Funding schemes for postdoctoral fellowships

A detailed list of funding schemes and opportunities for postdoctoral fellowships, curated/edited by Dieter Lukas, and eLife Ambassadors Juan Quintana and Aziz Khan.

You can also browse our travel fundings list for postdoc here.

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Fellowship Funder Applicant Host Years since PhD Duration (yrs) Award Research costs Deadline Comments
HFSP Cross-Disciplinary Fellowships HFSP Cross-Disciplinary Fellowships Worldwide Worldwide <3 3 30K USD all included August
CSIR-Nehru Science Postdoctoral Research Fellowship CSIR-Nehru Science Postdoctoral Research Fellowship India India 0 2 18,00,000 INR
Indo-U.S. Fellowship for Women in STEMM Indo-U.S. Fellowship for Women in STEMM India India 0 0.5 23K USD
Early Career Research Award Early Career Research Award India India 0 3 50,00,000 INR
National Post Doctoral Fellowship National Post Doctoral Fellowship India India 0 2 2,00,000 INR
Basic Biomedical Research Fellowships | Senior Fellowships Wellcome-DBT INDIA ALLIANCE Worldwide India 4 to 15 5 4.5 crores INR
Basic Biomedical Research Fellowships | Intermediate Fellowship Wellcome-DBT INDIA ALLIANCE Worldwide India 4 to 15 5 3.6 crores INR
Basic Biomedical Research Fellowships | Early Career Fellowships Wellcome-DBT INDIA ALLIANCE Worldwide India -1 to 4 5 1.7 crores INR
Fundación Ramón Areces Fundación Ramón Areces Spain Worldwide outside Spain 4 1-2 2200€/month End of March
Fundación Martín Escudero Fundación Martín Escudero Spain Worldwide outside Spain No rule 1-2 1900-3000€ / month End of April Award is depending on the host country
Helse Sør-Øst Postdoctoral fellowships Helse Sør-Øst RHF Worldwide Norway 3 1,039,000 NOKs
EMBL-EBI / Cambridge Computational Biomedical Postdoctoral Fellowships EMBL and Cambridge University Worldwide EMBL-EBI and Cambridge 3
EBI-Sanger postdoctoral fellowships EMBL-EBI and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute Worldwide EMBL-EBI 3
EMBL Interdisciplinary Postdocs (EIPOD) EMBL and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Worldwide EMBL 3 September
Croucher Fellowships for Postdoctoral Research Croucher Foundation Limited Hong Kong Worldwide <2 2 Permanent residents of Hong Kong
Forrest Research Fellowships Forrest Research Foundation Worldwide Australia <=2 3 Salary + expenses + accommodation in Forrest Hall Open to researchers to undertake high quality research at any of the five universities in Western Australia.
Alfred Deakin Postdoctoral Fellowship Deakin University Worldwide Australia <4 2
Discovery Fellowships Australian Research Council Worldwide Australia <5 3
Future Fellowships Australian Research Council Worldwide Australia 5-10 4
Laureate Fellowships Australian Research Council Worldwide Australia No rule 5
Endeavor Research Fellowship Australian Government Worldwide Australia No rule 2
Endeavor Research Fellowship Australian Government Australia Worldwide No rule 0.5
John Stocker Postdoctoral Fellowship Science and Industry Endowment Fund Not active Australia Not active Not active
Postdoctoral Fellowship University of Queensland Worldwide Australia <6 3
Postdoctoral Fellowship University of Sidney Worldwide Australia <6 3
Early Postdoctoral Fellowship University of Curtin Worldwide Australia <5 4
Senior Postdoctoral Fellowship University of Curtin Worldwide Australia >5 4
Curtin Indigenous Early Fellowship University of Curtin Australian Indigenous Australia <5 4
Curtin Indigenous Senior Fellowship University of Curtin Australian Indigenous Australia >5 4
Postdoctoral Fellowship Macquarie University Worldwide Australia <3 3
Postdoctoral Fellowship University of Griffith Worldwide Australia <3 2
Postdoctoral Fellowship University of Victoria Not active Australia Not active Not active
Bruce McGuinness Indigenous Postdoctoral Research University of Victoria Australian Indigenous Australia No rule 4
Postdoctoral Fellowship University of Wollogong Worldwide Australia <5 3
McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellowship University of Melbourne Worldwide Australia <3 1
