Early Career Fellowships in the Arts and Humanities

Introduction to Early Career Fellowship opportunities

The Faculty of Arts and Humanities  supports applications for early career fellowships in the following departments and schools:

• School of East Asian Studies
• School of English
• School of History, Philosophy & Digital Humanities
• School of Languages and Cultures
• School of Law
• Department of Music

We are now welcoming Expressions of Interest (EOIs) for the Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship scheme. Please see the Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship section below for details of how you can submit your EOI.

We welcome Fellowship candidates from the UK and overseas. The University of Sheffield provides a highly supportive environment in which to develop your career, hosting Fellows at all stages of their career.

Watch an introduction to Early Career Fellowship opportunities, including overviews of:

• British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowships
• Leverhulme Early Career Fellowships
• Wellcome Trust Early Career Award
• British Academy International Fellowship
• Marie Sklodowska Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships

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What are research fellowships and why should I apply for one?

• Whilst research grants tend to focus primarily on funding a research project, fellowships tend to focus more on the individual and provide a large amount of dedicated time to focus on individual research.
• An early career fellowship is a great route into a research career. Winning a fellowship is a way to proactively create a job for yourself without relying on the academic job market.
• Fellowships allow you to pursue your own research agenda, gain valuable experience, build your CV to put you in a strong position to apply for permanent posts. 
• Fellowships are usually 'responsive mode', which means that the applicant decides the research topic (as long as it is within the funder’s remit). Early career fellowships usually operate on an annual funding cycle, with call deadlines at the same time each year. You apply with the support of the 'host' institution, and will usually work closely with an academic mentor or supervisor, both on your application and throughout the lifetime of your project.

Learn more about working and living in Sheffield, as a city. There are also benefits of working at the University of Sheffield.

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Applying for a Fellowship

Candidates interested in applying for a Fellowship hosted by the University of Sheffield (Faculty of Arts & Humanities)  should register their interest in a specific scheme via the Google Form linked under the corresponding dropdown.

Fellowship schemes

Please get in touch with the Arts Research Hub at artsresearchhub@sheffield.ac.uk if you have any queries that are not answered in the dropdowns below. If you would like to apply to a scheme through the University of Sheffield, please fill in the relevant expression of interest form linked in the scheme description below. Ideally, you will aim to do so within 3 months of the funder deadline.

British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship

We are no longer accepting applications for the 2024/25 round of the British Academy Postdoctoral fellowship scheme. Please check this page from the start of  2025 for details of our internal processes.

To register an initial interest in applying to different round of this scheme, you can complete the Google Form here. 

Scheme details

The British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship offers outstanding early career researchers the opportunity to strengthen their experience of research and teaching in an academic environment. This scheme aims to help develop the award holder’s curriculum vitae and boost their prospects of obtaining a permanent academic 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. 

Duration: The Fellowship is three years, in a UK based university or higher education institution or independent research organisation.

Eligibility: Applicants are expected to be at an early stage of their career. This is defined as being within three years from the date of your successful Viva Voce examination. Applicants must not have held a permanent academic post in an institution of higher education at any time in their career, whether in the UK or overseas. This includes positions held before the award of a doctorate. Please visit the scheme website for further eligibility criteria.

Funding available: The Academy funds the Fellow’s salary costs, directly allocated and indirect costs for 3 years. Research expenses are eligible, with up to £6,000 available over the three years, which can be unevenly spread across the Fellowship.

British Academy International Fellowships

Our internal application process for the 2024 Fellowships is currently closed but this scheme runs on an annual basis. Information to follow for the next round of 2025 Fellowships in late 2024.

To register your interest in applying to this scheme through the University of Sheffield, please complete the Google Form here.

The BA International Fellowship scheme enables researchers to work for two years (as opposed to the former three years) at a UK institution with the aim of:

Attracting talented international early career researchers to establish and conduct their research in the UK;  Supporting early career researchers to pursue high-quality and innovative lines of research;  Providing opportunities to acquire and transfer new skills and knowledge through training and career development;  Fostering long-term relationships through networking opportunities and the International Fellowships alumni programme.

