Information for New Academics
Research Proposals
All research proposals must be submitted under full Economic Costs (fEC). The Research Office will provide costings for all proposals, please contact researchsupportcsm@manchester.ac.uk in the first instance.
Setting up your Google Scholar profile
Academic researchers, Research Associates and PhD students in the School are represented through the University's Google Scholar page.
Funding opportunities for new academics
The remainder of this page details various funding opportunities available to new academic members of staff. Funding opportunities are also regularly promoted through the School's weekly newsletter and through the faculty Funding Scheme Planner.
Research Professional is a useful search engine for finding other funding opportunities.
EPSRC First Grant Scheme
The purpose of the First Grant Scheme is to assist new academics to apply for research funding at the start of their careers. There is no submission deadline, and while grants go to the same panel meetings as responsive mode proposals, they are only assessed against other First Grants.
This scheme is the first EPSRC funding that should be considered if you are a new academic in the UK due to eligibilty rules.
EPSRC Fellowships - Post Doctoral (3 years) or Early Career (5 years)
EPSRC Fellowships are available to new academics holding a PhD or with equivalent research experience. There are no eligibility rules based on years of post-doctoral experience or whether you hold (or do not hold) a permanent academic position. Proposals will be accepted all year round; Fellowships are offered across parts of the EPSRC remit.
N.B. the EPSRC no longer offer Career Acceleration Fellowships
European Research Council Starting Grant
ERC Starting Grants aim to support up-and-coming research leaders who are about to establish or consolidate a proper research team and to start conducting independent research in Europe. The scheme targets promising researchers who have the proven potential of becoming independent research leaders. It will support the creation of excellent new research teams and will strengthen others that have been recently created.
Marie Curie Initial Training Networks (ITN)
EC Marie Curie ITNs offer early-stage researchers the opportunity to improve their research skills, join established research teams and enhance their career prospects.
Royal Society University Research Fellowships
The University Research Fellowships scheme aims to provide outstanding scientists, who should have the potential to become leaders in their chosen field, with the opportunity to build an independent research career. Those appointed are expected to be strong candidates for permanent posts in universities at the end of their fellowships.
Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellowships
The RAEng Research Fellowships are designed to promote excellence in engineering. They provide support for high-quality engineers and encourage them to develop successful academic research careers.
Applications are welcomed from outstanding researchers from all branches of engineering who are about to finish their PhD or have up to three years Post-Doctoral research experience. The scheme provides funding for five years to encourage the best researchers to remain in the academic engineering sector.
BBSRC David Phillips Fellowships
David Phillips Fellowships are aimed at scientists who have demonstrated high potential and who wish to establish themselves as independent researchers.
Human Frontier Science Program Young Investigators' Grants
Young Investigators' Grants are awarded to teams of researchers, all of whom are within the first five years after obtaining an independent laboratory (e.g. Assistant Professor, Lecturer or equivalent). Applications for Young Investigators' Grants will be reviewed in competition with each other independently of applications for Program Grants.
Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship
This Royal Society scheme is for outstanding scientists in the UK at an early stage of their research career who require a flexible working pattern due to personal circumstances such as parenting or caring responsibilities or health issues. Female candidates are particularly invited to apply.
Newton International Fellowship
The Royal Society and British Acadmeny run the Newton International Fellowship for early career researchers working outside of the UK, to allow them to conduct research in the UK for up to 2 years.