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Fellowships for early career researchers

Birkbeck is committed to supporting postdoctoral and early career fellowships. We are also keen to consider eligible applications from suitable PhD students and early career researchers of postdoctoral standing, whether or not they have a current affiliation with Birkbeck.

AVAILABLE FELLOWSHIPS

If you need help with any aspect of applying for a postdoctoral fellowship, please contact us.

BRITISH ACADEMY POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS AT BIRKBECK

  • British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowships are designed to support outstanding early career researchers. All potential applicants for this scheme must first be selected by Birkbeck’s Research Strategy Group.
  • How to apply
    • Eligible applicants will need to complete a short proforma describing their research and why they have selected Birkbeck as their host institution.
    • All applications will be considered on the basis of research excellence: the scholarly importance of the project; your ability to carry out the research successfully; the feasibility of the proposed research programme, especially the proposed methodology and timescale; and your publication record to date.
    • Successful candidates will need to demonstrate in their CV a clear research trajectory and some standing in the field. As such, it is extremely unusual for Birkbeck to select a candidate without any relevant postdoctoral experience.
    • You must be able to demonstrate that you are eligible to apply for a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship.
    • All applicants will need to identify a mentor prior to submitting their application. You should discuss your application with your mentor. Your mentor will need to provide a supporting statement of no more than 300 words. The Research Strategy Group will not consider an application submitted without a mentor. It is your mentor's responsibility to guide you through Birkbeck's internal application processes.
    • Schools may have an internal selection stage before candidates are put forward for the College-level panel. It is the responsibility of your mentor to ensure that they find out from research leads in the school about this.
    • Before writing an application, you should check the British Academy Fellowship FAQs for applicants.
    • All applicants considered by the College panel will receive feedback from the Research Strategy Group.
    • Selected applicants will be supported by their mentor, who will work with them on their application and will guide them as they go through Birkbeck’s approval process for applicants. Please note that selection for support by the College is not the end of the process, and your mentor should guide you through the remaining local and College-level processes.
    • We anticipate that there will be a call for every academic year, opening in May/June of the academic year preceding the application.

Group Leader Research Fellowship Sponsorship Scheme

LEVERHULME EARLY CAREER FELLOWSHIPS AT BIRKBECK

  • This is the call for applications to the February 2025 deadline.
  • Leverhulme Early Career Fellowships aim 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.
  • For the 2025 round, the College will support applications in the areas of: 
    • artificial intelligence and data
    • environment and sustainability
    • health and wellbeing (please note this is health in a wider context. Leverhulme do not fund studies of disease, illness and disabilities in humans and animals, or research that is intended to inform clinical practice or the development of medical applications. See research we do not fund, and please .)
  • How to apply
    • All applicants will need to identify a mentor prior to submitting their application. Applicants should discuss their applications with the mentor. Your mentor will need to provide a supporting statement of no more than 300 words. Your application will not be considered without a mentor statement. It is your mentor's responsibility to guide you through Birkbeck's internal application processes.
    • Schools or faculties may have an internal selection stage before candidates are put forward for the College-level panel. It is the responsibility of your mentor to ensure that they find out from research leads in the faculty about this.
    • Eligible applicants will need to complete a short proforma describing their research and why they have selected Birkbeck as their host institution. This must be submitted to us at rescomp@bbk.ac.uk to allow for the selection of the best candidates.
    • All applications will be considered on the basis of research excellence: the scholarly importance of the project; your ability to carry out the research successfully; the feasibility of the proposed research programme, especially the proposed methodology and timescale; and your publication record to date.
    • Successful candidates will need to demonstrate in their CV a clear research trajectory and some standing in the field. As such, it is extremely unusual for Birkbeck to select a candidate without any relevant postdoctoral experience.
    • All applicants must be able to demonstrate that they are eligible to apply for the Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship.
    • Before writing their applications, applicants are asked to carefully check the 2025 ECF guidance.
  • Deadline
    • All applicants to the College panel must complete a proforma and submit it, along with a CV,  by noon on 29 November 2024. Please note, some faculties and schools have internal selection processes with an earlier deadline. 
    • Selected applicants will be supported by their mentor, who will work with them on their application and will guide them as they go through Birkbeck’s approval process for applicants. Please note that selection for support by the College is not the end of the process, and your mentor should guide you through the remaining funder and College-level processes.
    • We anticipate that this will continue to be a rolling call for applications opening in October for the following academic year. 
    • All applicants considered by the College panel will receive feedback from the Research Strategy Group within two weeks of the panel meeting date. 

