British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship applications open for UK/EEA nationals and UK graduates

The Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH) at the University of Cambridge welcomes applications for the British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship scheme.

The British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship is a three-year fellowship for outstanding early career researchers in the humanities and social sciences. The scheme aims to help develop the award holder’s curriculum vitae and boost their prospects of obtaining a permanent university post. The primary emphasis is on the completion of a significant piece of publishable research, and the integration of the award-holder into the community of established scholars within their field.

Eligibility

• Applicants must be either a UK/EEA national or have completed a doctorate at a UK university. Alternatively, applicants may be accepted if they can demonstrate a ‘strong prior association’ with the UK academic community. If you are unsure about your eligibility, please check the scheme notes carefully.
• Applicants must be within three years of the award of a doctorate (i.e. with a viva between 1 April 2022 and 1 April 2025). Exemptions from this criterion may be granted for extenuating circumstances.
• Those with a permanent academic post are ineligible to apply.
• Applicants may apply only once in the three years they are eligible. Previously unsuccessful applicants will be able to submit another application only if specifically invited to do so by the British Academy.

Submitting an application via CRASSH

You may apply for a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship via CRASSH if your project is strongly interdisciplinary in approach, to the extent that it would not fit easily into another department, faculty, or centre in Cambridge. In your application, you will be expected to justify why Cambridge and CRASSH are the best fit for your proposal.

You should be aware that we typically receive a large number of applications at CRASSH; due to the limited amount of workspace available, we can only forward a small selection of these to the British Academy. If there is another department/faculty/centre at Cambridge that would provide a suitable home, it may be in your interests to apply to be hosted there. If you are successful in your application with another department/faculty/centre at Cambridge, you will always be welcome to take part in the full range of activities we run at CRASSH.

Applications

Applications should be sent to the Fellowships Administrator  by 12:00 noon BST on Monday 19 August 2024, in time for applications to be assessed and selected to go forward. Applications should consist of the following:

• A two-page CV, including the dates on which you had your PhD viva and on which you were awarded the PhD.
• A list of publications (not exceeding one side).
• A completed internal selection form.
• Please note that the form requires you to give the name of a proposed mentor. The British Academy’s expectation is that a mentor will help integrate new fellows into their department. A mentor for a CRASSH project would usually be a member of academic staff in Cambridge who has indicated that they would be happy to act as mentor for you for a project based at CRASSH.  A Letter of Support from the Head of Department is not required at this stage. If your application is selected to go forward, the Director of CRASSH will prepare the necessary document to accompany your application materials.
• Please provide the names and details of two referees. One should be your PhD supervisor or another member of staff who knows you and your work well. The other should be the person who will write your reference if you are invited to submit a full application to the British Academy. The BA states: “The referee should normally be the external examiner or, if not available, someone else who is as external to the applicant as possible.”

The deadline for the full application to be submitted to the Research Office is 02 October 2024, but your application to CRASSH must reach us by 12:00 noon BST on Monday 19 August 2024.

Information Session

The School Research Facilitators will run an online information session for applicants on 25 July 2024 at 14:00. Potential applicants are encouraged to register for this event.

Please address all enquiries to fellowships@crassh.cam.ac.uk.