Up to £12,000 for research expenses.

Up to £8,000 for relocation expenses.

Note - Consumables may not be used to pay for: publication costs; salary costs or other costs of research staff/assistants; open access fees; and computer hardware including laptops .A maximum total of 1 month of research undertaken outside the UK is permitted over the course of the fellowship.

Duration: 2 years

Eligibility: Applicants must have a PhD or be in the final stages of their PhD, to be completed before the start date of the Fellowship. Applicants should have no more than 7 years of active full-time postdoctoral experience, and should be working outside the UK at the time of application. Finally, they should not hold UK citizenship. Please visit the scheme website for further eligibility criteria. 

 

Funding available: Award-holders will be classified as salaried employees. This will be funded at 80% of the full Economic Cost, meaning a contribution towards overheads costs. 

British Academy Visiting Fellowship

This call is currently closed but runs on an annual basis, and information will follow in early Summer 2025. 

To register your interest in applying to this scheme through the University of Sheffield, please complete the Google Form here.

The British Academy’s Visiting Fellowships programme provides outstanding academics based in any country overseas with the opportunity to be based at a UK higher education institution. The programme is open to academics at any career stage, and in any discipline within the humanities and social sciences.

Eligibility: Visiting Fellows must be of postdoctoral level or above, or have equivalent research experience at the time of application. Candidates should be based outside of the UK at the time of application. Applicants may be on permanent or fixed-term contracts. Fixed-term contracts must not end before the end date of the Visiting Fellowship. Independent scholars are also welcome to apply.

For more details about the Visiting Fellowship programme, including eligibility requirements, please see the scheme notes.

Scheme details

• enhance and build new links between scholars from around the globe and in the UK;
• foster opportunities and encourage the development of new and future partnerships for collaborative research into the humanities and social sciences;
• enable academics from across the globe to undertake research and/or professional development with UK colleagues;
• strengthen the UK’s research bases in the humanities and the social sciences.

ESRC New Investigator Grants

This scheme is currently open and operates on an ‘always open’ basis. 

To register your interest in applying to this scheme through the University of Sheffield, please complete the Google Form here.

ESRC New Investigator Awards are specifically aimed at supporting those looking to make the transition to an independent researcher through managing their first major research project. 

Duration: up to 5 years

Eligibility: You cannot apply for funding if you are not an early career researcher, you already hold a professorship, you are a current or former project lead on ESRC or other UKRI grants, except ESRC postdoctoral fellowships. Read more about the eligibility criteria here.

Funding available: fEC, £100,000 to £350,000

European Research Council Starting Investigator Grant

This call is currently closed however more information will follow for the next round in Summer 2025. 

To register your interest in applying to this scheme through the University of Sheffield, please complete the Google Form here.

ERC Starting Grants are aimed at allowing potential grantees long-term, significant research funding in order to complete an extensive, ambitious research project. It supports up-and-coming research leaders from all disciplines who have the proven potential of becoming independent research leaders. The sole evaluation criterion is the excellence of the researcher and research proposal. 

Duration: up to 5 years

Eligibility: The scheme is for researchers of any nationality with 2-7 years of experience since completion of PhD (or equivalent degree) and a research track record showing great promise. The Principal Investigator (PI) does not necessarily need to be working at the host institution at the time when the proposal is submitted. Please see scheme information for further eligibility criteria.

Funding available: Up to €1.5 million (in some circumstances up to €2 million).

Leverhulme Early Career Fellowships

We are no longer accepting applications for the 2024/25 round of the Leverhulme Early Career fellowship scheme. Please check this page from the start of  2025 for details of our internal processes.

Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowships (ECFs) 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. 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 expectation is that Fellows should undertake a significant piece of publishable work during their tenure, and the project put forward should therefore not be a reworking or mere extension of the candidate’s doctoral research project.

