Funding and prizes for Women in Physics
With the following overview we want to collect prizes, fellowships, and funding opportunities for women in Physics. Browse through opportunities organized by different criteria.
Berta Karlik Fellowship
AustriaAustrian Academy of Sciences
Field: STEM fields
Target: Leading female researchers (10+ years)
Amount: €5,000/month
Beyond [her] Lab
AustriaStartup Tirol
Field: All academic fields
Target: Female researchers and students with business ideas
Amount: Two-day bootcamp
FemCareer Fellowship
AustriaUniversity of Innsbruck
Field: Various (including Physics)
Target: Female early-career postdocs or PhD graduates
Amount: 36-month postdoc position
FWF ASTRA Award
AustriaAustrian Science Fund (FWF)
Field: All academic fields
Target: Internationally visible researchers
Amount: €500,000–€1 million
grants.at database
AustriaOeAD (Austrian Agency for Education and Internationalisation)
Field: All academic fields
Target: Students, graduates, and researchers
Description: Comprehensive database of scholarships and grants in Austria
L'ORÉAL Fellowships for Women in Science
AustriaL'Oréal Austria
Field: Medicine, Natural Sciences, Mathematics
Target: Young female researchers
Amount: Up to €25,000
STE.fania Foundation
AustriaSTE.fania
Field: STEM fields
Target: Female school-leavers or students in STEM fields
Amount: €600–€1,000/month + mentorship
KIF Honorary Award
DenmarkDanish Physical Society
Field: Physics
Target: Minorities in physics (Danish citizens/residents)
Amount: Honorary award
Emmy Noether Distinction
EuropeEuropean Physical Society
Field: Physics
Target: Female research physicists, students, teachers
Amount: Distinction
Young Scientist Prize in AMO Physics
EuropeEuropean Physical Society
Field: Physics
Target: Young scientists
Amount: €1,500
Irène Joliot-Curie Prizes
FranceFrench Ministry of Research
Field: Science & Technology
Target: Female researchers
Amount: €15,000–€40,000
L'Oréal-UNESCO Prix Jeunes Talents France
FranceFondation L'Oréal + UNESCO + Académie des sciences
Field: All STEM fields (incl. Physics)
Target: PhD students & postdocs
Amount: €15,000 (PhD) / €20,000 (Postdoc)
Applications: 35 awards/year (established 2007)
Hertha Sponer Prize
GermanyGerman Physical Society
Field: Physics
Target: Female physicists
Amount: €3,000
Mildred Dresselhaus Guest Professorship
GermanyHamburg Centre for Ultrafast Imaging
Field: Physics
Target: Female researchers
Amount: €10,000–€20,000
Women in Quantum Optics Fellowship
GermanyMax-Planck Institute of Quantum Optics
Field: Quantum science
Target: Female postdocs
Amount: Fellowship
Beate Naroska Guest Professorships
GermanyCluster of Excellence Quantum Universe
Field: Physics (Quantum universe research)
Target: Female scientists
Amount: €5,000–€7,500
IAEA Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship
InternationalInternational Atomic Energy Agency
Field: Nuclear-related fields
Target: Female master's students
Amount: Up to €40,000
Inspiring Women in Science (Outreach)
InternationalNature & Estée Lauder Companies
Field: STEM fields
Target: Organizations/teams encouraging women in STEM
Amount: $50,000
Inspiring Women in Science (Scientific Achievement)
InternationalNature & Estée Lauder Companies
Field: STEM fields
Target: Women with PhD (within last 10 years)
Amount: $50,000
Laura Bassi Scholarship
InternationalLaura Bassi Foundation
Field: All academic fields
Target: Postgraduates and junior academics
Amount: $500–$2,500
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships
InternationalHorizon Europe
Field: All fields
Target: Researchers (PhD) seeking to carry out research abroad