Melbourne Career Interruption University of Melbourne Worldwide Australia No rule 1
Vice-Chancellor Postdoctoral Fellowship RMIT University Worldwide Australia <5 3
Chancellor Postdoctoral Fellowship University of Technology Sidney Worldwide Australia <5 4
International Fellowship Flinders University Worldwide Australia No rule 0.3
Re-entry Fellowship Flinders University Worldwide Australia No rule 1
Postdoctoral Fellowship University of New England Worldwide Australia <5 3
Australia to USA American Australian Association USA Australia <5 1
USA to Australia Fellowship American Australian Association Australia USA <5 1
Centenary Fellowship CSL Australia Australia 3-8 5
Lise Meitner Program Austrian Science Fund Outside Austria Austria No rule 2
Postdoctoral Fellowship Konrad Lorenz Institute Worldwide Austria <8 1
Postdoctoral scholarship IIASA Worldwide Austria No rule 2
IST Plus Institute of Science and Technology Worldwide Austria No rule 2
Postdoctoral scholarship Research Foundation Flanders Worldwide Belgium <3 3
Postdoctoral scholarship Universite Catholique Louvain Not active Belgium Not active Not active
Postdoctoral scholarship FNRS Worldwide Belgium No rule 3
FAPESP Postdoctoral scholarship State of Sao Paulo Worldwide Brazil <7 2
Visiting Researcher Science without Borders Outside Brazil Brazil No rule 3
Postdoctoral Fellowship World Academy of Science Other developing country Brazil No rule 1
Visiting Researcher NSERC Outside Canada Canada <5 1
Postdoctoral Fellowship Program Liber Ero Conservation Program Worldwide Canada No rule 2
Banting Postdoc Fellowship Government of Canada Worldwide Canada No rule 2 70K Canadian Dollars Salary+expenses September
Industry-based Research Fellowship Mitacs Elevate Worldwide Canada <5 2
Killam Laureate Postdoc Fellowship Dalhousie University Worldwide Canada <2 2
Killam Postdoc Fellowship Univ British Columbia Worldwide Canada <2 2
Biodiversity Research Center Fellows Univ British Columbia Worldwide Canada No rule 2
Postdoctoral Fellowship FRNT Quebec Canadian Canada <2 3
Quebec Merit Scholarship for Foreign Students (PBEEE) FRNT Quebec Worldwide Canada 1 35K Canadian Dollars
Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Worldwide Canada 1 May require canadian residency
Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Worldwide Canada <2 Might require canadian residency
International Young Scientist Call National Natural Science Foundation of China Worldwide China Age <40 2
AIAS Fellowships Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies Worldwide Denmark 2-10 3
Starting grant European Research Council Worldwide Europe 2-7 5
Fellowship residency European Institutes for Advanced Studies Worldwide Europe No rule 0.9
Long term fellowships EMBO Worldwide Europe <2 2 Salary + expenses February
Postdoctoral Researcher Academy of Finland Worldwide Finland <4 3
Academy Research Fellow Academy of Finland Worldwide Finland 3-9 5
PostDoctoral Research abroad Säätiöiden post doc -pooli Finnland Worldwide <4 >1
Fellowship Grants Emil Aaltonen Foundation Finnland Finland No rule 2
Post-doctoral Study Grant Fyssen Fondation Worldwide France Age <35 3
Fellowship Program Institute Pasteur Paris USA France <4 3
Momentum Program CNRS Worldwide France <8 3
Georg Foster Fellowship Humboldt Foundation Developing country Germany <4 2
Georg Foster Experienced Fellowship Humboldt Foundation Developing country Germany <12 1.5
Humboldt Research Fellowships Humboldt Foundation Outside Germany Germany <4 2
Humboldt Research Experienced Fellowships Humboldt Foundation Outside Germany Germany <12 1.5
Sofja Kovalevskaja Award Humboldt Foundation Outside Germany Germany <6 5
Research Fellowships Leibniz-DAAD Outside Germany Germany <2 1
Postdoc Fellowship Max Planck Research Group Worldwide Germany <7 5
Postdoc Position Any of the Max Planck Institutes Worldwide Germany No rule 5
Research Fellowship Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat Munchen Worldwide Germany <3 2
Fellowship residency Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin Worldwide Germany No rule 1
