UKRI MRC Early Independence Career Development Fellowship: Salary and Project Costs for Up to Five Years

UKRI MRC Early Independence Career Development Fellowship

The Medical Research Council (MRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), is accepting applications for its Early Independence: Career Development Fellowship. The fellowship is for researchers who have completed a higher research degree, built a record of development and productivity across previous appointments, and are ready to establish a research niche of their own.

This is an open opportunity rather than an archive entry. The current round opened on 23 June 2026 at 09:00 UK time and MRC must receive applications by 15 September 2026 at 16:00 UK time. The deadline field above uses the short ISO date required for opportunity listings; applicants should plan around the official time and any earlier internal deadline set by their host organisation.

At a glance

What the fellowship is for

The scheme is aimed at a particular career transition: moving from strong contribution within an established group to intellectual and practical leadership of a programme that is recognisably yours. MRC is looking for more than a good project idea. An applicant needs to show why a fellowship is the right vehicle for their longer-term career, how their previous appointments have prepared them, and how the award will create a credible step towards independence.

The proposed work must sit within MRC remit to improve human health. The page describes a broad range of relevant areas, including infections and immunity, molecular and cellular medicine, population and systems medicine, neurosciences and mental health, translation, global health, methodology and public health. Global health proposals still need to align with MRC’s core remit, from biomedical discovery through early translational research. A project should therefore make its health relevance clear at the level of the research question, not only in a closing paragraph about possible impact.

The fellowship can support basic studies relevant to disease mechanisms, translational work and developmental clinical research. It is not a general-purpose early-career grant, and the page notes that fellowships would normally not be suitable for establishing longitudinal population studies. Applicants should compare their project with the scheme’s stated scope before investing in a full proposal.

Eligibility and fit

An eligible fellow must have completed a PhD or equivalent before the fellowship award starts. The application must also demonstrate skills, experience, career development and productivity across past appointments. MRC does not set eligibility rules based on age or number of postdoctoral years, so the case should focus on evidence and trajectory rather than trying to match an assumed career timetable.

The proposed research plans must not significantly overlap with those of the applicant’s current group leaders or proposed sponsors. The point is to establish the applicant’s own research niche and team. A project that is simply a continuation of a supervisor’s programme with a new label is a weak fit, even if the science is excellent. The application should identify the intellectual boundary between prior work and the proposed independent programme, including which expertise, data, methods or collaborations make the next step feasible.

The research must be hosted by an eligible UK research organisation. Applications are welcomed from people of all nationalities, including people who are not currently located in the UK, provided the fellowship is based at an eligible UK organisation. The host’s research office needs to be involved early because it will help cost the fellowship, check the hosting arrangements and submit the completed application.

At least one sponsor is required. The sponsor must be a senior member of the department where the fellowship will be hosted. This person supports the application and fellowship but does not act as the fellow’s supervisor. They should have relevant expertise and provide assurance about the quality of the proposed work, the applicant’s suitability and the training and development available. Additional sponsors may be included when they are needed to cover different parts of the proposed work.

There are also important exclusions. The page says that applicants are not eligible if, among other circumstances, they have applied for an MRC fellowship within the last year or twice before; have another UKRI fellowship of the same type under assessment; have a comparable early-independence or new-investigator fellowship; or have already secured grants as project lead that support and lead research staff such as postdoctoral research associates. A person who is clinically active should use the separate MRC Early Independence: Clinician Scientist Fellowship instead. Applicants cannot hold a salaried position and a fellowship simultaneously, subject to the exceptional career-route circumstance described in the official guidance.

UKRI also applies demand management: only one fellowship application of the same type may be under consideration across UKRI at a time. If an applicant is uncertain about a PhD-equivalence question or another eligibility issue, MRC asks them to contact fellows@mrc.ukri.org before submitting.

What the award funds

There is no stated maximum amount for this opportunity. The requested amount must be appropriate to the project, justified as necessary to deliver its objectives and demonstrate value for money. MRC funds 80% of the full economic cost and 100% of permitted exceptions. This is not an invitation to build the largest possible team: the budget needs to show how each cost supports the fellow’s development and the research plan.

The award covers the fellow’s salary and can include a small number of research and technical staff when those posts are justified by the project and the early-independence stage. The page gives research associate and technician-type roles as examples. Consumables, equipment, travel, training, data preservation, data sharing and dissemination can be requested, alongside estates and indirect costs. Visa fees and international health surcharge costs for the fellow and dependent family members may also be supported. Public partnerships and related activities, including payments to public contributors, and NHS research costs associated with NHS studies are listed as eligible where relevant.