Amount: Funding for research, training, networking
Women in Science Awards
InternationalL'Oréal-UNESCO International
Field: Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, Mathematics, Computer Science
Target: Outstanding women scientists
Amount: €100,000
ZEISS Women Award
InternationalZEISS
Field: Digital Research, Digital Entrepreneurship, Digital Social Impact
Target: Women in IT and digital industries
Amount: €5,000 per category
Early Career Scientist Prize in AMO Physics
InternationalInternational Union of Pure and Applied Physics
Field: AMO Physics
Target: Early career scientists
Amount: €1,000 and a medal
Laura Bassi prizes
ItalyItalian Physical Society
Field: Physics
Target: Female physicists (2 prizes: early career & mid-to-full career)
Amount: €2,000
Più donne nella Fisica fellowship
ItalyIstituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare
Field: Physics
Target: Female physics students (Master's programme)
Amount: €1,500
Saruhashi Prize
JapanAssociation for the Bright Future of Women Scientists
Field: Natural Sciences
Target: Japanese women researchers in natural sciences
Amount: ¥ 300,000
Applications: Every year
Fumiko Yonezawa Memorial Award
JapanPhysical Society of Japan (JPS)
Field: Physics
Target: Female members from the Japanese Physics Society
Amount: ¥200,000 total (conference fees + publication fee exemption for 3 years)
Applications: Annual
NSSA Anne Mayes Prize
North AmericaNeutron Scattering Society of America
Field: Physics
Target: Women scientists in neutron scattering
Amount: $1,500 + $2,000 travel
Engineering UPF Research Award
SpainUniversitat Pompeu Fabra
Field: Information and Communication Technologies
Target: Female researchers in ICT
Amount: €3,000
Deadline: May 7, 2026
MARVEL Master's Fellowship
SwitzerlandNCCR MARVEL - INSPIRE Potentials
Field: STEM fields
Target: Women Master's students
Amount: CHF 12,000
NCCR SPIN Master's Fellowship
SwitzerlandINSPIRE Potentials
Field: STEM fields
Target: Excellent women Master's students
Amount: Up to 9 × CHF 1,200
Prix Zonta
SwitzerlandZonta Switzerland Liechtenstein
Field: All fields
Target: Outstanding female scientists
Amount: CHF 30,000
Swiss L'Oréal - UNESCO Award
SwitzerlandL'Oréal Switzerland
Field: STEM fields
Target: Postdoctoral female researchers in Switzerland
Amount: 4 × CHF 25,000
Bell Burnell Graduate Scholarship
UKBell Burnell Graduate Scholarship Fund
Field: Physics
Target: Graduates from underrepresented groups
Amount: Up to £38,000
Daphne Jackson Fellowship
UKUK Research and Innovation
Field: All subjects
Target: Researchers returning after career break (2+ years)
Amount: Depends on institution
Emergency Grant
UKUK Funds for Women Graduates (FfWG)
Field: All subjects
Target: Graduate women facing financial crisis
Amount: Up to £2,500
Foundation Grant
UKUK Funds for Women Graduates (FfWG)
Field: All subjects
Target: Women in final year of PhD/DPhil
Amount: Up to £6,500
Jocelyn Bell Burnell Medal and Prize
UKInstitute of Physics
Field: Physics
Target: Very early-career female physicists (degree completed less than 5 years ago)
Amount: £1,000
M. Hildred Blewett Fellowship
USAAmerican Physical Society
Field: Physics
Target: Female researchers
Amount: Up to $45,000
Maria Goeppert Mayer Award
USAAmerican Physical Society
Field: Physics
Target: Young female researchers
Amount: $5,000 + travel
Scharff-Goldhaber Prize
USABrookhaven Women in Science
Field: Physics
Target: Female graduate students at Stony Brook/Brookhaven Lab
Amount: $4,000
Women in Physics Group Grants
USAAmerican Physical Society
Field: Physics
Target: Women in Physics Groups at universities
Amount: $1,000