paired with a senior academic mentor in the Department of Biology. The mentor will provide advice and support to strengthen fellowship applications, and through interactions with the facilitation team, will ensure costings and support letters are prepared according to funder guidelines and within the required timeframes.

The programme invites applications from early career researchers with excellent track records who wish to apply for the following UK and international funding schemes:

  • BBSRC Fellowship
  • NERC Independent Research Fellowships 
  • MRC Early Career Awards
  • Royal Society University Research Fellowships 
  • Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowships 
  • Wellcome Trust Career Development Fellowships
  • ERC Starting Grant 

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Interest is welcomed from early career researchers in all areas of biology, including those at interdisciplinary boundaries with other life sciences, physical or social sciences who may draw on the outstanding breadth of Oxford’s research environment. Please check your eligibility for the fellowship you intend to apply to; generally, the fellowships applicable for the mentorship programme are intended for those who have already completed their PhD and some require several years of postdoctoral research experience.

If you wish to seek the Department’s support to apply for any of the fellowships listed above, you must engage with this process.

Please note this is not an offer of a job or a guarantee that you will be successful in gaining any of these fellowships to join the Department.

Selected applicants are assigned a mentor who is a senior researcher within the department who will provide support and advice. The aim of the mentoring system is to:   

  1. Aid the progression to an independent researcher and group leader
  2. Identify ways in which the Department can best support and help you
  3. Facilitate progression to either another Fellowship or permanent position

See the 'How to apply' section for more details. 

In many Fellowship schemes, an interview is the final step in the application process. We provide mock interview practice and have found that this has a positive impact on success rates.

Mentorship applications are advertised twice per year, with closing dates on 31 March and 31 October every year. Applicants should assess which deadline is most suitable for them depending on which fellowships they wish to apply for. 

Round Applications open Applications close Outcomes communicated and mentors assigned External fellowships
1 1 February 31 March early-mid May

NERC Independent Research Fellowship

Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship

Royal Society University Research Fellowship

ERC Starting Grant

Wellcome Trust Career Development Fellowship (July and November deadlines)
2 1 September 31 October early-mid December

BBSRC Fellowship

MRC Early Career Awards

ERC Starting Grant

Wellcome Trust Career Development Fellowship (April deadline)

 

The Department has several research Sections (themes); you will need to choose the most appropriate Section for your mentorship submission based on your research interests. Read more about the Sections of the Department. 

To express your interest, please send the following to fellows@biology.ox.ac.uk by the deadline:

  1. a completed application cover sheet;
  2. a two-page research proposal;
  3. your CV (no more than five pages).

Please include all appointments, publications, and appropriate research information. Please note that all three items must be included to ensure that your application is considered. Any questions can be directed to fellows@biology.ox.ac.uk.

Selection criteria

  • Scientific excellence
  • Potential readiness and competitiveness for schemes in programme
  • Potential synergy or complementarity with Section and Department
  • Availability of facilities for the proposed work

Next steps

We aim to notify all applicants 5 weeks after the deadline if they have been selected and who will be their assigned mentor.

From this point onward, the mentor will be your main point of contact. The mentor will advise on all aspects of the preparation of their applications and will agree a timeline for the next steps. You will also have support from research facilitation and costings officers who will help ensure your application is ready on time.

The candidates will be expected to: 

  • Confirm their intent to submit an application at least 6 weeks before the intended fellowship deadline
  • Finalise all aspects of the application at least 3 weeks before the funder’s deadline
  • Be available to address queries for internal approvals, such as budgeting and support needs, until the application is submitted.

Once you have obtained a Fellowship, the Department can provide a wealth of support and advice to assist you in maximising the success of your Fellowship research.

  • Grants: Various Fellowship schemes allow you to apply for additional research funding. Advice and information can be provided for external funding applications.
  • Additional funding support: Oxford has a diverse range of internal funding schemes to support research, including pilot projects.
  • Graduate students: Fellows holding Fellowships of at least three years duration are actively encouraged to supervise DPhil (PhD) students from their first year.
  • Recognition: We actively nominate researchers for national and international awards, such as Zoological Society of London Scientific Medal, Michael Faraday Prize, and L’Oreal-UNESCO Women in Science Awards, among others.

The Department of Biology is dedicated to upholding and developing good employment practice for women working in science, and holds an Athena Swan Award for its initiatives in this area.

Schmidt AI in Science fellowships

The Eric and Wendy Schmidt AI in Science Postdoctoral Fellowship at Oxford is part of a new international initiative to drive innovative use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in STEM research (engineering, and the natural and mathematical sciences). Oxford will host c.55 postdoctoral fellows (totalling 110 years of research) over six years, and provide them with the tools to increase the scope and speed of their research through the application of AI and Machine Learning (ML). 

