The nomination form will remain open throughout the year, but the deadline dates given are the points at which applications will be gathered for assessment. These dates are for the nomination stage only. Application dates for researchers who are invited to submit a full application are provided in the scheme notes.
About the Accelerated International Route
The Faraday Discovery Fellowships are prestigious long-term awards that support the most talented research leaders to undertake high-quality, original research. The Accelerated International Route, established in 2025, is intended for outstanding international researchers nominated by their UK host organisation, and will run for two years.
The fast-track programme will provide grants of up to £4m over a five-year period to support the development of world-leading research groups in the UK. It is expected that institutions will use these awards to make strategically important appointments, attracting leading researchers from overseas.
Researchers based internationally and looking to relocate to the UK are eligible to apply for the standard Faraday Discovery Fellowships round, which runs once a year, but are not permitted to apply to the standard round and accelerated route simultaneously.
The aims of the Faraday Discovery Fellowships Accelerated Route are to:
- Attract the most talented mid-career research leaders to the UK – attracting outstanding mid-career researchers from overseas and retaining them in the UK, in the longer term as well as their groups/teams.
- Fund high-quality original research – providing long-term funding to enable talented mid-career researchers to focus on their research vision and address the most challenging research questions (including supporting translation or commercialisation where those are part of their long-term vision for their research).
- Develop world leading research groups/teams in the UK – providing long-term, stable levels of support to enable the UK-based award holder to establish world-leading groups/teams and pursue their research.
- Train the next generation – Supporting the development of the next generation of research leaders in their field through a programme of training, mentoring and support for members of the research group (including early career researchers, PDRAs, PhD students and technicians) funded on the grants.
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 EDI principles in all aspects of the grant making process and ensure all talented applicants have an equitable chance to succeed as per the assessment criteria.
See below for details of reasonable adjustments we can provide for disabled applicants.
What does the scheme offer?
Applicants are expected to apply for up to £4 million over five years. Full funding details including details of eligible costs can be found in the scheme notes on this page and in the Royal Society Grant Funding Guidance.
We provide flexibility to accommodate personal circumstances including part-time working, sabbaticals and secondments. There is provision for maternity, paternity, shared parental, adoptive or extended sick leave, as well as financial support for childcare costs that arise from attending conferences and research visits.
Faraday Discovery Fellows and their teams also have the opportunity to access a range of career development and engagement opportunities including training on leadership, science communication and public engagement, and activities coordinated by our science policy and schools engagement teams. For further detail on these additional benefits, read our opportunities page.
The Faraday Discovery Fellowships Accelerated International Route is for applicants currently based overseas only. Applicants currently based overseas are eligible to apply to the standard round, but are not permitted to apply to both rounds simultaneously. The accelerated route should be used by host organisations when a fast-tracked recruitment would be advantageous to UK research, is time-sensitive, or where exceptional circumstances exist. The rationale for selecting this route should be detailed in the Stage 1 nomination form.
When reviewing candidates applying through the fast-track route, Committee members will use the awardees from previous round(s) of the Faraday Discovery Fellowships as a benchmark for assessing the excellence of the individual and their track record.
Nominated researchers do not need to have a firm offer of employment from the UK host organisation at the point of application, but if successful the candidate will need to have a full-time, permanent contract at the host organisation before their award can start.
This scheme is for you if:
- You are a mid-career researcher (see definition below)
- You are currently based overseas
- Your primary area of 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.
Definition of mid-career
Candidates will be required to meet the following criteria:
- Be a mid-career researcher with 10*-20 years research experience post-PhD or equivalent research experience (*exceptional candidates with fewer years of experience will be considered). Candidates who have had changes in discipline or research direction, or time working on industrial research, will be welcomed. As standard, career breaks and non-linear career paths will be taken into consideration. If you have more than 20 years of post-PhD experience but have changed research discipline and therefore believe you should be eligible, please contact the team at faraday@royalsociety.org before a nomination is submitted to discuss your specific case.
- Be a recognised research leader within their field with experience of managing significant research grants as the Principal Investigator. We would expect candidates to have experience of managing a research group, including training and supervising PhD students and junior staff, or equivalent examples of relevant leadership activities.
- Demonstrate significant and original research contributions – The applicant should have an exceptional track record of outputs commensurate with their research experience and be able to demonstrate significant research contributions in the last 10 years.
- Be well-established internationally – Candidates should have well-established international networks and plans to develop these.
- Demonstrate wider contributions to research, research impact and research culture – for example public engagement, schools’ engagement, knowledge exchange, industry collaboration, team leadership, commercialisation or broader business activity, peer review and committee membership.
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.
Read the scheme notes for further information on eligibility. Please ensure that you meet all eligibility requirements before applying.
See the Application and assessment process page for a general overview of the application and selection steps, and below for details specific to this scheme.
- Researchers must be nominated by the Vice-Chancellor (or equivalent if the candidate will be based at an eligible Research Institute, Independent Research Organisation or Public Sector Research Establishment).
- The Vice-Chancellor (or equivalent) should contact the Faraday Discovery Fellowships team to request a link to the nomination form.
- Nominations will be open throughout the year, with applications gathered for assessment at three points during the year (see the timeline above for dates).
- Submitted nomination forms will be assessed by two members and the Chair of the appropriate Faraday Selection Committee and the nominating institution will be informed whether or not the nomination has been approved.
- For approved nominations, a link will be shared for the applicant to submit their full application. Nominated candidates that are not invited to submit a full Stage 2 application are able to apply to the next standard round, as long as they continue to meet the eligibility criteria.
- Final application outcomes will be available approximately four months after the start of assessment, i.e. from each nomination deadline.
Assessment of your application will be overseen by the Faraday Discovery Fellowships Selection Committees: Committee A and Committee B.
Further detail on the application and assessment process is available in the scheme notes.
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 need an adjustment when accessing the application form, attending interviews if applicable, or for any other part of the application process, please contact the Faraday Fellowships team on faraday@royalsociety.org 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 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
If you have further questions regarding the scheme, please contact the Grants team on faraday@royalsociety.org or visit our contact us page.
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