Royal Society – Research Ireland University Research Fellowship

Successful candidates will be awarded a fellowship by the Royal Society, the cost of which will be met by Research Ireland. Funding will be provided for successful candidates for 8 years, with the final 3 years of funding subject to a mid-point assessment. Fellowships are awarded in all fields of the natural sciences which includes but is not limited to biological research, biomedical sciences, chemistry, engineering, mathematics and physics.

The Society’s fellowships are highly flexible and part-time working, sabbaticals and secondments can be accommodated. There is also provision for maternity, paternity, adoptive or extended sick leave.

The scheme provides a salary contribution based on the Research Ireland Research Fellow scale (Level 3) for the first five years and Senior Research Fellow scale (Level 4) for the remaining three years, and institutional overheads, at 30% of the value of the award (less equipment). Research expenses (up to €90,000 per annum) will also be provided.

Funding is provided for eight years, but confirmation of funding for years six to eight will be subject to satisfactory mid-term review at the start of year four. The University Research Fellowship provides researchers with maximum flexibility and can be held part-time, and allows sabbaticals, secondments, or international experience.

The basic salary requested will be at a level commensurate with the applicant’s skills, responsibilities and experience. The maximum contribution to the URF salary is based on the Research Ireland Team Member Salary Scales. For the first five years of the project the URF salary should be starting at Point 1 of the Research Fellow scale (Level 3) with annual increments. Following successful mid-term review, URFs will be funded at Senior Research Fellow scale (Level 4) for the remaining three years of award, starting at Point 1 (Level 4) with annual increments. Please see the Research Ireland Grant Budget Policy for full details.

The applicant must:

• Have a PhD, applicants who have just submitted their PhD will not be considered.
• Be at an early stage of their research career with between three to eight years of actual research experience since their PhD (i.e. date on which the degree was approved by the board of graduate studies) by the closing date of the round. Career breaks will be taken into consideration (see below for more details).
• Not hold a permanent post in a university or not-for-profit organisation.
• Not hold or previously have held a nationally competitive fellowship that provides an opportunity to establish an independent research group and therefore independent researcher status (see Scheme Notes for more details)

The Scheme is open to candidates of all nationalities. There is no longer a requirement for applicants to be a citizen of or have a relevant connection to the European Economic Area or Switzerland.

The Society will consider time spent outside the research environment when assessing eligibility. Additionally, where applicants have taken formal periods of maternity, paternity, and adoptive leave as the primary carer (either the mother, father, partner or adopter), or extended sick leave, the Society will allow up to an additional six months for each period of leave when assessing eligibility.

Applicants should ensure that they meet all the eligibility requirements, which are explained in the scheme notes.

Deadline for applications is 10th September 2025, 15:00 Irish local time.

If you have a question about this scheme, please first read the scheme notes which contain more detailed information. If the answer is still not available, you can contact the Royal Society University Research Fellowship team at urf@royalsociety.org.

Research Ireland advise prospective applicants to use individual and departmental contacts to liaise with current and former URF holders for insights into the application process. View a list of current and former URF holders.