Wellcome Early-Career Awards
Wellcome
Salary plus up to GBP 400,000 of research costs, usually over 5 years, for early-career researchers in health-related science. Applicants must be based at an eligible organisation in the UK or a low- or middle-income country, including in Africa. No deadline: apply any time.
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Eligibility
- Who can apply
- All nationalities
- Education required
- Phd completed
- Fields
- Health sciences, Public health, Natural sciences, Social sciences
- Residency
- Eligibility is by administering organisation location, not nationality: currently the UK, the Republic of Ireland, or a low- or middle-income country apart from India and mainland China. From 29 October 2026 only the UK and low- and middle-income countries in Africa, South Asia and South-East Asia.
- Also required
- Completed a PhD or equivalent higher research degree and passed the viva by the date of submission, OR at least four years' research experience equivalent to a PhD without having started a PhD
- Research undertaken during an undergraduate or master's degree does not count as equivalent research experience
- Research must aim to advance understanding, or develop methodologies, conceptual frameworks, tools or techniques, that could benefit health-related research
- Coapplicants are not accepted
About this opportunity
Wellcome Early-Career Awards fund researchers from any discipline who have finished a PhD (or hold four years of equivalent research experience) and are ready to design and lead their own innovative research project related to human life, health and wellbeing. The award covers the researcher's salary plus up to GBP 400,000 for research expenses and usually runs for five years, by the end of which the holder should be ready to lead an independent research programme. Coapplicants are not accepted, and applications can be submitted at any time - there are no deadlines - with interview and decision rounds currently listed for May 2027 and September 2027.
This is one of the few large fully funded research schemes that is genuinely open to researchers based in Africa, because eligibility runs on where your administering organisation is, not on your nationality. Wellcome currently accepts lead applicants at eligible organisations in the UK, the Republic of Ireland and low- or middle-income countries apart from India and mainland China. From 29 October 2026 that narrows in a way that favours African applicants: Wellcome will only accept applications from lead applicants based at eligible administering organisations in the UK and low- and middle-income countries in Africa, South Asia and South-East Asia. Applications submitted on or before 28 October 2026 are assessed under the current rules.
To be eligible you must be able to demonstrate the ability to conduct independent, original research, either through a completed PhD or equivalent higher research degree with the viva passed before you submit, or through at least four years of research experience equivalent to a PhD without having started a PhD. Research done during an undergraduate or master's degree does not count. Wellcome notes that applications are often withdrawn before shortlisting because the applicant is ineligible, and provides an eligibility self-assessment tool, so check your organisation and career stage against the scheme page before you invest weeks in a proposal.
- Level
- Postdoc, Early career
- Where
- Multiple countries
- Duration
- Usually 5 years; may be less for some disciplines and longer only if held part-time
- Difficulty
- Very high · about 12 weeks to prepare
Funding
Fully funded
- salary
- research costs
Your salary and up to GBP 400,000 for research expenses. Certain costs do not count towards the GBP 400,000 research expenses limit; see the scheme's 'Research costs we'll cover' section.
What you will need
- Research proposal
Applications are made through Wellcome's application system; the scheme page carries an 'Information you need to provide' section and an eligibility self-assessment tool. The full document checklist was not enumerated on the scheme overview read on 11 September 2026.
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