Postdoctoral and Research Fellowships
The School of Politics and International Relations welcomes independently-funded postdoctoral and research fellows who wish to work with our staff on areas of mutual research interest.
There are various external sources of funding for postdoctoral and research fellowships. Applicants apply directly to the funder, but will receive support from the School in making the application. Potential applicants should in the first instance contact the Research Manager who can provide assistance with completing the application (e.g., on costings) and will consult members of academic staff with relevant expertise in the applicant's research area.
Applications for all funding schemes must be approved by the Head of School. It is therefore expected that applicants will submit a finalised application to the School at least two weeks in advance of any advertised funding deadline.
For certain funding agencies, we may ask for expressions of interest (i.e., a partially complete application) in advance and by a specific deadline. In this case, details on how to apply will be provided below and shared via jobs.ac.uk and EURAXESS.
Applicants should make initial contact with the Research Manager at least six weeks before a funding deadline.
Current funding opportunities
The British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowships are three-year Fellowship awards made to an annual cohort of early career researchers who are within 3 years of completing their PhD. Applicants must be supported by the UK host institution in which they wish to hold the Fellowship. In addition, they must be a UK or EEA national, or have completed a doctorate at a UK university. Any applicant who does not fall into one of these categories must demonstrate a strong prior association with the UK academic community.
The Marie Skłodowska Curie Individual Fellowships is a prestigious European funding scheme that supports mobility, career development, and training within and beyond Europe, and offers 2-3 years’ highly competitive salary, a mobility allowance, family allowance and research costs. All expressions of interest must meet the eligibility criteria of the scheme. In particular, applicants must not have resided or carried out the main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the UK for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the deadline for submission of proposals, if wanting to apply for the European Fellowship pathway (MSCA-IF-EF).
The call is open to high-quality candidates from anywhere in the world who have a maximum of four years’ postdoctoral experience and the support of SPIR. Grants ranging from £100,000 to £300,000 full Economic Cost (fEC) can be awarded. You can submit proposals at any time, there are no fixed closing dates, but please keep general timelines outlined above in mind when planning your application.
You must contact the Research Manager and a mentor in the School of Politics and International Relations prior to application.
Provides support for ESRC-funded postdoctoral fellowships based at partner institutions, one of which is Queen Mary. These fellowships are aimed at those in the immediately postdoctoral stage of their career, i.e., within 12 months of their PhD award. They provide a salary for one year full time/two years part time, as well as support for additional costs.
Offering 50% match-funding for the salary costs of a three-year academic research position, the scheme enables early career researchers to undertake a significant piece of publishable work. Applicants must not have held a full-time permanent academic post in a UK university, and must be within four years of their PhD award.