How to apply

Eligibility

You will need to meet the following criteria:  

  • Have completed (or be due to have completed by the date of appointment) a DPhil/PhD in an area of mathematical, physical or life sciences.  
  • Have a promising research idea and enough general understanding of AI ideas and techniques to understand how these could lead to major improvements and expansions of your research, as well as potential ethical implications.  Fellows will be supported to develop their AI knowledge during the fellowship.  
  • Have the support of an Oxford faculty member (a "PI") within an MPLS department willing to host you in their lab for the duration of fellowship.    
  • Ideally, you will also have identified an AI/ML academic mentor who will be a faculty member in an eligible Oxford Department with appropriate research expertise in the application of AI/ML techniques in your area of STEM research. This mentor should be a faculty member/ senior researcher (e.g. a senior postdoctoral researcher/ independent fellow).
Start date

It is our intention that the Postdoctoral Research Fellowships will start from 26 April 2026, and though there is some flexibility with the start date, we expect fellows to be in Oxford and to engage with the training programme in June 2026.

Eligible costs
  • Salary of the Fellow. Fellows are expected to be appointed on the University of Oxford Grade 7 salary scale. For more information please visit University of Oxford Salary Scales. If you are planning to apply for a salary regrade, please include this in the salary request.
  • Consumables and small items of equipment (less than £10k to cover the whole Fellowship period)  
  • Computing equipment (including up to £2k for a laptop and peripherals)  
  • Travel (up to £2k per year)
  • Visa and NHS Surcharge

Please note, Schmidt Fellows have priority access to the Advanced Research Computing service, which provides access to High Performance Computing resources. 

The fellowship pays 100% direct costs plus 10% overhead to the host department.

What to include in your application

As part of the application, you must share a completed application form which amongst other requirements includes the following sections:

  • Research proposal setting out the research project you wish to pursue, including how your existing or proposed ideas and techniques might find application within one or more areas of the mathematical, physical or life sciences, and why this use of AI/ML will result in novel insights and impact.  The proposal should also include a statement explaining why your existing research and future career plan makes you a good fit for the Schmidt programme (2,000 words, included on the form).  
  • Training plan providing an overview of any AI-related skills you will need to acquire or further develop in order for you to succeed in your planned research. A deep expertise of AI techniques is not required; however, you will need a basic understanding. A tailored AI and software development training programme will be developed to support you, and is a key element of the scheme (400 words, included on the form) .
  • Letter of support from an Oxford faculty member based in an MPLS department, detailing the importance of the research and including confirmation from the Department that they are willing to host you if successful.
  • A (brief) statement of support from the AI/ML mentor. Please note that the role of the AI/ML mentor is as a guide/ collaborator.
  • CV including your academic publications (which will be assessed in line with the DORA agreement, to which the University is a signatory), (max. 3 pages in total, Arial 11pt font, 2cm margins). 
AI mentor expectations

AI mentors should be subject-matter experts in the AI techniques being used in the proposed projects. It is recognised that the AI mentor-mentee relationship may substantially vary across different projects. However, it is expected that AI mentors should be able to meet with their mentees on roughly a monthly basis throughout the duration of the Fellowship. The Fellows receive training and signposting towards training from the Schmidt management team; it is not the responsibility of the AI mentors to provide tuition, although providing suggestions on Fellows’ AI training plans is welcome.

Assessment criteria

The review panel will use the following criteria in their assessment of applications:

  • Fit to call: the primary criterion will be that the underpinning applied science is internationally leading, with the application of AI/ML techniques appropriate and likely to lead to a step-change in the application domain.
  • Appropriate level of understanding of how AI techniques might be applied in order to progress the research area.
  • Clear demonstration of how the training component of the scheme will benefit the applicant, their research, and their career.
  • Quality of the applicant: strong research track record appropriate to the career stage of the applicant.
  • Evidence of how the applicant will benefit from being part of a cohort and the ability to demonstrate what makes them a good fit for the programme
Departmental procedures

Biology

Biology will be running an internal sift to select those who will be invited to apply. Please contact fellows@biology.ox.ac.uk by 5th September 2025 to notify us of your intention to apply and to receive further information on the biology internal process. The deadline to apply to the department sift is 19th September 2025.

