Wellcome Discovery Awards

This scheme provides funding for established researchers and teams from any discipline who want to pursue bold and creative research ideas to deliver significant shifts in understanding related to human life, health and wellbeing. 

Scheme at a glance 

Lead applicant career stage:
Established researcher
Administering organisation location:
Strategic programme:
Discovery Research, Climate & Health, Infectious Disease, Mental Health
Frequency:
Three times a year - Upcoming deadlines in April and July 2024
Funding amount:

You should ask for the resources you need for your research programme – see the 'What we offer' section on this page. You will need to justify this in your application. The average size of a Discovery Award is £3.5 million, although we have supported awards from £700,000 to £8 million. Applications above £5 million will be subject to additional due diligence.

Funding duration:

Awards can be up to 8 years, but may be less for some disciplines, and may be longer if held on a part-time basis. The average duration of a Discovery Award is 7 years, although we have supported awards from 3 to 8 years.

Coapplicants:
Accepted

Deadline for new applications

Calculating next key date…
View all key dates

Eligibility and suitability 

What we offer 

How to apply 

Log in to our online grants system (Wellcome Funding). You can save your application and return to it any time.

Watch our webinar for established researchers and collaborative teams to hear more about our goals for Discovery Research at Wellcome.

Key dates 

You must submit your application by 17:00 (GMT/BST) on the deadline day. We don’t accept late applications.

November 2023 round

Opening soon

  1. Applications open

    16 August 2023
  2. Application deadline

    21 November 2023, 17:00 GMT
  3. Shortlisting

    February 2024
  4. Interviews

    7-9 May 2024

April 2024 round

Opening soon

  1. Applications open

    22 November 2023
  2. Application deadline

    16 April 2024, 17:00 BST
  3. Shortlisting

    June 2024
  4. Interviews

    17-19 September 2024

July 2024 round

Opening soon

  1. Applications open

    17 April 2024
  2. Application deadline

    30 July 2024, 17:00 BST
  3. Shortlisting

    October 2024
  4. Interviews

    21-23 January 2025

Contact us 

If you have a question about eligibility, what we offer or our funding remit, contact our funding information advisers:

Send us a message

Phone us on(0)20 7611 5757

We do not answer questions on the scope or competitiveness of proposals.