Early-career research fellowships in Social Sciences
The Faculty of Social Sciences are keen to support outstanding candidates in a number of externally funded research schemes.
We welcome expressions of interest from high-quality, early-career candidates whose research interests align with those of colleagues across the Faculty of Social Sciences’ academic schools and interdisciplinary research institutes and centres.
Research within the faculty is vibrant, diverse and world-leading.
We recognise the importance of supporting early-career researchers, so provide a range of help and advice with the development of proposals.
There are also many opportunities for researcher development available to those who are successful in joining us.
Our research agenda reflects the complex challenges of our age: how to create truly sustainable growth in the face of climate change; creating an inclusive society; adapting to an ever-increasingly digital society; improving well-being throughout the life course; and how to harness innovative methods for understanding our world.
As sustained support from the host institution is essential for each funding scheme, our advice, in the first instance, is to identify a potential mentor from one of the faculty’s academic schools or research institutes and centres.
Interested applicants should then submit an expression of interest using the additional guidance under ‘Submitting an Expression of Interest’.
The aim of this is to provide some further information about you and your research interests to make sure that there is a good fit between your work and that of the school/centre you would like to join.
With our reputation for research excellence and renowned early career development opportunities, the Faculty of Social Sciences at The University of Sheffield can offer you an excellent environment to establish your research career.
Applying for a fellowship
If you're planning to apply for an independent fellowship, you should submit an expression of interest by:
- Preparing a two page research proposal
- Writing a two page project outline including aims, research questions, methods and outputs
- Identifying which scheme you are interested in applying to
- Identifying a school or research institute you would like to host your fellowship
- Optionally, you may also want to identify a potential mentor in the host school or research institute
Completed documents should be emailed directly to the named contact for the school or research centre you would wish your fellowship to be hosted by.
School contacts
School of Architecture and Landscape
Dr Emma Cheatle - e.cheatle@sheffield.ac.uk
School of Economics
Professor Mich Tvede - m.tvede@sheffield.ac.uk
School of Education
Professor Jennifer Rowsell – j.rowsell@sheffield.ac.uk
School of Geography and Planning
Professor Matt Watson - M.Watson@Sheffield.ac.uk
Information School
Dr Ana Vasconcelos - a.c.vasconcelos@sheffield.ac.uk
School of Journalism, Media and Communication
Dr Dmitry Chernobrov - d.chernobrov@sheffield.ac.uk
Management School
Professor Kirsty Newsome – k.j.newsome@sheffield.ac.uk
Department of Politics and International Relations
Professor Akwugo Emejulu – a.emejulu@sheffield.ac.uk
Department of Sociological Studies
Professor Akwugo Emejulu – a.emejulu@sheffield.ac.uk
Research centre contacts
Centre for International Research on Care, Labour and Inequalities (CIRCLE)
Professor Sue Yeandle - s.yeandle@sheffield.ac.uk
iHuman
Professor Dan Goodley - D.Goodley@sheffield.ac.uk
Professor Paul Martin - Paul.Martin@sheffield.ac.uk
Urban Institute (UI)
Professor Beth Perry - b.perry@sheffield.ac.uk
Some schools within the faculty may offer additional support for incoming fellows (eg travel bursaries) and further details about this support can be found out when emailing the listed contact.
Some of the funding opportunities listed on this page follow a University selection process in order to select the strongest candidates.
With this in mind, you are encouraged to contact us as early as possible so support can be provided in developing a competitive proposal.
Funding opportunities
Researchers applying for fellowships in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Sheffield may be suitable for one or more of the following schemes.
Please note that some schemes may currently be closed for applications, but the majority of the schemes listed below run on an annual competition cycle.
The list below is not exhaustive, but highlights some of the major schemes early career researchers in the faculty often apply to.
| Scheme | Funder | Duration | Opens | Closes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Postdoctoral Fellowships | Economic and Social Research Council | 12 months | November | March |
| Postdoctoral Fellowships | British Academy | 36 months | August | October |
| Early Career Fellowships | Leverhulme Trust | 36 months | January | February |
| Independent Research Fellowships | Natural Environment Research Council | 60 months | August | November |
| University Research Fellowships | Royal Society | 96 months | July | September |
| Postdoctoral Research Fellowships | Urban Studies Foundation | 36 months | July | October |
| Marie Curie Individual Fellowships (European and Global) | European Commission: Horizon Europe | 24-36 months | July | September |
| Wellcome Early-Career Awards | Wellcome Trust | 60 months | Feb, Jun, Oct (3 rounds per year) | |
| Future Leader Fellowships* | UKRI | 60 months | February 2024 |
* Future Leaders Fellowships - Due to the limited number of applications that can be submitted by the University, potential applicants should contact their prospective host school as soon as possible.
Current opportunities
Applications from outstanding post-doctoral researchers are now being accepted for the 2025 round of the Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship scheme.
Further details and how to apply are available on the Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowships webpage.