ESPRC Postdoctoral Pathway Fellowship

Location: University Park

ESPRC Postdoctoral Pathway Prize 2026

The EPSRC Postdoctoral Pathway Prize (formerly Doctoral Prize) provides opportunities for the most outstanding EPSRC-funded PhD students to receive up to 24 months (FTE) of additional support following their PhD. It is designed to offer support and flexibility and is targeted at excellent scientists and engineers who wish to establish a research career, allowing bespoke projects to be developed that are within the EPSRC remit. The scheme aims to provide career development beyond the end of the PhD and specifically to increase the impact of the PhD in terms of publications, knowledge transfer and outreach activities as a first step into an independent research career.

The EPSRC Postdoctoral Pathway Prize (formerly Doctoral Prize) aims to develop independent researchers. Applicants must work independently of their PhD supervisor. EPSRC also encourages applicants to move into new areas of research and to organisations different from where they conducted their PhD.

Eligibility

Any student who received EPSRC funding support (fees and/or stipend) during their doctoral study at a UK institution is eligible to apply. This includes: CDT (both CDT grant funded and Incorporated), DTP, DTP-CASE, and I-CASE. Those funded by other Research Councils or other funders are NOT eligible (this includes students aligned to EPSRC CDTs but funded from other Research Councils or other funders). Your funded studentship must have ended no earlier than 31 December 2025.

You must also have submitted your PhD between 1^st January 2026 and 31^st December 2026.* Whilst EPSRC would “ideally” prefer applicants to have completed their viva before the start date of the fellowship, this is not compulsory. Where the viva exam has not taken place before the start of the fellowship, the outcome must be an outright pass or pass with minor corrections, otherwise the fellowship will be withdrawn.

The award must not merely be used as an opportunity to continue or complete PhD work but must enable a step-change enhancement to the applicant’s scientific career.

As this fellowship is available to those PhD students who have not yet had the opportunity to develop their skills outside PhD study, those who currently hold a research or academic-related position with a contract of 12 months or more will be considered to have achieved the aims of this programme and as such will not be eligible.

*Most applicants will be expected to start their fellowship on 1^st October 2026 and so the norm would be to have submitted your PhD before this date. Requests for delayed starts will be considered.

Full details can be found in the Application Guidance.

Length of Tenure

Up to 24 months FTE. Most candidates are expected to start on 1^st October 2026, however requests for delayed starts will be considered.

Value

A Doctoral Prize salary of £36,694 (R&T4a spine point 29) per annum, with research expenses of up to £5,000 per FTE year.

Subject Areas covered

Science, Engineering and Technology, Medicine, within the EPSRC remit

Application Documents are available here:

• Application form
• Reference form
• Mentor support form
• Head of School support form
• Equal Opportunities form (Online)
• Application Guidance

Further details are available from epsrcdtp@nottingham.ac.uk

Closing date: 23:59 Friday 17^th April 2026. Applications must be sent via email to epsrcdtp@nottingham.ac.uk and the candidate must also complete the Equal Opportunities Monitoring form online. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.

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