Fellowship eligibility
NERC Fellowships are open to any nationality.
Applicants for NERC Independent Research Fellowships (IRFs) must expect to submit their PhD thesis before the fellowship interviews would take place (April following the closing date) and, if successful, would not be able to take up the fellowship until the intent to award the PhD has been confirmed by the awarding university.
Applicants for NERC IRFs must have a maximum of eight years of full-time postdoctoral experience from the PhD certificate date to the closing date of the fellowship competition to which they are applying. The eight year window is based on full-time working. Where applicants have worked part-time or had career breaks, the eight year window would be extended accordingly.
Applicants should not have a permanent academic position (or the equivalent in institutions other than universities). NERC staff in Bands 5 and 6 only can apply for a fellowship and, if successful, would have to resign from their position in order to take up the fellowship.
Current NERC Postdoctoral Fellows would be eligible to apply for a subsequent NERC IRF (as long as they meet the eligibility criteria above).