Scheme Overview

The purpose of the scheme is to:

• Support EPSRC funded PhD students to progress and exploit the outcomes of their doctoral work
• Support EPSRC funded PhD students to independently establish themselves as researchers

The funding is available for a 6 month period from 01 October 2025 to the 31 March 2026. The funding will include a maximum of 6 months fixed term academic salary based on Grade 7, spine point 30, £38,784* and a research project budget of upto £3,500. * providing your PhD has been awarded. See below for more details

Candidates will be required to propose a novel research project in an area that fits within the EPSRC’s funding remit and the UK government’s mission to kickstart economic growth. Applications which also align to the UK's modern Industrial Strategy will be prioritised.

The research project should be based on developing the research coming out of the PhD and also provides the opportunity to complete key publications resulting from the PhD or facilitate knowledge transfer. Candidates who have not carried out their PhD studies at the University of Bath are eligible apply.

Applicants should identify an appropriate academic member of staff, referred to as a ‘Project Sponsor.’ They must be a University of Bath employee, and you should approach them in advance of applying to discuss your planned research proposal. Your Project Sponsor must be willing to support your project and, where appropriate, host the project in their research facilities.

The application deadline is 07 September 2025

Eligibility

To be eligible for an EPSRC DLA Postdoctoral Pathway Fellowship you must have received EPSRC funding during your PhD studies or been funded by a UKRI AI CDT. EPSRC funding includes those recruited via the Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP), Industrial CASE awards (ICASE) and Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs). EPSRC funded candidates that are currently not based at the University of Bath are also welcome to apply.

You must already have the right to work in the UK.

To apply you must have either:

• Completed your PhD no earlier than 01 October 2024

or

• Have submitted or be due to submit your PhD before the 30 September 2025

To commence your position at grade 7, you must have completed your viva and been awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (i.e. received your final PhD qualification). If you wish to start prior to receiving notification of your final PhD outcome (e.g. Viva completed and minor corrections required) you will be required to start on a lower entry position and will be moved to the Grade 7 salary once you have been awarded your PhD.

Project Sponsor

For academics who are agreeing to sponsor a postdoctoral pathway candidate they must:

• Be a member of Academic Research and Educations Staff
• Have expertise in the proposed project area
• Have experience of doctoral supervision of equivalent mentorship
• Have approval from the Head of Department or Head of Division to support the candidate, that space and access to equipment (as required) is available and provide any additional resources not covered by the award.

The project sponsor must provide a letter of support, no more than one side of A4 which states how the project aligns with the strategic prioities of the individual, department and university along with the support provided by the department to the candidate (More details below). This letter must be sent to the candidate and included in their submitted application.

Assessment Process

Applications will be checked for eligibility by the Doctoral College

Applications will be assessed by a panel of university staff against the assessment criteria.

Applications will be assessed against the following criteria:

• Compliance with the eligibility requirement to be in the EPSRC remit
• Strength of alignment of proposal to the UK government’s mission to kickstart economic growth and Alignment to the Industrial Strategy
• Additional benefit to the applicant and university of the additional research activity
• Clear research vision with a well thought out methodology
• Applicant’s capability to deliver the activity in a timely manner
• Ethical and responsible research and innovation considerations of the project
• Departmental support of the project

Application Process

Application Deadline: 07 September 2025

If you have access to a current University of Bath account, please apply by completing this form

If you do not have access to a current University of Bath account, please apply by completing this form

As part of the form you will be required to upload the following documentation:

• A brief academic CV
• Reference Letter from a referee. The referee can be your current PhD supervisor.
• A copy of their PhD Certificate or a certified document proving they are registered on a PhD programme
• Research proposal proforma (See below)
• Letter of support from academic project sponsor (See below)

All documents should be uploaded as a PDF and include your name in the title.

Research Proposal

In your research proposal you should include the following sections. We have provided guidance on what to include for each section

Research vision and approach: (max 1,500 words)

For the Vision, explain how your proposed work:

• is high quality, and has importance within or beyond the field(s) or area(s)
• allows you to build on your PhD research and maximise the impact from your PhD research
• Aligns with UK government’s mission to kickstart economic growth, the Industrial Strategy, and the University research strategy
• benefits the University and it’s research culture

For the Approach, explain how you have designed your work so that it:

• is effective and appropriate to achieve your objectives
• is feasible within the period of the award, and comprehensively identifies any risks to delivery and how you will manage them
• uses a clearly written and transparent methodology

Resources and cost justification (max 500 words)

Please state the value of research costs being requested, upto the maximum of £3,500. Please provide a breakdown of what the funds will be used for and justify all costs. Please provide particular detail for:

• significant travel for field work or collaboration (but not regular travel between collaborating organisations or to conferences)
• any consumables beyond typical requirements, or that are required in exceptional quantities
• all facilities and infrastructure costs

If any costs are being provided by other sources, please discuss how they will be covered.

Expected outputs from the proposed activity (max 500 words)

Please provide a list of expected outputs with a clear timeline for the delivery

Applicant capability to deliver (max 500 words)

Please provide evidence of how you have the relevant experience (appropriate to career stage) to make best use of the benefits presented by this funding opportunity to develop your career and the right balance of skills and aptitude to deliver the proposed work

Ethics and responsible research and innovation (RRI) (max 500 words)

Please outline the ethical or RRI implications and issues relating to the proposed work. If you do not think that the proposed work raises any ethical or RRI issues, explain why. Demonstrate that you have identified and evaluated the relevant ethical or responsible research and innovation considerations and describe how you will manage these considerations.

If you are collecting or using data, you should identify any legal and ethical considerations of collecting, releasing or storing the data (including consent, confidentiality, anonymisation, security and other ethical considerations and strategies to not preclude further re-use of data) and any formal information standards that your proposed work will comply with.

Letter of support from project sponsor

Academic Project Sponsors will need to provide a on page statement including:

• Academic sponsors name and role
• Evidence detailing how the host department will support the PDRA
• What financial or practical support, such as access to the appropriate services, facilities, infrastructure, or equipment, is being provided and how this strengthens the application
• How your research environment will contribute to the success of the work, in terms of suitability of the host department and strategic relevance to the project
• How the project aligns with the strategic prioities of the individual, department and university including any links to Centres/Beacons/Institutes

The statement needs to be signed by the Project Sponsor and the Head of Department or Head of Division or their delegate. The statement must be sent to the applicant for uploading as part of their application.