Career paths
We offer personal support at a number of stages in a researcher's career, from vacation scholarships for undergraduates to Principal Research Fellowships for outstanding, internationally recognised senior researchers.
As the diagram below shows, most grants are awarded to assist those starting out or in the early stages of their research career. At later career stages, the grants become fewer and more prestigious.
Two additional schemes help researchers to build flexibility throughout their careers: Flexible Travel Awards enable researchers to undertake collaborations and sabbaticals to enhance and develop their skills, and Career Re-entry Fellowships allow those who have taken a break from research to recommence their career.
Click on a career stage on the diagram below for more information about research career awards.
If you can't see the diagram…
The diagram contains four career stages placed on a triangle one above the other. Starting from the broad base of the triangle and moving on to the peak, the four stages represented are:
- Early career awards and studentships
- Intermediate fellowships
- Senior Research Fellowships
- Principal Research Fellowships
On either side of the triangle are two schemes that allow flexibility in a research career: Career Re-entry Fellowships and Flexible Travel Awards.
Wellcome Trust Career Tracker
The Wellcome Trust is developing Career Tracker, a study to track Trust-supported award holders’ careers over time.