Routes 1, 2, and 3 are fast-track — if you meet the documentary criteria, RAEng approves your endorsement without peer review. Route 1 needs a qualifying job offer + PhD. Route 2 needs a named fellowship. Route 3 needs a qualifying research grant. Check these first — fast-track dramatically speeds up the process.
Why fast-track matters
Standard peer review (Route 4) can take 8–12 weeks and requires RAEng experts to holistically assess your full portfolio. Fast-track routes bypass this: RAEng checks your documentary evidence against a fixed criteria list and approves within a few weeks if it matches. If you qualify for any of Routes 1–3, use them.
Route 1 — Academic or research appointment
Route 1 applies if you have a qualifying job offer at an approved UK higher education or research institution where research or innovation is the primary function of the role, and a PhD is an essential requirement.
- Lecturer/Senior Lecturer/Reader/Professor at a Russell Group or approved university
- Research Fellow or Principal Investigator at an approved research institute
- Research Scientist at UKRI-funded institutes (e.g. MRC, STFC, NERC labs)
- Role where PhD is listed as essential (not just desirable) in the job spec
- Industry R&D roles at private companies (even if research-focused)
- Teaching-only academic roles without a research component
- Roles where PhD is preferred but not required
- Postdoctoral positions at non-approved institutions
Route 2 — Named fellowship
Route 2 applies if you currently hold (or have held within the past 5 years) a fellowship from RAEng's specific approved list. Not all fellowships qualify — only the named ones.
- EPSRC Established Career Fellowship
- EPSRC Early Career Fellowship
- UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship
- ERC Starting, Consolidator, Advanced, or Synergy Grant (as Principal Investigator)
- RAEng Research Fellowship
- Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 Research Fellowship
- Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship (engineering disciplines only)
The 5-year window is important — if your fellowship ended more than 5 years ago, you cannot use Route 2. You would need to apply via Route 4.
Route 3 — Endorsed-funder grant
Route 3 applies if you are a named researcher (not just a collaborator or co-investigator in a minor capacity) on a UKRI-endorsed funder grant that meets all four criteria:
- Value: £30,000 minimum
- Duration: 24 months minimum
- Your time commitment: ≥50% of your working time on the grant
- Remaining term: ≥12 months left at the time of your application
- Named Principal Investigator on a £150K EPSRC grant with 18 months remaining
- Co-Investigator if the grant is large and your 50%+ time commitment is documented
- Industry-partnership grants through UKRI where you lead the research component
- Grants below £30K even if prestigious
- Grants ending within a year of your application
- Grants where you are a named collaborator contributing <50% of your time
- Charitable or non-UKRI-endorsed funder grants (no matter how large)
Fast-track eligibility — can you spot the qualifying scenario?
Dr Chen holds an EPSRC Early Career Fellowship that ended 3 years ago. She's now a Senior Lecturer at Imperial College London.
Dr Patel is a named co-investigator on a £500K EPSRC grant but spends only 20% of his time on it.
Dr Okafor received a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship 4 years ago. It ended last year.