Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 Fellowships , Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford

Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 Fellowships

The 1851 Research Fellowships are open to candidates intending to conduct research in any of the physical or biological sciences, in mathematics, in applied science, or in any branch of engineering. Around eight awards are made each year.

Engineers proposing research which addresses the primary infrastructure needs of modern society should apply for a Brunel Fellowship. One award is made each year.

Duration

The awards are normally for a duration of three years, held from 1 October.

Eligibility

• Candidates should hold a PhD or be in the final stages of their PhD studies, to be successfully completed before the award of a Fellowship can be confirmed.

• Those with more than 2.5 years postdoctoral research experience by 31 January 2027 will only be considered in exceptional circumstances.

• The research should be carried out at a different institution from the one where the candidate’s PhD research was undertaken.

• It is expected that the candidate does not apply to remain at their current institution, even when it is not their PhD institution. We will prioritise external candidates and those that have been at the Department for less than 12 months by the funder submission deadline. If you will be in post for longer than 12 months by then, we will need you to provide us with a justification on your exceptional circumstances for staying in Oxford.

Departmental Application Process

To apply, you will need to find a suitable permanent member of faculty (an academic with Associate Professor status or above) to act as your host academic first and contact them to confirm whether they will support your application. Please see our list of academics. We cannot process applications that do not have the support of a permanent faculty member.

When you have confirmed support from a host academic, you should ask your host academic to contact the Research Office on your behalf with your CV as soon as possible and no later than 26 November 2026 so we can confirm your eligibility.

If eligible, we will then provide you with further instructions on how to apply and will require your draft application by 4 December 2026 to enable the department to rank your application, as required by the funder.

Since the application deadlines fall over the holiday period, please expect to submit your final application for internal approvals before 11 December 2026.