Researcher Development Grants

Our Researcher Development Grants are open to PhD students and early career scientists wishing to undertake an activity that supports their research career. The activities applied for can be virtual or in-person. Examples include, but are not limited to, presenting work at conferences, developing new skills by attending training courses or developing networks by organising a scientific meeting.

Technicians wishing to participate in an activity organised by someone else may be interested in our Technician Travel and Training Grant , which provides up to £1800 of support. Please note that members can only receive one grant from the RSC for a particular activity.

Our Grants for Carers and Accessibility Grants are also available to support those with caring responsibilities or who need additional assistance to participate in a professional development activity. Researcher Development Grant applicants may also apply to one of these grants if needed for their activity.

Who can apply?

In order to be eligible, you must meet the following criteria:

• You are an RSC member (of any level)
• You are one of the following: (1) a PhD student; (2) an academic researcher within 10 years of completion of a PhD; (3) working in industry within 10 years of leaving full time education or; (4) a technician within 10 years of leaving full time education.

  (Restrictions exclude time for career breaks, parental leave, etc.)

• Your activity must start on or after the 28th of the month following your application. For example, an application made in March for an activity starting on 27 April is not eligible.

Please ensure you read our guidance for applicants fully before you begin your application.

What can I request funding for?

You can apply for a grant of up to £500 towards any activity that develops your skills and experience as a researcher.  Examples include but are not limited to:

• Knowledge e.g. conference participation
• Skills e.g. researcher development tools or projects, such as training courses
• Networking e.g. funding towards organising a scientific meeting

We welcome applications for a broad range of activities and initiatives. The Additional Guidance document includes further information about eligible and ineligible expenses. If you would like to discuss a proposed activity before applying, please email us using the form below.

We also wish to caution applicants about the dangers of predatory conferences. For further information, please see the Additional Guidance document.

Important note about travel and in-person activities

Despite the ongoing uncertainties surrounding COVID-19, we know there can be reasons or advantages to travelling or participating in in-person activities. We also know that specific situations vary depending on many factors including where you are based, where you might travel to and other individual circumstances.

We advise grant holders who are travelling or participating in in-person activities to continue to follow relevant institutional, government or other COVID-19 guidelines and policies. We also recommend you ensure you have insurance or access to additional financial support in case your costs unexpectedly increase, for example, if you are unexpectedly required to self-isolate at your travel destination or if an event you’re hosting needs to be postponed. 

Application timelines

We process applications on a monthly basis, so the deadline for each "round" is the last day of each month. We strongly recommend that you submit your application as soon as you can, ideally at least 10 weeks before the start of your activity, particularly if you need a grant decision before booking travel. Please note that whilst we usually complete the review of applications in the calendar month following submission, this cannot always be guaranteed. We also do not normally fund applications retrospectively.

How to submit a good application

Your application should be clearly written, justified and costed. You should include information on the activity and where applicable an online link to it. In particular, you should explain why you wish to undertake the activity or training and how it will benefit your research career.

For full details, please see our guidance for applicants or contact us using the form below.

Submit your application

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