# Career Development Awards

**Funder:** Wellcome
**Budget:** Usually below £250k/year excluding applicant salary
**Duration:** Usually 8 years (may be less for some disciplines; longer if part-time)
**Consortium:** No - individual applicant; co-applicants not accepted. Collaborators may be named but cannot receive salary.
**Application:** Single stage; continuous submission
**Frequency:** Continuous
**Next round:** 2026-07
**Eligible countries:** GB, IE
**Official call:** https://wellcome.org/research-funding/schemes/wellcome-career-development-awards
**Last updated:** 2 Sept 2026

> **Recently updated:** catalog cleanup 2026-07-04: duplicate row (canonical sibling kept)

## Eligibility & scope

For mid-career researchers ready to lead a substantial research programme. Administering organisation must be a not-for-profit in the UK, Republic of Ireland, or a low/middle-income country (excluding India and mainland China). Applicant must contribute ≥80% research time. Annual expenditure usually below £250k excluding salary. Any discipline within Wellcome Discovery Research scope.

## Summary

The Wellcome Career Development Award funds mid-career researchers leading substantial independent programmes with awards usually below £250,000/year (excluding applicant salary) over eight years. Eligible applicants must be based at a not-for-profit institution in the UK, Republic of Ireland, or a low/middle-income country (excluding India and mainland China), dedicate at least 80% research time, and propose Discovery Research with potential to improve human health. Wellcome runs this call three times a year, with the next deadline in July 2026.

## Who should apply

- Mid-career researchers ready to lead independent research programmes
- Researchers based at not-for-profit institutions (universities, research institutes, healthcare organisations) in the UK, Republic of Ireland, or eligible low/middle-income countries
- Applicants able to dedicate ≥80% of time to research
- Discovery Research projects with potential to improve human health

## Key dates

- Deadline in July 2026 (call runs three times a year; check Wellcome website for other rounds)
- Eight-year project duration

## Tips for applicants

- Wellcome emphasises human health impact; frame your Discovery Research findings with a clear translational endpoint or clinical relevance.
- The 80% research-time requirement is a gating criterion, confirm your institution can protect this commitment before investing application effort.
- No co-applicants are allowed; this is a solo-led award, so your independent track record and leadership vision are central to peer review.

## Frequently asked questions

### How much does the Wellcome Career Development Award pay?

Awards are usually below £250,000 per year (excluding applicant salary) over an eight-year funding period.

### Who can apply for the Wellcome Career Development Award?

Mid-career researchers based at not-for-profit institutions in the UK, Republic of Ireland, or eligible low/middle-income countries (excluding India and mainland China), dedicating ≥80% time to research.

### Can I have co-applicants on the Wellcome Career Development Award?

No, co-applicants are not accepted, this is an award for independent researcher-led programmes.

### How often does Wellcome run the Career Development Award deadline?

The call runs three times a year; the next deadline is in July 2026.

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Source: [The Great Grantsby](https://grantsby.eu/grants/wellcome-career-development-award-2026) — EU grant monitoring for academic researchers. Always verify details on the funder's website before applying.

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