IPODI Fellowships for Women Technische Universitaet Berlin Outside Germany Germany 2-10 2
Excellent Junior Researchers Universität Tübingen Worldwide Germany >1 1
Emmy Noether Fellowship Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft Outside Germany Germany <4 5
Heisenberg programme Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft Worldwide Germany >5 5
Postdoctoral Stipends Peter und Traudl Engelhorn Stiftung Worldwide Germany Age <34 2
Volkswagen Experiment! – In search of bold research ideas Volkswagen Worldwide Germany 1.5 100K euros July Innovative ideas/concepts
Volkswagen 'Freigeist' Fellowships Volkswagen Worldwide Germany 5 October
FEBS summer fellowships Federation of European Biochemical Societies Worldwide Europe
FEBS Long-term fellowships Federation of European Biochemical Societies Worldwide Europe October
Fellowships Volkswagen Stiftung Worldwide Germany <4 5
Postdoctoral Stipends Fritz Thyssen Stiftung Worldwide Germany <2 2
Postdoctoral and Young Investigator awards Helmholtz Association Worldwide Germany 2-6 6
Research Grant Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft Worldwide Germany No rule 5
Postdoctoral Fellowship Integrative Biodiversity Research Halle-Jena-Leipzig Worldwide Germany No rule 3
Database of funding opportunities DAAD Worldwide Germany Varies Varies
Leopoldina-Postdoc-Stipendium Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher German Worldwide <4 2
Leopoldina-Postdoc-Stipendium Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Austria & Switzerland Germany <4 2
Postdoctoral Fellowship World Academy of Science Other developing country India No rule 1
Postdoctoral Fellowship Government of Ireland Worldwide Ireland <5 2
Postdoctoral Fellowship Programs Wellcome Trust Worldwide Ireland >2 5
Research fellowship Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Japan Japan <5 3
Postdoctoral fellowship for overseas researchers Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Worldwide Japan <6 2
Research Fellowship Canon Foundation Europe Japan <13 1
Research Fellowship Canon Foundation Japan Europe <13 1
Postdoctoral Fellowship World Academy of Science Other developing country Kenya No rule 1
Postdoctoral Fellowship World Academy of Science Other developing country Malaysia No rule 1
Postdoctoral Fellowship World Academy of Science Other developing country Mexico No rule 1
Postdoctoral Fellowship UC MEXUS Mexico USA <5 1.5
Postdoctoral Fellowship UC MEXUS USA Mexico <5 1.5
Veni fellowship Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research Worldwide Netherlands <3 3
Vidi Fellowship Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research Worldwide Netherlands 3-8 3
Rosalind Franklin Fellowships University of Groningen Worldwide Netherlands >2 5
Young Research Talents The Research Council of Norway Worldwide Norway 2-8 3
Postdoctoral Fellowships National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Worldwide New Zealand No rule 2
Postdoc Fellowship The Royal Society of New Zealand Worldwide New Zealand <3 2
Rutherford Discovery The Royal Society of New Zealand Worldwide New Zealand 3-8 5
Postdoctoral Fellowship World Academy of Science Other developing country Pakistan No rule 1
Postdoctoral Fellowship World Academy of Science Other developing country South Africa No rule 1
NRF Fellowship National Research Foundation Singapore Worldwide Singapore No rule 5
Junior Leader - Incoming La Caixa Worldwide Spain 3-6 3
Junior Leader - Retaining La Caixa Any if currently in Spain Spain 3-6 3
Wallenberg Academy Fellows Wallenberg Foundation Worldwide Sweden <8 5
Postdoctoral Fellowship Wenner Gren Foundation Worldwide Sweden <3 3
Postdoc Vetenskapsrådet Sweden Worldwide <3 3
Postdoc fellowship Swedish Society for Medical Research Worldwide Sweden <4 2
Postdoctoral Fellowship Program ETH Zurich Worldwide Switzerland <2 2
Scholarship Cogito Foundation Worldwide Switzerland <3 3
Ambizione Swiss National Research Foundation Worldwide Switzerland <4 4
Postdoctoral Fellowship World Academy of Science Other developing country Thailand No rule 1
Marie Curie Individual Fellowships European Commission Worldwide Europe <7 3 Salary + expenses yes