The Biology department is very keen to support applications to this scheme. Applications are currently closed, expected to open in August 2025. We are limited in the number of applications we are allowed to put forward, and therefore run an internal selection process. To apply, you need to identify both a department PI to support your application, and an AI mentor. Further information on deadline will be released in 2025. Please contact fellows@biology.ox.ac.uk for further information.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/ED6Bfpy5pjc?si=daaa9lPmdRW97yuB

Horizon Europe Marie Sklodowska-Curie postdoctoral fellowships

MSCA postdoctoral fellowships are open to excellent researchers of any nationality. The Work Programme emphasises skills acquisition, two-way knowledge exchange and career development as key objectives of the fellowship. Applications are made jointly by the researcher and a PI supervisor within the biology department. To apply, you must meet certain eligibility criteria

  • You must have a PhD and have a maximum of 8 years full-time equivalent experience in research measured from the date the doctoral degree was conferred (career breaks, and time spent outside of research will be taken into consideration)
  • Applicants must comply with MSCA mobility rules; you must not have resided or carried out your main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the Beneficiary for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before the call deadline.

For full eligibility information, see the MSCA Guide for Applicants

The Biology department supports several applications to the MSCA PF programme every year. Before notifying us of your intention to submit an application, please make sure you have spoken with and got the support of a faculty member.

Please note, the department deadlines are often significantly earlier than the funders deadline so if you are considering applying, please contact fellows@biology.ox.ac.uk as early as possible.

Timelines for the 2024 call are shown below as a guide:

31 July 2024 Notification of intent to apply
12 August 2024

Draft application submitted to the department for review
24 August 2024 Research Services deadline
11 September 2024 Funders deadline

 

Other ECR fellowships

There are various Fellowship schemes which bridge the gap between post-doctoral and Independent Research Fellowships, which are not a part of the mentorship programme. For example:

  • Wellcome Trust Early Career Fellowships
  • Royal Society Career Development Fellowships
  • Royal Society Newton International Fellowships
  • JSPS Fellowships
  • Royal Commission of 1851 Fellowships
  • Daphne Jackson Fellowships

There are also several Junior Research Fellowships (JRF) advertised by Oxford colleges.

If you wish to pursue any of these, please directly contact academic staff in the Department of Biology who are active in a relevant area of science. If a fellowship that you would like to apply to is not listed, please contact fellows@biology.ox.ac.uk.

Some of these fellowships have department limits on numbers of applications that can be supported. It is therefore advisable to contact fellows@biology.ox.ac.uk at least 8 weeks prior to the funders deadline to check the arrangements for the scheme(s) you are interested in.

Department grants

The Department of Biology has several trust funds which provide small research awards. Those open to researchers outside the department are listed below; queries can be sent to trustfunds@biology.ox.ac.uk.

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Applications are currently closed. The fund is tentatively scheduled for opening from February to April 2025.

Fellowships of up to £2,500 in value are awarded for the support of fieldwork, travel, and other activity in the field of insect ecology.

Applications are judged on their practicality and potential to make a contribution to insect ecology. Preference is given to those in their early post-doctoral years, but strong applications from those at the post-graduate level have been successful in the past. The fellowship is not available for the support of undergraduate research. The fellowships are tenable for one year commencing on a date to be agreed and are not renewable.

Applications usually require:

  1. A CV (maximum one page)
  2. A research proposal including a budget (maximum two pages)
  3. Two references; these should be emailed by the referee directly to trustfunds@biology.ox.ac.uk, and in the case of postgraduate students, one should be the supervisor

Applicants should note that if large numbers of specimens will result from the work, the cost of follow up work should be shown in the budget and details given of how, and by whom, they would be identified. In this case, applicants must also show their willingness and ability to work with local scientists and institutions in order to obtain full official permission for the export of any specimens back to the UK, and later to share identified specimens with institutions within the host country, if requested.

Applications are currently closed. The fund is tentatively scheduled for opening early 2025.

The Boise Fund was established by Charles Watson Boise to support research on the antiquity and evolutionary origin of modern Homo sapiens and other hominins, with particular emphasis on the continued exploration of appropriate sites in Africa, and on the early migration of Palaeolithic communities. It awards up to £3,000.

Applications usually require:

  • A statement of aims, methods, and expected research output, which should specify how the proposal would satisfy the purposes of the gift from Mr Boise (maximum one page)
  • An estimate of costs (maximum one page); costs for travel and subsistence should be those of economy fares and standard accommodation; laboratory charges, and any other special item, should be justified
  • A CV (maximum one page)

Additionally:

  • Applicants who are University post-holders should nominate a senior member of academic staff at Oxford who could provide by email a statement of support if requested by the Committee
  • Applications from graduate students and postdoctoral researchers must include a letter of support from their advisor or Head of Department, as appropriate

The committee take account of the following criteria:

  • the interdisciplinary nature of the work
  • the extent to which the work involves pilot work for the establishment of larger, ongoing projects
  • the likely impact of the project