The Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH) at the University of Cambridge welcomes applications for the British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowships. The British Academy deadline is 17.00 BST on 14 October 2021. The deadline for applications to CRASSH is 17.00 BST Friday 13 August 2021.
This scheme provides funding to cover the costs of a 36 month fellowship at a host institution. The purpose of the award is to enable the award holder to pursue an independent research project, towards the completion of a significant piece of publishable research.
Eligibility
For this round only, the British Academy have extended the eligibility period considering the difficulties faced by researchers as a result of the pandemic. If you have completed your viva voce between November 2018 and April 2022, you will be eligible to apply to this round.
British citizens and any nationals from the European Economic Area are eligible, regardless of where their doctorate was obtained. Anyone of any nationality who has a doctorate from a UK university is eligible. If an applicant does not meet the prior categories, they may be accepted if they can demonstrate ‘strong prior association’ with the UK academic community.
There is no age criterion for these awards. Instead, eligible 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.
The applicant must already be of postdoctoral status at the time when the Research Awards Committee meets. Applicants who expect to have had their viva by 1 April 2022, are eligible for consideration, but will have to withdraw their application if the examination is not completed on time.
No applicant who has been appointed to a permanent academic post in an institution of higher education at any time in their career will be eligible.
Further information about the Fellowships can be found on the British Academy website and the Scheme Guidance Notes. Please read this information carefully. If you are eligible and wish to make an application to CRASSH you must contact the Director of CRASSH, Professor Steven Connor, to discuss your planned research before applying. You should be able to justify why Cambridge, and CRASSH in particular, is the best-fit environment for the project. CRASSH seeks specifically to support projects of enquiry that bring into relation different disciplines or academic methods, in ways that could not easily be accommodated within existing departments or faculties elsewhere in Cambridge.
Applications
Applications should be sent to the Fellowships Administrator by 17.00 BST on Friday 13 August 2021, in time for applications to be assessed and selected to go forward to the Research Strategy Office for further assessment.
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, with a current or past involvement with research undertaken in CRASSH, who would be in a position to do this. The Letter of Support from the Head of Department is not required at this stage. If your application is selected to go forward to the Research Strategy Office the Director of CRASSH will prepare the necesssary document to accompany your application materials. The deadline for the Research Strategy Office is 3 September 2021 but your application to CRASSH must reach us by 17.00 BST on Friday 13 August 2021.
Please address all enquiries to fellowships@crassh.cam.ac.uk.