Marie Curie Individual Fellowships European Commission Europe Worldwide <7 3
Earl S. Tupper Smithsonian Institute Worldwide Tropics No rule 3
David Sainsbury Fellowship NC3Rs Worldwide UK 2-6 3
Early Career Fellowship Leverhulme Trust UK Worldwide UK <3 3 £24,000 £6,000 March
Henslow Research Fellowship Cambridge Philosophical Society Worldwide UK <3 3
International Junior Research Fellowships Durham University Worldwide UK No rule 2
Nottingham Research Fellowships University of Nottingham Worldwide UK <8 3
250 Great Minds Fellowships University of Leeds Worldwide UK No rule 5
Vice-Chancellor Postdoctoral Fellowship University of Bristol Worldwide UK 3-7 4
JRF Imperial College London Worldwide UK <4 3
Newton International Fellowship Royal Society Outside UK UK <7 3 £24K yes (£8000) April
Postdoctoral Fellowship Zoological Society of London Worldwide UK Not active Not active
Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Natural Environment Research Council Worldwide UK <8 5
Research Fellowship in Science and Engineering Royal Commission of 1851 Worldwide UK <3 3
Returning to Research BBSRC Worldwide UK No rule 2
Future Leader BBSRC Worldwide UK <5 3 £300K yes May
David Philipps Fellowship BBSRC Worldwide UK >3 5
New Investigator Scheme BBSRC Worldwide UK No rule May
College JRFs Oxford University Worldwide UK <1 3
College JRFs University of Cambridge Worldwide UK <1 3
Dorothy Hodgin Fellowship Royal Society Worldwide UK <6 5
Sir Henry Dale Fellowship Royal Society Worldwide UK >3 5
University Research Fellowship Royal Society Worldwide UK 3-8 5
Career Development Award Medical Research Council Worldwide UK No rule 3
Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowships Wellcome Trust Worldwide UK No limit 4 £250.00 Included October
Welcome Trust Public health and tropical medicine Wellcome Trust Worldwide UK No limit 3 May
Fellowship Wellcome Trust Worldwide UK <3 3
Janet Thornton Fellowship Sanger Institute Worldwide UK >1 3
Postdoc fellowship British Academy Worldwide UK <3 3
Ernst Rutherford Fellowship Science & Technology Facilities Council Worldwide UK >2 5 September
American Fellowship AAUW USA USA No rule 1
Beckman Institute Postdoctoral Fellow University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Worldwide USA <2 3
Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellowship University of California Worldwide USA No rule 3
Fellowship Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard Worldwide USA No rule 2
Postdoctoral Fellowship NSF USA USA <2 3
Junior Fellowship Program Harvard University USA USA <1 2
International Fellowship NIH Outside USA USA No rule 3
Research Fellowships NIH USA USA No rule 3
Pathway to Independence NIH Worldwide USA 4 5
Ford Foundation Fellowships National Academies USA USA No rule 3
Omidyar Fellowship Santa Fe Institute Worldwide USA <6 3
Gilbert White Distinguished Visiting Fellowship Resources for the Future Worldwide USA No rule 1
Postdoc Life Sciences Research Foundation USA Worldwide <5 3
Postdoc Life Sciences Research Foundation Worldwide USA <5 3
President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship University of California Worldwide USA <5 3
Postdoctoral Program for Academic Diversity New York University Worldwide USA <3 2
Postdoctoral Program for Faculty Diversity University of North Caroline Chapel Hill Worldwide USA <5 2
Provost Postdoctoral Scholarships for Academic Diversity University of Chicago Worldwide USA <1 2
SI Postdoctoral Fellowship Smithsonian Institute Worldwide USA No rule 3
Linus Pauling Postdoctoral Fellowship Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Worldwide USA <3 2
Postdoctoral Fellowship NOAA Climate and Global Change Worldwide USA <3 2
Miller Research fellowship UC Berkeley Worldwide USA <5 3
Donnelley and YIBS Postdoctoral Environmental Fellows Yale University Worldwide USA <3 2
PERT Center for Insect Science University of Arizona USA USA <2 2
Society of Fellows University of Michigan Worldwide USA <5 3
Society of Fellows Dartmouth College Worldwide USA <2 3
