Postdoctoral Research Funding

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 Curie Postdoctoral 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.

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 about four weeks before the relevant deadline (details below). The sponsor should also submit a short statement of their support for the proposal.   

3. The Faculty will assess all the proposals thus submitted. For 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.

4. 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.

Newton International Fellowships

 http://www.britac.ac.uk/sites/default/files/Newton_International_Fellowships_Schem_Notes_2017.pdf

The Scheme aims to attract the most promising early career postdoctoral researchers from overseas in the fields of natural sciences, physical sciences, medical sciences, social sciences and the humanities. Newton International Fellowships last for two years. Funding consists of £24,000 per annum for subsistence costs, and up to £8,000 per annum research expenses.

Applicant deadline 15 March 2017

The application form is available on the Royal Society's eGAP system

https://e-gap.royalsociety.org

British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship scheme

The Classics Faculty invites expressions of interest for applications for the British Academy’s Postdoctoral Fellowships scheme for entry in 2018. It is expected that the deadline will be in in early October 2017 (http://www.britac.ac.uk/british-academy-postdoctoral-fellowships). These fellowships fund three years of research on a topic of the applicant’s choice, and applications have to be hosted by a UK higher education institution. You should check the latest eligibility details on the British Academy website.

If you would like to apply through the University of Cambridge, you need to submit a draft application to the Faculty of Classics by 18 August 2017. Before then you may wish to contact an appropriate member of the Faculty who might act as mentor (for a staff list see http://www.classics.cam.ac.uk/directory/faculty).

In line with new British Academy requirements, applications will be initially scrutinised by the Faculty but the final decision as to whether we can host your application will be made at University level. We hope to tell you this by around the middle of September.

The documentation we require falls into two parts, the first of which is for the University's evaluation process, while the second is the basis of the application to the British Academy.

(i)  a document containing your name, the title of your proposed research project, and a research project description (maximum 750 words), addressing the following:

• the research problem you are seeking to address and why it is distinctive
• the design and methodology through which your project will address this problem
• how your proposed research will significantly change the established landscape
• how you will complete your project within the three-year period of the award
• why Cambridge is the right place to carry out the project

(ii)  a draft British Academy application consisting of the following:

• an academic CV
• a summary of your doctoral or other previous research in about 500 words
• a research proposal of about 1500 words. This should be structured following the headings in the BA Scheme notes for 2017-18 which are now available on line.

 These documents should be supplied as Microsoft Word documents (not PDFs) emailed to administrator@classics.cam.ac.uk. You can also use this address for any queries you may have.

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships

The Faculty invites expressions of interest for postdoctoral Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF).

Potential applicants are invited to submit an outline proposal, of no more than two sides of A4, for initial consideration by 19 May 2017. For more information about registering an expression of interest and submitting a proposal please be in touch with the Faculty Administrator.  A list of host academics may be found here.

Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship Scheme 2018

The Classics Faculty welcomes enquiries from potential applicants for the Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship Scheme 2018 The scheme provides prestigious three-year fellowships for early career researchers within five years of submission of PhD; with matching funding provided in Cambridge by the Isaac Newton Trust. There is, therefore, a two-stage internal selection process, first by the Faculty and then the Trust.

We are keen to support high quality applications that intersect with research already being undertaken or developed in the Faculty. So, applicants should be in touch with an academic in the Faculty who works in their area of research, and could act as their sponsor, to discuss their proposed project as soon as possible (academic staff and their research interests are listed at https://www.classics.cam.ac.uk/directory/faculty). There will be a briefing session organised for applicants in the Arts and Humanities in early December.

 Draft applications should then be submitted to the Faculty’s Administrative Officer, Mr Nigel Thompson (Nigel.Thompson@admin.cam.ac.uk) by Thursday 4^th January 2018.

 This application should consist of:

• a brief c.v. (not exceeding two sides)
• a draft of the three items required for the Leverhulme application:

i. a list of your major publications (maximum one side)

ii. a statement of your current research (maximum 250 words)

iii. a detailed statement of your proposed research (maximum two sides).

• two references, one from outside Cambridge.
• a brief statement of support from your sponsor in the Faculty.

 We will review all the draft submissions we receive, and put forward our nominations for the final selection process later in the month. We will be in touch with all applicants about the status of their proposals by the end of January.

Contact the Faculty Research Officer with any queries: research.officer@classics.cam.ac.uk

 For further details on the Scheme see:

https://www.leverhulme.ac.uk/funding/grant-schemes/early-career-fellowships

https://www.newtontrust.cam.ac.uk/ECFs/LeverhulmeECF

Contacts

Faculty Research Officer: research.officer@classics.cam.ac.uk

School Research Office: http://www.ahssresearch.group.cam.ac.uk/