See below the current list of available Fellowships and Funding
Early Career Fellowships and Awards in the Arts and Humanities
Early Career Fellowships and Awards in the Arts and Humanities
The School of Divinity, History, Philosophy and Art History is keen to support outstanding candidates in a number of externally funded research fellowship schemes. We welcome expressions of interest from high quality early-career candidates whose research interests align with those of academics in the School of Divinity, History, Philosophy and Art History at the University of Aberdeen, and who have checked their eligibility for the below schemes, which are advertised annually. For any informal enquiries please contact the School Director of Research Prof Karin Friedrich or School’s Research Development Executive Dr Sabine Freitag.
Funder | Scheme | Internal Triage Process | Funder Opening/ Closing Date |
The British Academy | School Level - Triage now closed | Application period generally runs from the beginning of July to the beginning of October. | |
School Level – Details below | Application period generally runs from January to March. | ||
Wellcome Trust | School level | The Wellcome Trust opens applications for its Early Career Awards three times each year. Next Deadline 17 February 2026, 15:00 GMT. | |
Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) | School level | Responsive Mode – always open scheme | |
UKRI (cap of 4) | UKRI Future Leaders Fellowships Round 11 | University of Aberdeen triage – open for Expression of Interest | Application deadline July. Details to be confirmed. |
European Research Council | For further details please contact europe-rg@abdn.ac.uk> | tbc | |
For further details please contact europe-rg@abdn.ac.uk> | tbc |
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British Academy International Fellowships 2026
The School of Divinity, History, Philosophy and Art History (DHPA) at the University of Aberdeen invites applications from prospective applicants to the British Academy International Fellowships 2026 scheme, which is expected to open for applications in January 2026. This 2-year programme (duration to be confirmed) provides support for outstanding early career researchers to make a first step towards developing an independent research career through gaining experience across international borders. The award is offered at 80% FEC. Applicants may apply for research expenses of up to £12,000 and relocation costs of up to £8,000. Candidates must have a PhD or be in their final stages of their PhD, have no more than seven years of active full time postdoctoral experience at the time of applications (discounting career breaks, but including teaching experience and/or time spent in industry), be working outside the UK, not hold UK citizenship, be competent in oral and written English, and have a clearly defined and mutually-beneficial research proposal agreed with a UK host researcher. Full details of the scheme are given on the British Academy International Fellowship webpages.
If you are eligible, and would like to apply to hold a BA International Fellowship in the School of Divinity, History, Philosophy and Art History, please submit an outline proposal (Intention proforma, Abstract, and CV) to the School’s Research Development Executive, Dr Sabine Freitag, by 5 pm on Monday 12 January 2026, 5pm, using the forms available to download below.
If you would like to be considered, you are strongly advised to contact your proposed departmental mentor before submitting your proposal. If you cannot yet identify a potential mentor, advice can be sought from Prof Karin Friedrich, School Director of Research, and Dr Sabine Freitag, Research Development Executive, who can advise you as to how to proceed and best make use of the support available. You can also review academic staff profiles and research interests on the School’s webpage.
Deadlines:
12 January 2026 | Closing date for submission of outline proposals to the School. |
12 January – 26 January 2026 | A School review panel will undertake their review of applications and inform all candidates of the outcome of the decision. |
26 January 2026 | The selected candidate(s) will be invited to work on their final proposal(s) for submission to the British Academy with support from the School and colleagues from Research & Innovation. |
March 2026 (date tbc) | UoA deadline to submit application(s) for institutional approval via the University’s Research Award Management system, Worktribe. |
March 2026 (date tbc) | UoA deadline for candidate(s) to submit application(s) for institutional approval via the British Academy’s grant management system, FlexiGrant. |
March 2026 (date tbc) | British Academy deadline for applications to the International Fellowship scheme. (tbc) |
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AHRC Responsive Mode: Catalyst Award:
Awards to support researchers without prior experience of leading a significant research project to accelerate their trajectory as independent researchers, to unlock their potential and build leadership and convenor experience. You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for AHRC funding. The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be up to £300,000. AHRC will fund 80% of the FEC. Funding is for projects up to five years in duration. Further details on the scheme can be found here.
Funding: Up to £100,000 - £300,000