The NIHR Fellowship Programme supports individuals on their trajectory to becoming future leaders in health and social care NIHR research.
The NIHR Fellowship Programme supports individuals on their trajectory to becoming future leaders in health and social care NIHR research.
Our four fellowships have been designed to support individuals at various points of their development in becoming leading researchers, from initial pre-doctoral training to senior post-doctoral research.
We are also partnering with a number of charitable organisations to offer jointly-funded Partnership Fellowships at both Doctoral and Advanced levels. More details can be found in the NIHR Fellowships Summary and NIHR Fellowships FAQs.
Call: 0113 532 8410 Email: Academy-awards@nihr.ac.uk, and detail which fellowship programme you are enquiring about in the subject area.
NIHR Pre-Doctoral Fellowships are designed to support people who are looking to start or advance a career in health and social care research methodology, specifically in one of the following areas:
Applicants without a Masters degree should use the Fellowship to undertake a Masters degree in one of the areas listed. Those already holding a relevant masters degree (or currently completing one) should use the Fellowship to gain additional support and training to advance to the next level of their career. The Fellowship can be undertaken on a full-time or part-time basis.
To be eligible for a NIHR Pre-Doctoral Fellowship you must:
Applications open annually in late January/February to start from September the same year to March the following year. Exact dates are available close to the time of opening.
Check funding opportunities for details of latest funding rounds.
Please note, this Fellowship is not open to clinical applicants looking to undertake training in research methods. Clinical applicants looking to develop a career as a clinical academic should consider schemes from the relevant clinical academic programmes provided by NIHR.
The NIHR Doctoral Fellowship is a three year full-time award that supports individuals to undertake a PhD in applied health or social care research. This fellowship may also be taken up on a part-time basis of between 50% and 100% whole time equivalent (WTE).
Clinical applicants are able to include up to 20% clinical time as part of the fellowship, to ensure the maintenance of their clinical competence whilst undertaking the fellowship.
To be eligible for an NIHR Doctoral Fellowship you must:
Full details of the latest funding rounds are available in funding opportunities.
| Stage | April launch | October launch |
|---|---|---|
| Competition opens for applications for all Fellowships | April | October |
| Closing date for submission of online application | July | January |
| Interviews held in Leeds | November | June |
| Awards start on 1st of month | 1 April to 1 September | 1 October to 1 March |
The NIHR has partnered with a number of charitable organisations to offer jointly funded NIHR Charity Partnership Fellowships and with Pfizer to offer an NIHR Industry Partnership Fellowship. Details are available for the latest Fellowship Round in Funding Opportunities.
Jointly funded Partnership Fellowships enable researchers to:
Please refer to the Guidance Notes for further details regarding the specific eligibility criteria for each partner (in addition to the standard eligibility criteria), the level of award available and the contact details for the relevant partner.
We encourage all applicants interested in applying for a jointly funded Partnership Fellowship to contact the relevant partner to discuss their research area of interest before they apply.
Please note, all other queries about the application process should be directed to the NIHR Academy.
The Advanced Fellowship is for those at a post-doctoral level and can be utilised at several specific points of a researcher’s career development.
The fellowship is between 2 and 5 years and can be completed on a full-time or part-time basis - between 50% and 100% whole time equivalent (WTE).
Advanced Fellowships will be available with a ‘clinical academic’ option, whereby clinical applicants will have the option to request up to 40% of their time be dedicated to clinical service/development which would be covered by the award.
The NIHR Advanced Fellowship is aimed at individuals at various points of their career. You may have:
In addition, you may use the Advanced Fellowship to undertake innovative knowledge mobilisation (to support the more effective use of research knowledge), whilst simultaneously researching implementation processes and impacts.
If you are unsure about your eligibility for the Advanced Fellowship, as related to your career stage, please contact the NIHR Academy office on 0113 532 8410 and a member of the team will be happy to discuss your proposed application.
To be eligible for an NIHR Advanced Fellowship you must:
Full details of the latest funding rounds are available in funding opportunities.
| Stage | April launch | October launch |
|---|---|---|
| Competition opens for applications for all Fellowships | April | October |
| Closing date for submission of online application | July | January |
| Interviews held in Leeds | January | July |
| Awards start on 1st of month | 1 April to 1 September | 1 October to 1 March |
The NIHR has partnered with a number of charitable organisations to offer jointly funded NIHR Charity Partnership Fellowships and with Pfizer to offer an NIHR Industry Partnership Fellowship. Details are available for the latest Fellowship Round in Funding Opportunities.
Jointly funded Partnership Fellowships enable researchers to:
We encourage all applicants interested in applying for a jointly funded Partnership Fellowship to contact the relevant partner to discuss their research area of interest before they apply. Please note all other queries about the application process should be directed to the NIHR Academy.
The Development and Skills Enhancement Award (DSE) is a post-doctoral level award aimed at supporting NIHR Academy Members to gain specific skills and experience to underpin the next phase of their health and social care research career. Applicants need to demonstrate what new skills and experience they hope to gain through the award, and how it will benefit their future career in research. The award runs three times a year opening in January, May and September and will support a mixture of researcher-led applications and applications from areas of strategic importance. The current themes are:
All applicants must:
Applicant Guidance Notes should be read before applying, which include more information regarding the eligibility criteria for the scheme.
Check funding opportunities for details of latest funding rounds.
Exact dates will be available closer to the time of opening in funding opportunities.
| Round opens | Round closes | Funding recommendation meeting | Start date |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | March | May | August to November |
| May | July | September | December to March |
| September | November | January | April to July |
Application guidance notes for rounds 8 of the Doctoral and Advanced Fellowships.
The NIHR Pre-doctoral Fellowships are designed to support people who are looking to start or advance a career in health and social care research methodology. Read the Guidance Notes to find out more.
Please find a list of potential supervisors who are willing to provide support in putting together an application for the Pre-doctoral Fellowship and help undertaking it.
Please find a list of potential CTU host organisations for NIHR Pre-doctoral Fellowship award holders.
A list of Health Economics and Medical Statistics MScs running in Round 4 of the NIHR Pre-Doctoral Fellowship.
