Newton International Fellowship

Sir Isaac Newton FRS (1642-1727) was President of the Royal Society from 1723 until his death.

The Newton International Fellowship, named after Sir Isaac Newton, is an international postdoctoral award for selected foreign academics to carry out research at institutions in the United Kingdom.

Established by the Royal Society, British Academy, and Royal Academy of Engineering, the Fellowships are awarded annually to approximately 40 of the most outstanding early career academics from across the world, in all disciplines of the sciences and humanities. Key objectives of the Newton Fellowship are to bring the best early career academics to the UK and to enhance ties between these academics’ home countries and the UK.^[1] Newton Fellows are fully funded for a period of two years and awarded coverage of research expenses up to £8,000 per year. Following this period an alumni program is initiated, providing Newton Fellows with a reduced stipend every year for ten years following the tenure of the Fellowship. This award is intended to facilitate the development of a continuous research program and to support continued engagement with UK-based researchers.^[2]

Applicants to the Fellowship must not hold UK citizenship and must be working outside the UK at the time of the application. It is required that applicants hold a PhD by the time the funding starts. Applicants should have no more than 7 years of active full-time postdoctoral experience at the time of application (discounting career breaks, but including teaching experience and/or time spent in industry).^[3]

The success rate is 8% for all applicants and less than 1% for candidates that are applying directly from graduate school.

Competition Criteria

• Applicants must have completed PhD or be in the final stages so that the PhD completes before start of fellowship;
• Applicants must not have held more than two postdoctoral positions;
• Applicants must be working outside the UK and should not be a UK citizen at the time of application;
• Applicants must have a strong research project and a UK sponsor;
• Applicants must be competent in Oral and written English.

Application Selection Criteria

Applicants are assessed according to the following criteria:

• Academic research background of the Applicant;
• Quality of the proposed research project;
• Expected benefits for the career development of the Applicant;
• Track record of the UK Sponsor/host organisation in the area of proposed research;
• Suitability of the UK Sponsor/host organisation for the research project;
• Additional benefits for the UK Sponsor/host organisation.

External links

• List of the 2014 Newton Fellow awardees
• List of the 2015 Newton Fellow awardees
• Overview of Newton Fellowships
• Official site
• The Royal Society website
• The British Academy website

References