The Leverhulme Trust requires host institutions to fund at least 50% of the Fellow’s total salary costs (including National Insurance, superannuation and London allowance, where applicable) up to a maximum of £28,000 in each year of the award

For more information about the Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship scheme see: https://www.leverhulme.ac.uk/early-career-fellowships

To register an initial interest in applying to different round of this scheme, you can complete the Google Form. 

• Does the application reflect an individual’s personal vision, aspiration, or intellectual curiosity?
• Does the applicant take appropriate risks in setting and pursuing research objectives?
• Will it enable a refreshing departure from established patterns of working – either for the individual, or for the discipline?
• Does the project transcend disciplinary boundaries?
• Has the applicant gained experience at different institutions?

Selection criteria

The Faculty review panel will use the following criteria in line with Leverhulme's approach to grant-making (further guidance can be found at http://leverhulme.ac.uk/funding/approach.cfm):

Originality—the research achieves more than the incremental development of a single discipline Importance—the work will enable further research or enquiry Significance—the proposed research has relevance outside a single field, and is able to excite those working in other disciplines Merit—the quality of the research design and methodology, and the suitability of the researchers and institution for the realisation of the proposed research objectives

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships 

The next round is likely to open in April 2025m with a closing date of September 2025.  

To register your interest in applying to this scheme through the University of Sheffield, please complete the Google Form here.

Scheme details

The objective of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship (PF) is to support researchers’ careers and foster excellence in research. The Postdoctoral Fellowships action targets researchers holding a PhD who wish to carry out their research activities abroad, acquire new skills and develop their careers. PFs help researchers gain experience in other countries, disciplines and non-academic sectors.

The Postdoctoral Fellows can undertake research trips, such as visits to other laboratories, archives or field work, as well as undertaking secondments. There is also an option to undertake an additional placement period of up to six months at the end of the project to spend time in a non-academic organisation established in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country.

Eligibility: Applicants should have a PhD degree at the time of the deadline for applications. Applicants who have successfully defended their doctoral thesis but who have not yet formally been awarded the doctoral degree will also be considered eligible to apply. MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships are open to all academic disciplines and areas of research, from fundamental research to market take-up and innovation services. Please visit the scheme website for further eligibility criteria. 

There are routes to apply to this scheme, as follows:

European Postdoctoral Fellowships: They are open to researchers moving within Europe or coming to Europe from another part of the world to pursue their research career. These fellowships take place in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country (which the UK is under the latest Horizon agreement) and can last between 1 and 2 years. Researchers of any nationality can apply. 

Global Postdoctoral Fellowships: They fund the mobility of researchers outside Europe. The fellowship lasts between 2 to 3 years, of which the first 1 to 2 years will be spent in a non-associated Third Country, followed by a mandatory return phase of 1 year to an organisation based in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country. Only nationals or long-term residents of the EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries can apply.

Funding available: a living allowance  (gross salary costs of the researcher), a mobility allowance and associated costs, for a period of up to 3 years.

Wellcome Trust Early Career Awards

There are deadlines throughout the year for this scheme, usually in February, May and October.

To register your interest in applying to this scheme through the University of Sheffield, please complete the Google Form here.

Scheme details

The Wellcome Trust Early Career Award scheme provides funding for early-career researchers who are ready to develop their research identity. Through innovative projects, you will deliver shifts in understanding that could improve human life, health and wellbeing. By the end of the award, you will be ready to lead your own independent research programme.

Eligibility: You can apply to this scheme if you are an early-career researcher and you are ready to design, plan and deliver your own innovative research project. You will have completed a PhD (for example, in the life sciences) or an equivalent higher research degree. You may also have some postdoctoral experience in your proposed field of study, but generally no more than three years. Please visit the scheme website for further eligibility criteria. 

Funding available: Your salary and up to £400,000 for research expenses for a period of up to 5 years.