Postdoctoral Fellowship Earth Institute at Columbia University Worldwide USA <5 2
Postdoctoral Fellowship The Institute at Brown for Environment and Society Worldwide USA No rule 2
Postdoctoral Fellowship Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute Worldwide USA <3 1.5
Postdoctoral Fellow in Population Biology UC Davis Worldwide USA No rule 2
Postdoctoral Fellow in Population Biology University of Nebraska-Lincoln Worldwide USA No rule 2
Postdoctoral Fellow in Mathematical Biology Ohio State University Worldwide USA No rule 2
Socio-environmental synthesis fellowship SESYNC Worldwide USA <3 2
Fellowship in Mathematical Biology Nimbios Worldwide USA No rule 2
Postdoctoral Research Fellowship The Helen Hay Whitney Foundation USA Worldwide <1 3
Postdoctoral Research Fellowship The Helen Hay Whitney Foundation Worldwide USA <1 3
Postdoctoral Research Fellowship The Grass Foundation Worldwide USA <3 0.3
Postdoctoral Research Fellowship The Lalor Foundation Worldwide USA <2 2
Postdoctoral Research Fellowship American Museum of Natural History Worldwide USA No rule 2
NatureNet Science Fellows The Nature Conservancy Worldwide USA <5 2
Smith Fellows in Conservation Biology Society for Conservation Biology Worldwide USA No rule 2
Ray Conservation Fellow Ocean Conservancy Worldwide USA <3 1
Postdoctoral Fellowship James McDonnell Foundation Worldwide USA <1 3
Research Associateship Program National Academies Worldwide USA No rule 2
Darwin Fellowship UMASS Amherst Worldwide USA <3 2
Postdoctoral Visiting Fellowship CIRES at U Colorado Boulder Worldwide USA <4 2
Simons Society Junior Fellows Simons Foundation New York Worldwide USA <2 3
Postdoctoral Programm Rice University Worldwide USA No rule 3
Future Faculty Fellowship Northeastern University Worldwide USA <3 2
Fellowship for Academic Diversity University of Pennsylvania Worldwide USA <3 3
Rose Fellowship Cornell Lab of Ornithology Worldwide USA No rule 2
Postdoctoral Fellowships Atkinson Center for Sustainable Future at Cornell Worldwide USA No rule 2
Postdoctoral Fellowships Gettysburg College Worldwide USA <5 1
Ewel Fellowship in Ecology and Environmental Science University of Florida Worldwide USA <3 2
Latin American Fellows Pew Trust Latin America USA <5 2
Allen AI Young Investigator Program Allen Institute Seattle Worldwide USA <1 3
Research Grant Eppley Foundation Worldwide USA No rule 1
Hanna H Gray Fellows Howard Hughes Institute Worldwide USA <5 4
Postdoctoral Fellowship Fulbright Awards for Israelis Israel USA No rule 1
Postdoctoral Fellowship Gruss Lipper Program for Israelis Israel USA <1 2
COFUND Fellowship Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Outside UK Wales 3-5 2
Fulbright Scholar Program Fulbright USA Worldwide <5 2
Branco Weiss Fellowship Society in Science Foundation Worldwide Worldwide <5 3
HFSP long-term postdoc fellowship Human Frontiers in Science Program Worldwide Worldwide <3 3 300K USD all included August
Future Research Leader Fellowships AXA Research Fund (changing topics) Worldwide Worldwide <5 2 130K euros October
L’Oreal award for women in life science L’Oreal UNESCO Worldwide Worldwide <8 3
Faculty for the Future Schlumberger Foundation Developing country Worldwide No rule 3
Research Fellowship Jacobs Foundation Worldwide Worldwide <15 3
International Research Scholars Program HHMI, Gates, Wellcome, Calouste Gulbenkian Developing country Worldwide No rule 5
Individual Research Grant Toyota Foundation Worldwide Worldwide No rule 5
Research Grant Guggenheim Foundation Worldwide Worldwide Not active Not active
Research Grant Templeton Foundation Worldwide Worldwide No rule 5
Postdoctoral Fellowship Rubicon program for Dutch researchers Any if currently in Netherlands Worldwide <1 3
International Scientific Collaboration Grant Foreign Ministry of Italy Italy Worldwide No rule 3
Hunt Postdoctoral Fellowship Wenner-Gren Foundation (Anthropology) Worldwide Worldwide <10 1
Early Postdoc Mobility Swiss National Research Foundation Any if currently in Switzerland Worldwide <2 1.5
Postdoc Mobility Swiss National Research Foundation Any if currently in Switzerland Worldwide <3 3