HASS funding and awards

Leverhulme Early Career Fellowships

We are inviting expressions of interest from post-doctoral researchers considering making an application for the 2024 Leverhulme Early Career Fellowships scheme. The call opens 1 January 2024. The closing date for applications is 22 February 2024 at 4pm and further information and guidance can be found on the Leverhulme Trust's website. We will be supporting a limited number of applications for the scheme and there will be an internal sift for candidate selection.

About the Fellowships

Leverhulme Early Career Fellowships 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. The expectation is that Fellows should undertake a significant piece of publishable work during their tenure, and it is hoped that Fellowships will lead to a more permanent academic position, either within the same institution or another institution. Approximately 145 Fellowships will be available in 2024.

Eligibility requirements

• 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 must hold a doctorate by the time they take up the fellowship.
• Applications are invited from those with a doctorate who submitted their doctoral thesis for viva voce examination not more than four years prior to the application closing date. Hence those who formally submitted their doctoral thesis before 22 February 2020 are not eligible unless they have since had a career break or their work has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Those currently registered for a doctorate may apply only if they have submitted their doctoral thesis by the closing date of 4pm on 22 February 2024.
• Applicants must either hold a degree from a UK higher education institution at the time of taking up the Fellowship or at the time of the application deadline must hold an academic position in the UK (e.g. fixed-term lectureship, fellowship) which commenced no less than 4 months prior to the closing date. Hence, those who do not hold a UK degree and whose UK academic position commenced after October 2023 are not eligible. The intention is to support the career development of those building an academic career within the UK. 
• A candidate may submit only one application per year. Previously unsuccessful applicants can reapply.
• Successful applicants must be based in Exeter to take up the fellowship, it cannot be undertaken remotely.

*For full eligibility requirements please see the Leverhulme Trust’s website

Expressions of interest

If you would like to apply to hold a fellowship in the Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences you must submit the following no later than 17th November 2023.

• A covering note explaining why you wish to hold a Fellowship within the identified Department or Research Group and relevance to your proposed research. You should also name your proposed mentor, and confirm they are supportive of your proposal;
• An abstract (100 words maximum)
• A concise outline of the proposed research programme/plan of action (maximum 800 words)
• A summary of the intended outputs A CV to include publications to date plus details of any grants, awards or other activities (including any previous, relevant, non-academic employment).
• EOIs should be submitted as one document titled Leverhulme EOI_first name_last name

Please submit your Expression of Interest to the Departmental Director of Research & Impact (see below for full list), copying to HASS-Researchcluster@exeter.ac.uk:

Further information

For further information on pursuing a Leverhulme ECF application please contact: