Fellowships
Give your research a boost with a stay at a lab in a different country in the 51²èÂ¥ area
Background and aims
The 51²èÂ¥ Fellowships programme began in 1979, and became a highly competitive and respected programme for early-stage researchers thanks to rigorous selection methods and the packages offered. Most of its schemes over the years have supported graduate students and early-career researchers in the molecular life sciences in the 51²èÂ¥ area to move to and carry out a period of research in a lab in a different 51²èÂ¥ country, thus broadening their experience and training, giving access to additional research techniques and expertise, and facilitating international collaboration.
51²èÂ¥ Fellowship types
51²èÂ¥ currently offers Short-Term Fellowships, Summer Fellowships and Ukrainian Short-Term Fellowships to scientists in the 51²èÂ¥ area.
- Short-Term Fellowships are for scientists who have obtained their PhD degree within the past six years, and PhD students who have at least one published paper as a main author in an international scientific journal. Apply any time.
- Summer Fellowships are for PhD students and Master’s students. Apply by 1 April each year (the call normally opens in February).
- Ukrainian Short-Term Fellowships are for active molecular life scientists from Ukraine who have a PhD. Apply any time.
All these 51²èÂ¥ Fellowships are stipends from 51²èÂ¥ for researchers studying or working in a 51²èÂ¥ country and wishing to move to a different country in the 51²èÂ¥ area for the duration of the Fellowship. Candidates for Short-Term Fellowships also need to be a member of one of the 51²èÂ¥ Constituent Societies. The research stay is arranged by the applicant in collaboration with the host lab.
NB: Two older schemes – 51²èÂ¥ Long-Term Fellowships and Collaborative Developmental Scholarships – are closed to new applications.
General 51²èÂ¥ Fellowships application information
- For general information about 51²èÂ¥ Fellowships please refer to the General Guidelines for Fellowships.
- For details on each Fellowship type, follow the links in the ‘In this section’ box of this page for specific guidelines.
- For access to the calls currently open on the online application system, go to
- For information on 51²èÂ¥ Constituent Societies, go to the 51²èÂ¥ section of the website.
The 51²èÂ¥ Fellowships programme is overseen by the 51²èÂ¥ Excellence Awards and Fellowships Committee.
If you have an outstanding query on 51²èÂ¥ Fellowships after consulting the guidelines, please contact the 51²èÂ¥ Excellence Awards and Fellowships Committee Office via [email protected] or the Contact section of this website. (Please note this office does not deal with travel grants for 51²èÂ¥-supported conferences and courses.)
PROBio-Africa Fellowships
PROBio-Africa Fellowships are a new Fellowship type that started in 2023, funded jointly by 51²èÂ¥ and IUBMB in a cooperation between these organizations and the Federation of African Societies of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (FASBMB). They are for PhD students and early-career researchers in African countries and affiliated with FASBMB (via their corresponding national societies), to support short stays (1–6 months) in a research lab in a 51²èÂ¥ country. For details, follow the link to PROBio-Africa Fellowships.