Postdoctoral Fellowships

Expressions of interest for Marie Skledowska-Curie Fellowships 

We welcome expressions of interest from excellent international researchers interested in applying to the European Commission Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship with a research project to be hosted by Newcastle University. 

The Marie Skłodowska Curie Action is a funding scheme that supports the mobility of researchers. These fellowships may last 12-24 months and involve a research project, advanced training and knowledge exchange at the host institution. They offer a competitive salary, mobility and family allowances and a budget for research and training costs. Applicants are expected to have an excellent CV and a strong publication record. There are two kinds of fellowships:

• European Postdoctoral Fellowships are open to researchers of any nationality who wish to engage in R&I projects by either coming to Europe from any country in the world or moving within Europe. The standard duration of these fellowships must be between 12 and 24 months.
• Global Postdoctoral Fellowships are open to European nationals or long-term residents who wish to engage in R&I projects with organisations outside EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries. These fellowships require an outgoing phase of minimum 12 and maximum 24 months in a non-associated Third Country, and a mandatory 12-month return phase to a host organisation based in an EU Member State or a Horizon Europe Associated Country. 

Candidates will need the support of the host institution to develop their applications. We will offer competitive candidates both academic and administrative support to strengthen their proposal. 

Deadline: 10 September 2025

Prospective applicants are encouraged to contact a potential supervisor directly, or if interested in applying they can also contact:

• Geography Post-doctoral Recruitment Coordinator: Dr Bethan Davies
• Politics Post-doctoral Recruitment Coordinator: Dr Brian Boyle
• Sociology Post-doctoral Recruitment Coordinator: Professor Alison Phipps

Details of the next round of BA postdoctoral fellowships will be publicised as soon as available.

Read more on the British Academy website

Prospective applicants are encouraged to contact members of staff working on related topics for support during the application process:

• Geography Post-doctoral Recruitment Coordinator: Dr Bethan Davies
• Politics Post-doctoral Recruitment Coordinator: Dr Brian Boyle
• Sociology Post-doctoral Recruitment Coordinator: Professor Alison Phipps

Each year the Leverhulme Trust holds a competition to award Early Career Fellowships to researchers within 4 years of PhD examination, to enable them to undertake a significant piece of publishable work. Fellowships are tenable for 3 years on a full time basis, with Leverhulme contributing 50% of each Fellow’s total salary up to a maximum of £28,000 per annum, with the host institution expected to support the remaining 50% of the salary. Leverhulme also contribute an additional £6,000 per annum of research expenses if requested.

For 2025 Leverhulme will be awarding approximately 145 fellowships. Previous success rates for the scheme are usually within the 6% to 8% range, which has been maintained through Leverhulme investing further funds into this scheme.

Please check the Leverhulme page for detailed information on eligibility and application process www.leverhulme.ac.uk/early-career-fellowships

Eligibility: Applicants must not yet have held a full-time permanent academic post in a UK university or comparable UK institution, nor may Fellows hold such a post concurrently with the Early Career Fellowship. The Trust will consider applications from candidates whose permanent post does not include any research. Applicants who have existing funding in place for a duration equivalent to or greater than the duration of the Early Career Fellowship should not apply.

Applicants must hold a doctorate by the time they take up the Fellowship. Those who are or have been registered for a doctorate may apply only if they have submitted their viva voce examination by 4pm on the closing date of 20 February 2025¹. Applicants must be within 4 years of their PhD examination– hence those who formally submitted their doctoral thesis for viva voce examination before 20 February 2021 are not eligible unless they have since had a career break (maternity leave, family commitments, illness, or other exceptional circumstances).

For full eligibility details please refer to Leverhulme Trust’s website. Applicants should make sure they are eligible to apply to this scheme prior to an application being made to the School.

Topics and fields of study: Applications will be considered in all subject areas except: studies of disease, illness and disabilities in humans and animals; research that is intended to inform clinical practice or the development of medical applications.

Following approval from both HaSS Faculty Steering Group and Executive Board, it has been agreed that each School within HaSS will be able to nominate 2 applications for the 2025 call. For the 2025 call please note we will not be accepting any reserve candidates.

1 The Trust will accept applications from candidates who submitted their doctoral thesis for examination up to five years prior to the closing date is they can make a case for their work having been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic (this would need to be explained in their application).

Submitting an application: The University holds an internal selection process for the Leverhulme competition.

In Geography, Politics and Sociology, we receive more applications than quota spaces, therefore there is a school selection panel at which applications are ranked and candidates selected. Applicants must:

• submit an Expression of Interest form
• e-mail a CV (2 sides of A4 maximum, 11pt font minimum) and a 2 page research proposal (2 sides of A4 maximum, 11pt font minimum ) e-mailed to gps.researchsupport@ncl.ac.uk

and

No later than 12pm MIDDAY Wednesday 20 November 2024.

Applications will be assessed and ranked and the three nominated candidates confirmed to Faculty along with any reserves.

To assist in selection of successful applications, The School of Geography, Politics and Sociology will be using the following ranking criteria:

60%: Quality of proposal, including timeliness of research question and use of innovative methods

30%: Strength of CV including publication record

10%: Alignment and fit of proposal with proposed school and subject area

School Selection panel to be arranged for w/c 2 December 2024

To ensure candidates are given a sufficient time to develop applications and receive support, please find below the timescale for this call

Please direct any queries to the School’s Director of Research stephen.elstub@ncl.ac.uk

The NINE DTP Postdoctoral Fellowship Scheme aims to support recent PhD graduates in consolidating their doctoral research and advancing their careers. This scheme offers a unique opportunity for early-career researchers to build on their achievements through publications, network development, and a range of development-oriented activities.

• The fellowship runs for one year (or two years if part-time)
• Applicants must have completed their PhD in a UK Research Organisation and have no more than 12 months of postdoctoral experience as of 25 March 2025.
• There will be no Expression of Interest stage. Instead, applicants will submit their full application to their proposed department by our deadline: 10 March 2025.

Read more in the ESRC Call Specification and FAQ document 

A key component of the fellowship is mentorship from a permanent member of staff. To identify a suitable mentor please consult the School of Geography, Politics and Sociology webpages: https://www.ncl.ac.uk/gps/staff/academic/ or contact the relevant pathway lead: https://www.ninedtp.ac.uk/our-pathways/

For applications submitted through the School of Geography, Politics and Sociology please contact gps.researchsupport@ncl.ac.uk as early as possible for assistance with application costings, at least two weeks ahead of the 10 March deadline.