Our Research Fellowship aims to support veterinary academics in the early stages of their research career. The funding targets the period immediately after gaining a postgraduate research qualification and will help individuals establish themselves as independent researchers and/or prepare for a research council fellowship application. It requires active mentorship from a senior scientist and 50% guaranteed research time from the recipient’s institution.
The Fellowship offers a grant of up to £70,000 to be spent over a maximum of two years. Funding can be used to support research costs and travel, and up to 30% of the total grant can be used to fund research-specific salary or stipend costs.
Applicants must:
- Have a veterinary qualification (veterinary surgeon or registered vet nurse).
- Have completed a postgraduate research degree (PhD, MRes or MPhil).
- Be in the early stages of a research career (starting a research post within the last 10 years, excluding valid career breaks).
- Be currently in post or with an offer of a guaranteed post of at least 3 years’ duration if funding is awarded.
- Have received less than £250,000 of funding from external sources.
Please note that a research mentor should be identified before applying as they will need to complete the application form in association with the main applicant.
This grant call does not run every year. Future calls will be advertised on this page and on our social media channels. Find dates for all our grant calls on our grant calendar or sign up to receive email notifications when grant calls open.
The acceptance rate for this grant in 2023 was 33%.
How to apply
- Complete the application form below, making sure to fill in the checklist, provide the names and contact details of three reviewers with whom you have no conflicts of interest, and provide truncated CVs for each grant applicant.
- Obtain a letter of support from your head of department or practice principal.
- Obtain, or at the very least apply for, ethical approval for your project and provide supporting evidence of this.
- Complete our terms and conditions (below) by obtaining signatures from the main applicant (supervisor) and an authorised representative of the institution.
- Email all documents to petsaversadmin@bsava.com.
Please note that the use of experimental animals is not permitted in any work funded by BSAVA PetSavers, and this includes work on tissues derived from experimental animals. Visit our Guidance for Applicants page to read our full statement on experimental animals, view eligibility criteria and guidance on designing a robust research project.