The fellowship can include a period at a second UK or overseas organisation, or in industry, when that placement is the most appropriate way to build collaborations and cross-sector development. Up to 12 months may be spent at a second organisation. A longer overseas period needs to be discussed with MRC before applying.

The award does not fund PhD studentships, publication costs, bridge funding between grants, sponsor or mentor costs, a large research team, or senior staff in any role. The host organisation is expected to provide basic space and equipment for the award. There is no requirement for additional institutional matched funding beyond the standard 20% of full economic cost, although the host still has to provide the research environment and infrastructure needed for the award.

Timeline for the current round

The official opportunity page records the opening as 23 June 2026 at 09:00 UK time. From that point, the fellow can start an application in the UKRI Funding Service, but the host organisation and research office should be involved before the proposal is nearly complete. Registration or organisation setup can require additional time, particularly for an NHS host.

The submission deadline is 15 September 2026 at 16:00 UK time. The fellow must allow time for the application to be checked in read-only view, returned to the research office for review, edited if necessary and submitted by the lead research organisation. An institutional deadline earlier than MRC’s closing time is normal and should be treated as the practical deadline.

MRC expects successful fellowships to start no earlier than June 2027 and no later than September 2027. Anyone seeking a shorter award than the expected full five-year period should speak to the programme manager before applying. The official page also asks applicants planning a longer overseas period to make contact in advance.

How to apply

Applications must be made through the new UKRI Funding Service. Je-S cannot be used for this opportunity. The fellow is responsible for completing the application, while team members, sponsors and project partners provide their relevant input. Only the lead research organisation can submit the final application.

The current submission sequence is:

1. Select Start application near the beginning of the UKRI Funding Finder page and confirm that you are the fellow.
2. Sign in or create a Funding Service account. During setup, select the organisation that will host the fellowship and ensure its research office knows about the application.
3. Answer the application questions in the Funding Service text boxes. Answers can be saved and revisited, and any requested documents must follow the service’s upload instructions.
4. Check the completed application in read-only view before sending it to the research office.
5. Send it to the research office for institutional, hosting and finance checks. They can return it for editing.
6. The research office submits the checked application to UKRI by the closing time.

The application is more than a case for support. Current Funding Service sections include a public-facing summary, keywords, vision, approach, reproducibility and statistical design, PhD award and research organisation, career history, career development, applicant capability to deliver, and the relevant resource, ethics, data, animal or public-partnership information. The exact sections shown will depend on the proposed work. The approach must include a detailed project plan with milestones and timelines, access to facilities and infrastructure, collaboration arrangements and any work at a second organisation. Where applicable, the proposal also needs to explain diversity and inclusion in the study population, sex and gender considerations for animals or human-derived material, and the value of public partnerships.

Prepare the budget alongside the scientific plan. Costs for staff, consumables, equipment, travel, training and data activities should map to particular objectives and stages of the fellowship. The case for support should make clear what happens first, what evidence will show progress, how risks will be managed and how the programme changes the applicant’s independence. A sponsor statement should add concrete information about the host environment and development support rather than repeat general praise.

A practical preparation checklist

Before starting the form, confirm that the proposed host is eligible and that the research office can submit through the Funding Service. Check the PhD or equivalent requirement, current employment position, recent fellowship and grant history, clinical status and any other UKRI application under assessment. Resolve uncertainties with MRC before submission.

Next, write the independence case in plain terms: what the applicant has learned, what capability is now established, what the new niche will be, and why the fellowship is the right next step. The proposed team should be proportionate to early group formation, with sponsors and mentors kept distinct from core delivery roles. Project partners should provide statements of support when they contribute facilities, data, materials, staff time or participant access.

Finally, run a compliance pass before the institutional review. Confirm the deadline and UK time zone, check that every requested cost is justified, ensure the project plan is present, verify that required statements and partner information are attached, and read the application in the service’s read-only view. The research office’s checks are part of the process, but the applicant remains responsible for meeting the opportunity requirements.

Official details

The current status, eligibility rules, funding terms, application questions and submission link are maintained on the official UKRI page:

https://www.ukri.org/opportunity/early-independence-career-development-fellowship/