Research grant - MRC

Contents

What we will fund

The duration of a research grant should be determined by what the research needs. Guidance on any limits to the duration can be found in the relevant funding opportunity.

Guidance on an appropriate level of research grant funding to apply for and any limits can be found in the relevant funding opportunity. Your application must be for an amount that:

  • is appropriate to the project
  • you can justify in order to deliver the objectives of the proposed research

We will fund 80% of the full economic cost and 100% of permitted exceptions.

Find out more about full economic costing.

Guidance on the types of costs you can and cannot request funding for are in the relevant funding opportunity.

We do not provide funding for use as a bridge between grants through any of our funding opportunities.

Costs for PhD studentships cannot be requested within any MRC research grants.

MRC research grants can be used to support clinical studies and early phase trials in our remit and the scope of the funding opportunity. We do not support later phase clinical trials. MRC and the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) work in collaboration to provide a spectrum of funding opportunities for clinical trials.

Last updated: 8 September 2025

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