⏳ Not open yet — recruitment for the next cohort is anticipated to start in Spring 2027.
The University of Nottingham runs two fellowship schemes that fund early career researchers to run their own independent research for up to three years, with a route into a permanent academic post attached. Both are open to international candidates, and the university sponsors the visa.
Applications are closed at the time of writing. This post covers what the schemes fund, who qualifies, and the one thing you cannot leave until the call opens.
Quick Eligibility: Nottingham Research and Anne McLaren Fellowships
- Opportunity Type: Funded Independent Research Fellowship
- Status: Not currently open. Next cohort anticipated Spring 2027
- Education Level: PhD holders only — awarded before the closing date for registering interest
- Eligible Fields: Anne McLaren — STEM only. Nottingham Research — all disciplines
- Who It’s For: Anne McLaren — female researchers. Nottingham Research — open to all
- Nationality: Worldwide. Both external and internal candidates
- Career Stage: Early career, guideline of no more than 8 years postdoctoral experience
- Age Limit: Not specified
- Application Fee: $0
- Duration: Up to 3 years
- Location: University of Nottingham, United Kingdom
- Visa: The university sponsors candidates who do not have the right to work in the UK
- Part-time: Considered on a pro-rata basis
- Application Method: Register interest with the university, after securing host school support
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The Two Schemes
Both schemes carry exactly the same package of support. The only difference is who can apply.
Anne McLaren Fellowships
- For outstanding female postdoctoral researchers
- Must be pursuing a career in a STEM subject — science, technology, engineering or medicine
- Aimed at researchers at the early stage of their academic careers who want to establish a research career in the UK
Nottingham Research Fellowships
- For outstanding postdoctoral researchers at the early stage of their academic careers
- Open to any academic discipline represented at the university
Important: If you are a woman in STEM, you are eligible for both. Nottingham states that female researchers are typically under-represented in STEM subjects and that female applicants are strongly encouraged.
Who Can Apply
- Your PhD must already be awarded — or an equivalent such as a postgraduate MD/DM for clinical applicants — before the closing date for registering interest
- Normally no more than 8 years of postdoctoral experience
- An outstanding research track record for your career stage, including high-quality publications, research funding, prizes or awards
- Evidence of a growing reputation, nationally and internationally
- An aptitude to lead and inspire others within a research team and more widely
- Potential to act as an ambassador in your research field
Important: The eight-year figure is a guideline, not a rule. Nottingham states explicitly that there are no eligibility rules based on years of postdoctoral experience, because that does not allow for variations in career paths across disciplines. Candidates are assessed on quality, potential, trajectory and track record relative to their career stage.
That wording matters for anyone who took a career break, moved between countries, taught for several years, or spent time outside academia. It is one of the more genuinely flexible eligibility statements in UK fellowship schemes.
Candidates are not normally expected to already hold a permanent position, since holding one may be taken as having already achieved what the scheme is for.
What Does Nottingham Provide?
- Up to three years of independent research funding, covering salary costs
- A link to a permanent academic post, subject to performance
- Funding for research expenses
- Childcare costs
- Access to mentoring, career development and networking across the wider fellowship community
Important: The current scheme page lists these benefits without figures. In the previous round, the School of Medicine published £75,000 in research expenses and childcare costs up to £15,000. Those numbers are from an earlier call and have not been confirmed for the next cohort, so treat them as an indication of scale rather than a promise. Third-party sites quoting exact salary bands are working from old rounds too.
Is the Permanent Post Guaranteed?
No. It is a link to a permanent academic post, subject to performance.
This is the most valuable and most misread part of the offer. A fellowship that ends with a route into a lectureship is worth considerably more than one that ends with nothing, and very few schemes build that in at all.
What it is not is an automatic conversion. Performance over the three years decides it. Reading the fine print at offer stage, and asking your host school directly what the conversion record looks like, is worth doing before you commit three years.
Do You Need a Host School Before Applying?
Yes. This is compulsory, and it is the step that ends most applications before they start.
Nottingham states that you must discuss your research proposal with your host school or faculty before you can apply. You cannot submit into a general pool and hope to be matched. A school has to want you first.
For international applicants with no existing Nottingham contacts, that means cold outreach to academics whose work overlaps with yours, months ahead of the call. It is the same skill as approaching a PhD supervisor, and it takes just as long. Six months before an opening is the right time to start, not late.
Does Nottingham Sponsor Visas?
Yes. The university acts as sponsor for any candidate who does not have the right to work in the UK.
That single line removes the barrier that blocks most international applicants from UK fellowship schemes, where sponsorship is often left to the applicant to arrange or quietly excluded.
Where Does Nottingham Rank?
- World top 100 — QS World University Rankings 2026
- 7th in the UK for research power — REF2021 analysis by Times Higher Education
Nottingham also states it is committed to an inclusive research environment, welcomes applications from those wishing to work part-time to meet personal responsibilities, and is especially interested in supporting applicants from Black and Asian backgrounds.
When Does It Open?
Recruitment for the next cohort is anticipated to start in Spring 2027.
No exact date has been published. The scheme has run in cycles rather than annually, so the gap between cohorts is normal and not a sign the scheme has ended.
What to Do in the Meantime
Six months of lead time is an advantage rather than a delay, because the compulsory host-school step cannot be rushed once a call opens.
- Identify three to five academics at Nottingham whose work genuinely overlaps with yours. Faculty pages and recent publications are the place to look, not the university’s general research summary
- Draft your research proposal to the point where it can survive a conversation with a potential host, rather than waiting for an application form to force it
- Make contact early. A cold email in autumn has time to become a conversation. The same email in Spring 2027 arrives as a request under deadline pressure
- Build the track record evidence — publications, funding, prizes, invited talks. This scheme is judged on trajectory, so anything added between now and the call counts
- Email the fellowships team to ask about the expected timeline for the next round
Official Information
Nottingham Research and Anne McLaren Fellowships — official scheme page
The page that will carry the opening date and application route when the next call goes live.
What makes a good candidate
Nottingham’s own guidance on what the panel looks for. Worth reading before you draft anything.
Meet the current fellows
Profiles of researchers who won the fellowship, useful for judging what a competitive application looks like in your field.
Fellowship FAQs
Answers to the questions the fellowships team receives most often.
fellowships@nottingham.ac.uk
The fellowships team, for eligibility and timeline questions.
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