2026 Academic Clinical Fellowships in medicine
Academic Clinical Fellowship
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Overview
Opportunity status: Open Type: Career development Opening date: 2 October 2025 at 1:00 pm Closing date: 31 March 2027 at 1:00 pm Reference ID: 97050
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Candidates for this opportunity apply via the online application system Oriel.
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Overview
The NIHR Academic Clinical Fellowship (ACF) is a clinical specialty training post in medicine that incorporates academic training. The NIHR has allocated funding for 278 ACFs for recruitment in 2026/27, through the Integrated Academic Training (IAT) Programme.
The post has a standard duration of 3 years (up to 4 years for GPs). As an ACF you will have access to Masters-level research training to develop academic skills and spend 25% of your time in research or educationalist training. In 2026 ACFs 142 have programmes of research aligned with NIHR IAT Priority Research Themes. The research areas for the remaining ACF posts will be based on local expertise and the applicant's individual interests.
Full details, including the eligibility criteria for the ACF, are available in the 2026 Academic Clinical Fellowship (Medical) Guidance for recruitment and appointment.
The 2026 ACFs are available from 2 October 2025, with award starting dates between 01 April 2026 and 31 March 2027.
2026 ACF round 1 timetable
2 October 2025 to 30 October 2025
Application window
10 November 2026 to 16 January 2026
Interview window
20 January 2026
Initial offers issued
27 January 2026
Hold deadline
From 3 February 2026 onwards
Return recruitment status updates to NIHR
No upgrades
2026 ACF re-advert timetable
9 February 2026 to 31 March 2027*
Application window
Return recruitment status updates to NIHR as requested until all posts are unconditionally filled
Optional - 2026 ACF re-advert timetable allowing clinical benchmarking
9 February 2026 to 6 March 2026
Application window
9 March 2026 to 3 April 2026
Interview window
*Successful 2026 NIHR ACF applicants must be in post by 31 March 2027
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Application guidance
View the allocated posts for the 2026 Academic Clinical Fellowships in medicine.
Read the recruitment and selection guidance.
Application process
Find out how to apply for this funding opportunity and what you need to do to get your application ready.
How to apply
Candidates for the CLs apply to the host partnerships, not the NIHR, and should contact the relevant IAT Leads in the first instance regarding anticipated timings for advertisement and recruitment.
Our commitment to inclusion
At NIHR we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive culture. We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and communities bringing diverse skills and experiences.
Research Support Service
Got a research idea and not sure how to turn it into a funding application? The NIHR Research Support Service (RSS) supports researchers in England to apply for funding. It can help you develop and deliver clinical and applied health, social care and public health research post award.
Contact Details
- for help with your application contact IAT@nihr.ac.uk
- for more information, visit the programme page