Faraday Discovery Fellowships 2025 by Royal Society Inviting New Applications

In a groundbreaking move to foster scientific leadership and innovation in the UK, the Royal Society has officially opened applications for the Faraday Discovery Fellowships 2025. These prestigious fellowships aim to attract and support the world’s most talented mid-career researchers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) fields with long-term grants of up to £8 million over 10 years.

Fellowship Funding Offer: Up to £8 Million Per Fellow

Each fellowship offers a core funding amount of up to £6 million across a 10-year period, with the possibility of an additional £2 million available for high-cost disciplines, equipment-intensive research, or projects requiring enhanced resources to meet their ambitious scientific objectives.

Fellows will also benefit from:

• Flexibility in working conditions (part-time work, sabbaticals, etc.)
• Paid leave (maternity, paternity, adoption, extended sick leave)
• Childcare cost support during conferences or research visits
• Access to professional development, training, and networking for both the fellow and their research team.

Scope & Purpose

Funded by a £250 million investment from the UK Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), the Faraday Discovery Fellowships seek to:

• Enable mid-career researchers to tackle complex and high-impact scientific challenges
• Provide stability to build world-leading research groups in the UK
• Retain top UK talent while also attracting international researchers via the Accelerated International Route (offering up to £4 million over 5 years)
• Promote research across all areas within the Royal Society’s remit, including biological sciences, chemistry, physics, engineering, and mathematics.

Eligibility Snapshot

To be eligible for the 2025 Faraday Discovery Fellowship, applicants must:

• Be mid-career researchers (10–20 years post-PhD, though exceptional candidates with fewer years will be considered)
• Be a recognized leader in their field, with experience managing major research grants
• Be in a permanent academic post or nearing the end of a long-term fellowship
• Demonstrate a strong track record of research outputs and leadership in the past decade
• Be internationally recognized, with a vision to expand their influence globally
• Show evidence of contributing to broader research culture (e.g., public engagement, knowledge exchange)

Applicants of any nationality may apply. Those needing a visa are eligible under the UK’s Global Talent Visa scheme.

Application Timeline: Stage-by-Stage

The application process for the 2026 round of the Faraday Discovery Fellowships is divided into two stages. Stage 1 opens on 5 August 2025 and will accept applications until 23 September 2025, with selection outcomes expected by 30 November 2025. Successful applicants from this stage will be invited to proceed to Stage 2, which opens on 27 November 2025 and closes on 5 February 2026.

Final decisions for Stage 2 applicants will be communicated by 31 July 2026, and the selected fellows will officially commence their research programmes in October 2026. Looking ahead, future rounds of the fellowship are expected to follow a similar timeline, with annual openings in August and fellowship start dates in October through at least 2029.

Apply: https://royalsociety.org/grants/faraday-discovery-fellowships/.

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