Fellowship Opportunities

Early Career Fellowships and Awards in the Arts and Humanities

The School of Language, Literature, Music and Visual Culture 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 Language, Literature, Music and Visual Culture at the University of Aberdeen, and who have checked their eligibility for the below schemes, which are advertised annually.

British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowships 2023/24

The School of Language, Literature, Music and Visual Culture (LLMVC) at the University of Aberdeen invites applications from prospective applicants to the British Academy’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Scheme. *The British Academy 2023-24 competition is expected to open for applications mid-July, with a deadline for receipt of applications expected in mid-October 2023*. Full details of the scheme are given on the British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowships webpages. Candidates must be within three years of the aware of their doctorate, and must be a UK or EEA national, or have completed their doctorate at a UK university. Applications are expected to have completed their viva voce between 1 April 2021 and 1 April 2024 (tbc). If you are interested in applying, you must first check that you meet the British Academy's eligibility criterea which can be found on their webpages.

Each year the School supports a number of applications for projects in all our subject areas and successful applicants will join a vibrant community of postdoctoral research fellows. The University of Aberdeen is fully committed to supporting the scholarship and career development of our fellows, and each will be assigned an academic mentor and will be fully integrated into the life of the School.

For more information about research in the School of Language, Literature, Music and Visual Culture at the University of Aberdeen, see: The School of Language, Literature, Music and Visual Culture | The University of Aberdeen (abdn.ac.uk). The School welcomes interdisciplinary research proposals, particularly within the University of Aberdeen’s 2040 Interdisciplinary Challenge Areas, more details on these can be found here.

Applicants who would like to be hosted by the School of Language, Literature, Music and Visual Culture at the University of Aberdeen must submit an outline proposal (Intention proforma, Abstract, and CV) to the School’s Research Development Executive, Dr.Sabine Freitag by 5 pm on Thursday 22 June 2023, using the forms available to download below:  

• LLMVC Fellowships – Intention proforma
• LLMVC Fellowships – Abstract proforma
• LLMVC Fellowships – 2-3 page CV

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 Dr Syrithe Pugh, 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.

The competition for the British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship is held in two stages. The outline stage is open for everyone within the eligibility criteria. The second stage is invitation only.  You can only apply to this competition once, unless specifically invited to re-apply, so it is important to consider if this is the optimal time for any particular individual to apply.

Deadlines

Due to the volumes of expressions of interest, the School panel cannot guarantee that feedback will be provided to unsuccessful candidates.

Leverhulme Early Career Fellowships 2024

The School of Language, Literature, Music and Visual Culture (LLMVC) at the University of Aberdeen invites applications from prospective applicants to the Leverhulme Trust’s Early Career Fellowship Scheme. The Leverhulme Trust’s 2024 competition is expected to open for applications on 1^st January 2024.

The Leverhulme Trust’s Early Career Fellowship scheme aims to provide career development opportunities for those who are at a relatively early stage of their academic careers, but who have a proven record of research. These three-year Fellowships provide an exceptional opportunity to develop as an independent researcher and will have a significant impact on future career trajectory. The objective is for Fellows to undertake a significant piece of publishable work during the tenure of the award, and the project put forward should therefore not be a reworking or mere extension of the candidate’s doctoral research project.

• We anticipate approximately 145 Fellowships will be available through the Leverhulme Trust in 2024.
• A Fellowship must commence between 1 September 2024 and 1 May 2025 (tbc); awards are tenable for 36 months.
• All candidates must have submitted their doctoral thesis for viva voce examination not more than four years prior to the application closing date.
• The Leverhulme Trust will contribute 50% of the Fellow’s total salary costs up to a maximum of £26,000 in each year of the award, with the remaining balance to be contributed by the host institution.
• Each Fellow may request up to £6,000 per annum in research expenses to further his or her research activities.

If you are interested in applying, you must first check that you meet the Leverhulme Trust's eligibility criteria. These can be found here https://www.leverhulme.ac.uk/early-career-fellowships.  

If you are eligible, and would like to apply to hold a Fellowship in the School of Language, Literature, Music and Visual Culture, please submit an outline proposal (Intention proforma, Abstract, and CV) to the school's Research Development Executive, Dr Sabine Freitag, by 5 pm on Thursday 26^th October 2023, using the forms available to download below.

• LLMVC Fellowships - Intention proforma
• LLMVC Fellowships - Abstract proforma
• LLMVC Fellowships - 2-3 page CV

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 Dr Syrithe Pugh, 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:

Due to the volumes of expression of interest, the School panel cannot guarantee that feedback will be provided to unsuccessful candidates. 

British Academy International Fellowships 2024

The School of Language, Literature, Music and Visual Culture (LLMVC) at the University of Aberdeen invites applications from prospective applicants to the British Academy International Fellowships 2024 scheme, which is expected to open for applications on 31^st January 2024. This 3-year programme 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 Postdoctoral Fellowship webpages. 

If you are eligible, and would like to apply to hold a BA International Fellowship in the School of Language, Literature, Music and Visual Culture, please submit an outline proposal (Intention proforma, Abstract, and CV) to the School’s Research Development Executive, Dr Sabine Freitag, by 5 pm on Thursday 23 November 2023, using the forms available to download below.

• LLMVC Fellowships – Intention proforma 
• LLMVC Fellowships – Abstract proforma
• LLMVC Fellowships – 2-3 page CV

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 Dr Syrithe Pugh, 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

Please note, that the AHRC will be making changes to their responsive mode funding opportunities through 2023 with the aim of providing greater flexibility and better alignment to the needs of researchers and their research ambitions. The changes will also embed the principles of the Researcher Development Concordat and UKRI Technician Commitment. Further information on the changes can be found at Changes to AHRC responsive mode funding opportunities in 2023 – UKRI.  The following table will give an overview of implementation of changes and system transition: