School of Social and Political Science

ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowship – Scottish Graduate School of Social Science

Content

The Scottish Graduate School of Social Science (SGSSS) ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowship 2024 round is still to be announced and dates will be posted here in due course.  NB. There is a School review process preceding the SGSSS deadlines. Further details are given below on the previous round, which you can use as a rough guide to the time periods involved.

This ESRC scheme is linked to their Doctoral Training Partnerships. The scheme is aimed at those in the initial postdoctoral stage of their career, to provide the opportunity to consolidate their PhD through developing publications, their networks, and their research and professional skills. Proposals are welcomed from both single and combinations of disciplines but fellowship activities must be based at least 51% within the social sciences.

For more information please visit the Scottish Graduate School of Social Science website

Eligibility

The call is open to applicants who have completed their PhD at a research organisation that is part of a Doctoral Training Partnership or Centre for Doctoral Training and who are within 12 months of completing their PhD. At the submission deadline, the applicant must either have been awarded a PhD or have submitted their thesis and passed their viva voce with minor corrections, with the expectation that the PhD will be awarded by the fellowship start date.

Application process

The Scottish Graduate School for Social Science has six Fellowships for allocation to their partner institutions. There is a two stage application process: Applicants for Stage 1 will be assessed by a panel within the University, with selected candidates going forward to Stage 2. There is also an internal SPS School process, which all potential candidates must first apply to.

SPS School process

  1. All applicants to this fellowship must have a mentor (SPS core academic staff) based within the School. The mentor should have experience and a strong interest in the applicant’s field of research but should not normally be the applicant’s PhD supervisor. The prospective applicant has the responsibility of first identifying, contacting and securing an agreed mentor for a proposed project application. We strongly encourage all applicants to contact prospective mentors before the call opens, and work closely with them in developing their application.
  2. Applicants must notify the SPS Research Office of intention to apply and provide confirmation from their agreed mentor; ideally as soon as the mentor has agreed. 
    1. The SGSSS Stage 1 Application (Expression of Interest) deadline is Monday, 18 March 2024 at 4pm
    2. The School deadline for Stage 1 Applications (EoI) is Monday, 11 March 2024 at 12noon (see below for details).
  3. Applicants must read through all eligibility and scheme guidance on the SGSSS website, and download the Stage 1 application.
  4. For the Stage 1 Application (EoI) applicants are required to submit the following to the SPS Research Office to ssps.research@ed.ac.uk by Monday, 11 March 2024 at 12noon:
    1. A completed Stage 1 Application (EoI);
    2. And a short statement (bullet points are fine) from the mentor. The applicant must let their mentor know as soon as possible that this is a requirement for the internal School deadline. Note that a completed one-page mentor statement will be required for the formal SGSSS Stage 1 Application (EoI) deadline on Monday, 18 March 2024 at 4pm.
    3. An email from the Head of Subject Area giving their endorsement for the application is also required. The applicant should check that their mentor is aware of this, as it is the mentor’s responsibility to arrange this.
  5. Feedback will be given in time for the applicant and mentor to prepare for the SGSSS Stage 1 Application (EoI) which requires registration on the SGSSS online grant management system, Gradhub.
  6. Candidates will be made aware of the Stage 1 outcome by Tuesday, 9 April 2024 with a Stage 2 application due by 16 May 2024 at 4pm. Further support will be given by the SSPS Research Office for the Stage 2 application with an anticipated internal deadline of early May for completed applications. 

Prospective applicants are welcome to email the SPS Research Office at any time during the year to register their interest in this fellowship.

For further information, please email the SSPS Research Office: ssps.research@ed.ac.uk