RCS England Harry Morton Travelling Fellowship
Take your surgical training further and gain international experience through our travelling fellowship. This fellowship provides funds to support UK trainee surgeons travelling to Canada for between 3 and 24 months to undertake surgery-related clinical, scientific or medical education studies or research.
Career stage
In training
Funding amount
Up to £10,000
Deadline
31 October 2026 at 2pm.
Please note all our grants and fellowships are reviewed annually, so the information on this page may be subject to change before the next round opens.
Duration
The funding may be used flexibly across a 3–24 month period.
We recommend you read the information below fully before starting an application.
Eligibility
To apply for this travelling fellowship, you must be travelling to Canada for between 3 and 24 months to undertake surgery-related clinical, scientific, or medical education studies or research, then returning to the UK. You will be responsible for ensuring your travel and research position is confirmed.
You must also:
- be a UK-based member or fellow in good standing of RCS England;
- be a core surgical trainee or higher;
- conduct your research project in a surgical institution in Canada with the appropriate facilities to support your research;
- be sponsored by the head of the department where the research will be conducted, who can offer facilities and technical assistance for research in the appropriate field;
- be able to commence your project within the academic year of the award date;
- not have received a Harry Morton travelling fellowship from RCS England before.
About our Harry Morton Travelling Fellowship
The purpose of this travelling fellowship is to advance and promote the study of and research in surgical training, and the practice of research. There are two fellowships available annually, up to the value of £10,000 each for UK trainee surgeons travelling to Canada for a period of between 3 and 24 months.
This fellowship is funded from the investment income of the H.S. Morton Travelling Fellowship Fund.
Dr. Morton obtained his medical degrees from the Royal London Hospital Medical School in England and joined the Royal Canadian Navy in 1938. Following the Second World War, he taught at McGill University and practised as chief surgeon at Queen Mary’s Veterans Hospital in Montreal. Dr. Morton died in Halifax in December 2001.
What’s expected from grant holders
Harry Morton Travelling Fellowships are awarded on the understanding that you, your host centre, and supervisor agree to the Terms and Conditions relating to the scheme and any amendments issued during the course of the award. Additional terms include:
- Your project should commence within the academic year of the award date.
- Your grant funding should only be used for the project detailed in the application form and identified on the award letter, and may not be used for personal salaries.
- If there are any proposed changes to your project, supervisor, or wider circumstances from the application you should notify us, at which point further guidance will be provided.
- You should advise us if you are awarded any additional funding to support the visit.
- You must remain in good standing order with your RCS England membership fees throughout the tenure of the award.
- You will be expected to provide a report for inclusion in our surgical research report at the end of your fellowship.
What you’ll gain from the grant
- A grant of up to £10,000 that may be used flexibly across a 3–24 month period, to support your visit to Canada, for the purpose described in your application form.
- The award may be used, among other things, towards accommodation while in Canada, small items of equipment, for consumables or for technical assistance.
How to apply
You can apply through our research funding portal. Select '2027 Travel awards' from the available grants list and complete the application form.
Before you start
The form has six sections. These cover your details, basic eligibility, organisation and proposed research project.
You will also be asked to upload to the portal:
- A letter of support from the head of the department, or consultant, under whom you are currently working.
- A letter of support from another, independent referee.
- Confirmation from the head of department at the institute you are visiting.
It is your responsibility to make sure every part of the application is complete and submitted by the deadline.
You can save your application and return to it at any time.
What happens next?
We check every application against the eligibility criteria and put them through an independent peer review process. Applications are ranked and awarded based on the combined peer review scores and comments.
We will advise applicants of the grant outcome in the spring. If successful, you will be asked to sign the grant terms and conditions. Award payments will be made directly to you.
On completion of your project, you will be expected to provide a report for inclusion in our surgical research report. We will send successful recipients an award pack with further details on the report.
How this grant is funded
This funding is possible thanks to the investment income of the H.S. Morton Travelling Fellowship Fund.
Contact
If you have any questions about applying for a Harry Morton Travelling Fellowship, please email research@rcseng.ac.uk and we’ll be happy to help.