MARIE SKLODOWSKA-CURIE INDIVIDUAL FELLOWSHIPS AT BIRKBECK

  • Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships aim to support the best, most promising individual researchers and scholars from anywhere in the world.
  • Only experienced researchers and scholars can apply. This means you will have your doctoral degree or at least four years’ full-time research experience by the time of the call deadline.
  • Birkbeck is happy to support applications for Marie Sklodowska Curie Fellowships as the named host institution.
  • Please note that all applications for research funding to be hosted by Birkbeck, including Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowships, require institutional approval prior to submission.
  • How to apply
    • In order to have enough time to identify a suitable supervisor, we recommend that you identify and approach a supervisor at least three months before the deadline.
    • The supervisor will assist you with writing your proposal and will support you through the Birkbeck’s approval process for applicants.
    • Once approved by Birkbeck, applications will need to be submitted via the Research Participant Portal.
    • You can also contact the Marie Sklodowska-Curie National Contact Point for advice.
    • The deadline for the submission of the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships is in mid-September.
    • Therefore we recommend that you approach the supervisor by mid-June.

NEWTON INTERNATIONAL FELLOWSHIP AT BIRKBECK

  • The scheme provides the opportunity for the best early stage postdoctoral researchers from all over the world to work at UK research institutions for a period of two years.
  • The scheme is jointly run by the British Academy, the Academy of Medical Sciences and the Royal Society. Currently, there is one round per year which opens in January, which is administered on behalf of all three parties by the Royal Society.
  • All applications for research funding to be hosted by Birkbeck, including Newton International Fellowships, require institutional approval prior to submission.
  • How to apply
    • We require that you approach a member of Birkbeck academic staff to support you in your application as a mentor.
    • In order to have enough time to identify a suitable mentor, we recommend that you identify and approach the mentor at least three months before the deadline.
    • The mentor will assist you with writing your proposal and will support you through the Birkbeck’s approval process for applicants.
    • Further guidance can be found on the Royal Society website and on the Newton International Fellowships website.

OTHER POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

BIRKBECK MENTORS SUPPORTING POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS

  • Birkbeck is keen to support good-quality applications from early-career researchers, both from early career researchers currently at Birkbeck and early career researchers at another institution who wish to apply via Birkbeck.
  • All applications for postdoctoral fellowships hosted at Birkbeck require that the applicant have the support of a member of Birkbeck academic staff who acts at their mentor during the application, and once the fellowship is awarded.
  • Mentor’s responsibilities:
    • Most applicants will have little or no experience of writing a research proposal, and it is anticipated that the Birkbeck mentor will provide support and feedback to the applicant to help the applicant write the best fellowship application possible
    • The mentor will need to ensure that the application is peer reviewed in accordance with their school’s normal policies
    • All applications for postdoctoral fellowships require institutional approval. As the applicants are not members of academic staff they will not be able to access RCP. The mentor will need to work with the Research Office and the applicant to ensure that the proposal is not submitted until the institutional approval process using RCP is completed.

Fellowships relevant to Earth and Planetary Science hosted within the School of Natural Sciences

  • Together the Department of Earth Sciences at UCL and Earth and Planetary Sciences (part of the School of Natural Sciences) at Birkbeck form a vibrant and diverse research community situated in the heart of London. With both departments situated only a short walk apart, we share complementary research expertise spanning the full breadth of earth and planetary sciences. We host multiple collaborative research projects, share key lab facilities and jointly supervise several PhD students within the London NERC DTP.  
  • Independent Research Fellows form a key part of our community, making valuable contributions across all aspects of our research environment and workplace. We aim to help realise the goals and aspirations of all our Research Fellows by ensuring they are fully embedding within, and supported by, our closely-knit network of colleagues. In return, our Fellows bring energy and dynamism to our departments, pursuing novel and original research questions that bring new collaborative opportunities as they widen or deepen our current research portfolio.  
  • Read more about the Research Fellowships and how to apply.