Chemistry

Chemistry will be running an internal sift to select those who will be invited to apply. Please send your CV, research proposal (2000 Words Max.) and a statement of support from your AI/ML collaborator/mentor to Katie Winter for review by the Chemistry Management Board. The deadline to apply to the department sift is the 17th of September 2025.

Computer Science

Computer Science will be running an internal sift for this call. Prospective applicants must email pre-award@cs.ox.ac.uk by midday on 14 August to notify the department of their intent to submit. No further documents are required at that stage. Applicants will then be asked to submit a full Expression of Interest by midday on 3 September, including the name of a Computer Science faculty member who has agreed to act as sponsor. EOIs will then be assessed by an internal panel. Please email the team on the above email address with any questions.

Earth Sciences

Earth Sciences may run an internal sift depending on the amount of interest in this call. The Departmental deadline to submit an Expression of Interest is 29th August 2025, which can be done via this EOI form for those external to Earth Sciences.  Please email zoe.turner@earth.ox.ac.uk with any questions.

Engineering Science

Engineering Science will be running an internal sift to select those who will be invited to apply. The first step is to submit an expression of interest.

Applicants already at the University: Please submit your expression of interest via this EOI Form no later than Wednesday 27th August. You will need to be signed on with your SSO to submit a response.

External Applicants: Please email research@eng.ox.ac.uk no later than Wednesday 27th August.

We encourage applicants to submit their expression of interest as soon as possible. So that we can confirm your eligibility and contact you with the next steps to apply for the departmental shortlisting process

Materials

TBC

Maths

Maths may run an internal sift depending on the amount of interest in this call. Our internal deadline for draft applications is 22nd September 2025. Please email amity.clare@maths.ox.ac.uk to notify us of your intention to apply and to receive further information on the application process.

Physics

Physics will run an internal sift for this call. The Departmental deadline to submit an Expression of Interest is 12 August 2025. Please see our webpage for more details of the EOI process and requirements https://www.physics.ox.ac.uk/research/research-funding-support/fellowship-applications/postdoctoral-level-fellowships/schmidt-ai  

Please email fellowships@physics.ox.ac.uk with any questions.

Statistics

Statistics may run an internal sift depending on the amount of interest in this call. The Departmental deadline to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) is 5th September 2025. Please email grants@stats.ox.ac.uk with the name of your AI mentor and project mentor for EOI and for any enquiries.

How to submit an application

Please ensure you consult with the departmental Research Facilitators before starting your application on IRAMS. Please note that some departments may have set an earlier internal deadline, so please check with your local research support team and prepare your application well in advance of the date advertised above.  Applications must be reviewed online by departmental approvers and, where approved, submitted for review before the deadline.  Further information on departmental procedures is included in the tab above.

Applications are made through the University’s Internal Research Award Management System: https://irams.ox.ac.uk/.  Once you are logged in, please choose the correct scheme from the list to start your application. If required, IRAMS guidance in the form of quick reference guide (QRG) documents for applicants, departmental approvers and administrators can be found on Research Support pages.

For applicants external to the University of Oxford, the individual department’s research support team will assist with uploading your application to IRAMS. The information you will need to complete is in the application form linked on this page.

Applications open on 1st August 2025.    

All applications must be received by 12:00 noon on 17 October 2025. 

Your application will be reviewed by a multidisciplinary panel of academic researchers, and decisions will be based solely on how you demonstrate that you meet the selection criteria stated above.  Short listed candidates will be interviewed as part of this process. Please note that there may not be experts in your scientific area or the specific AI techniques you plan to use on the panel, so please ensure that your methods and the science behind them are clearly explained.

 

The interviews will be held in December 2025 - dates will be published here in due course.  Please note that the panel decisions are final.

Further information

Further information on the fellowship application process is available from the Programme Manager Tanya Gujral  tanya.gujral@dtc.ox.ac.uk  

You can also watch a recording of our open day.

To discuss research programmes, please contact the relevant academic or research group in one of the MPLS departments.  

Equality and diversity

The panel wishes to recruit a diverse cohort of fellows with a wide range of backgrounds, and the division is committed to supporting an inclusive and supportive culture. You can view University policies, including those on equality, diversity, and inclusion and similar policies from Reuben College.  

The University of Oxford is committed to fostering an inclusive research culture which promotes equality, values diversity and maintains a working, learning and social environment in which the rights and dignity of all its staff and students are respected.