Physics & Astronomy

Exploring how the universe works, from the smallest particles to distant stars and galaxies

#4 of 29 research categories by total funding · About £94 per person in the UK

Funded awards

13,729

Published funding

£6.3B

Average published award

£780K

Active funded awards

2,420

NIHR-supported projects

Amounts are published for 8,087 of 13,729 funded awards. Data as of 16 July 2026.

STFC funds the most Physics & Astronomy research — 5,806 grants (42% of the topic). The busiest year was 2017, with 1,136 grants.

Top Funders by Funded Award Count

View data table

Funder	Funded awards
STFC	5,806
EPSRC	5,511
UKRI	901
EC	765
InnovateUK	479
NERC	107
MRC	40
Wellcome	34
AHRC	31
BHF	21

Funded Awards by Year

View data table

Year	Funded awards
2006	354
2007	404
2008	410
2009	424
2010	377
2011	327
2012	445
2013	344
2014	420
2015	769
2016	879
2017	1,136
2018	936
2019	898
2020	1,043
2021	1,027
2022	968
2023	1,045
2024	1,063
2025	383

Grants


Institute for Particle Physics Phenomenology	Durham University	STFC	£15.9M	2008	Completed
Particle Physics Consolidated Grant 2015	—	STFC	£7.4M	2015	Completed
Particle Physics Consolidated Grant 2021	—	STFC	£7.2M	2022	Completed
Experimental Particle Physics Consolidated Grant 2019	University of Liverpool	STFC	£7.2M	2019	Completed
Consolidated Grant 2015	University of Liverpool	STFC	£6.8M	2015	Completed
Institute for Particle Physics Phenomenology, Oct 2018 - Sept 2020	Durham University	STFC	£3.1M	2018	Completed
Investigations in Theoretical Particle Physics	University of Cambridge	STFC	£3.0M	2008	Completed
From the Planck Scale to the Hubble Scale - Theoretical Physics At KCL	King's College London	STFC	£2.3M	2023	Active
Unveiling the Physics of High-Density Relativistic Pair Plasma Jets in the Laboratory	—	UKRI	£2.1M	2024	Active
Particle Theory at the Higgs Centre	University of Edinburgh	STFC	£2.1M	2023	Active
M-Theory, Cosmology and Quantum Field Theory	Imperial College London	STFC	£1.9M	2017	Completed
Unveiling the growth of structure in the Dark Universe	University College London	UKRI	£1.9M	2023	Active
Particle Theory at the Higgs Centre	University of Edinburgh	STFC	£1.9M	2014	Completed
M-Theory, Cosmology and Quantum Field Theory	Imperial College London	STFC	£1.9M	2020	Completed
M-Theory, Cosmology and Quantum Field Theory	Imperial College London	STFC	£1.8M	2023	Active
Theoretical Particle Physics	University of Liverpool	STFC	£1.8M	2008	Completed
New Frontiers in Particle Physics, Cosmology and Gravity	University of Southampton	STFC	£1.7M	2023	Active
Theoretical Particle Physics and Cosmology	Swansea University	STFC	£1.6M	2023	Active
New Frontiers in Particle Physics, Cosmology and Gravity	University of Southampton	STFC	£1.5M	2020	Completed
Particle Theory at the Higgs Centre	University of Edinburgh	STFC	£1.4M	2017	Completed

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Physics & Astronomy

Top Funders by Funded Award Count

Funded Awards by Year

Grants

Related topics