Independent Research Fellowships

Annually, UK and international research sponsors fund a number of schemes that enable the best early career researchers to establish themselves as independent research fellows with their own research groups. Fellowship opportunities include:

  • BBSRC David Phillips Fellowship
  • Royal Society University Research Fellowship
  • NERC Fellowship
  • ERC Starting Grants.

These fellowships are prestigious and competitive. Sponsors’ eligibility criteria apply.

The Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Oxford is keen to hear from early career researchers who feel they have what it takes to secure one of these fellowships and become an Independent Research Fellow in the Department.

Our Department is one of the top-ranking biological sciences research institutions in the UK and an internationally leading centre of excellence in plant sciences. We are based in the central multidisciplinary science area of Oxford.

  • We can support the best candidates to apply for fellowships.
  • We are also keen to hear from fellows who may wish to transfer a current fellowship to the Department.

Deadlines for fellowship applications tend to be from September to November, and preparations begin several months in advance.

  • Glasstone Fellowships. In addition to the above, researchers may apply for a Glasstone Research Fellowship. The Glasstone Research Fellowships are supported by the Glasstone Bequest. The Violette and Samuel Glasstone Research Fellowships in Science are tenable at the University of Oxford, in the fields of Chemistry (Inorganic, Organic or Physical), Engineering, Mathematics (including Computer Science and Statistics), Materials, Physics, and Plant Sciences. Each year, two fellowships are awarded. An advertisement will be placed on the University of Oxford website in late October, with applications due in December.

To enquire about becoming an Independent Research Fellow in the Department of Plant Sciences, please email a 2-page summary of your research plan and your CV to debbie.reeves@plants.ox.ac.uk