Post-Doctoral Fellowships and Research: Application Guidelines
The Classics Faculty welcomes enquiries from potential applicants for a range of post-doctoral programmes including: British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowships; ERC Starter Grants; Leverhulme Early Career Fellowships; Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships; and Wellcome Trust Research Fellowships. We are keen to support high quality applications that intersect with research already being undertaken or developed in the Faculty. A guide summarising the various schemes is available here.
The basic process to be followed is similar in all cases, though details and deadlines vary.
1. Applicants should be in touch with an academic in the Faculty who works in their area of research to discuss their application as soon as possible (academic staff and their research interests are listed HERE).
2. With the support of their sponsor, a draft application, or at least an outline research proposal should then be submitted to the Faculty Research Officer (research.officer@classics.cam.ac.uk) by a minimum of four weeks before the relevant deadline (details below). The sponsor should also submit a short statement of their support for the proposal.
3. Applications should be submitted to the University Research Office four weeks before the funder deadline, irrespective of support from the sponsor or the Faculty.
4. The Faculty will assess all the proposals thus submitted. For the Leverhulme ECFs there is an internal competition, and we can only support very few applications; otherwise we hope to support all quality applications which intersect with research already being undertaken or developed in the Faculty.
5. We will then let you know whether we are able to support your application in good time for the final submission deadline. We will provide feedback on both those applications we are, and are not, able to support, working with you to make applications as strong as possible before final submission.
Links to the relevant website, current, and past deadlines are listed below. Past deadlines show roughly when the next deadline for the programme is likely to be, but do check the website for details.
British Academy International Fellowships 2024 (Closed)
Previously called the Newton International Fellowships, the aim of programme is to attract and retain emerging international early career talent in the UK and build a globally connected, mobile research and innovation workforce.
Funder Deadline:
Award: Salary (funded at 80% fEC) for three years, plus up to £12,000 research expenses and up to £8,000 relocation costs (funded at 100% fEC).
More information and eligibility requirements can be found on the scheme website.
British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowships 2024-25
The Faculty of Classics invites applications for the British Academy’s Postdoctoral Fellowship scheme. The scheme funds three years of research on a topic of the applicant’s choice, hosted by a UK higher education institution. To determine if you are eligible to apply, please refer to the guidance notes on the British Academy website. Applications should be submitted by email to the Classics Research Officer by 1 August 2024. Supported cases will be submitted to the University's Research Office by 2nd September 2024. The School of Arts and Humanities is holding an online information session for applicants on 25 July at 2pm; you can register to attend here
You should contact an appropriate member of the Faculty to act as mentor and to help you develop your application (for a staff list see here).
The applications to the Faculty should include:
- CV (2 pages maximum) and list of publications NB: DORA principles should be considered when presenting research outputs.
- a summary of your doctoral or other previous research
- a detailed description of the proposed research programme
- one reference from a self-nominated referee, according to the BA guidance
Please contact the Classics Research Officer if you have any questions on this scheme.
Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Fellowships 2024
The Faculty invites expressions of interest for postdoctoral MSCA Fellowships. Potential applicants are invited to submit an outline proposal, of no more than two sides of A4, for initial consideration by 12th July 2024. A list of host academics may be found here. For more information about registering an expression of interest and submitting a proposal please be in touch with the Classics Research Officer.
Further information on the scheme is available here.
Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship Scheme 2024
The Faculty invites applications from researchers to the above fellowship scheme by 31 October 2024
Matched funding for the scheme at Cambridge is provided by the Isaac Newton Trust. There is a pre-selection competition for candidates intending to apply for the Leverhulme Trust awards, which takes place in advance of the Newton Trust's deadline (normally mid-November). The Faculty of Classics may submit up to 2 applications to the Isaac Newton Trust matching funding competition.
Applicants should identify 2 referees (at least one of which must be external to Cambridge) who would be prepared to provide a reference.
Applicants are advised to refer to the Leverhulme Trust website details about the Scheme, and to check that they meet the eligibility conditions before submitting expressions of interest to the Faculty of Classics. See https://www.leverhulme.ac.uk/early-career-fellowships
An application for the internal competition consists of:
- a completed INT Internal Competition cover sheet (this can be found on the following webpage: https://www.newtontrust.cam.ac.uk/ECFs/LeverhulmeECF/Leverhulmeapps)
- a brief c.v. (not exceeding two sides), and
- a draft of the three items required for the Leverhulme application:
- a list of your major publications (maximum one side)
- a statement of your current research (maximum 250 words) and
- a detailed statement of your proposed research (maximum two sides).
- two letters of reference (one should come from outside Cambridge). Note that the national stage of the Leverhulme competition requires a third reference as well, but this is not necessary for the internal INT competition.
Applicants should submit their documentation to the Research Officer by 31 October 2024.
Contacts
Faculty Research Officer: research.officer@classics.cam.ac.uk
School Research Office: http://www.ahssresearch.group.cam.ac.uk/