Postdoctoral Research / Fellowships
Fellowship programmes aim to help early-career researchers strengthen their experience of research and teaching in a university environment with a view to helping them obtain permanent lecturing posts
Mentors for applicants
Prospective applicants should contact a member of our academic staff to discuss their proposed project and the possibility of applying through the School. The member of staff will, if both parties agree, act as the applicant's mentor.
Staff research interests
Our research, including postgraduate research provision, and teaching at all levels, has a wide geographical, thematic and chronological spread. Geographically, our interests embrace Western Europe and regions in which languages originating in Western Europe are spoken, for example, Latin America, including the Caribbean, and Francophone North Africa. Thematically, they embrace the history, intellectual history, literature, visual culture, film, politics and many other aspects of the cultures associated with the languages that it teaches. And chronologically, they range from the Middle Ages to the present, with all periods well represented.
SELCS and SSEES encourage interdisciplinary and cross-departmental research. The resources for research in the Bloomsbury area, in which UCL is located, are internationally renowned.
British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowships
Internal UCL deadline: Friday 15 August 2025.
We are inviting applications from outstanding scholars for the British Academy's Postdoctoral Fellowships. The Academy's webpage British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowships provides full details of the application procedure. During their tenure, British Academy Postdoctoral Fellows are expected to complete a significant piece of publishable research.
Applicants must:
Have received their doctorate within the last three years (see the Academy's webpage for what this entails); and be a UK or EEA national or, if not a UK or EEA national, have completed a doctorate at a UK university or be able to demonstrate in some other way that they have a strong association of some kind with the UK academic community.
Applicants should:
Contact a member of academic staff to discuss their proposed project and the possibility of applying through the School. This member of staff will, if both parties agree, act as the applicant's mentor. With support from your proposed mentor, complete a project outline using this internal form:
Before submitting the form, please send it as a PDF to the Head of Department, Prof. Claire Thomson (claire.thomson@ucl.ac.uk) and the Research Director, Dr Jennifer Rushworth (j.rushworth@ucl.ac.uk), for preliminary consideration by Friday 15 August 2025.
Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowships
Internal UCL deadline: Friday 24 October 2025.
Offering 50% match-funding for the salary costs of three-year academic research position, the Leverhulme ECF scheme enables early career researchers to undertake a significant piece of publishable work. Applicants must have a track record of research, but should not have held an established academic appointment in the UK.
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 that the Fellowships should lead to a more permanent academic position. Fellowships can be held at universities or at other institutions of higher education in the UK.
Applicants must also be supported by the UK host institution at which they hope to work for the three-year period of the fellowship. This means that if you want to complete a Leverhulme ECF at UCL, you will need to contact us and let us know as soon as possible. We advise that you take a look at the list of our academic staff and identify the person who would be the most suitable mentor for your project. You should then contact them directly by email to outline your background and proposed research.
The scheme is highly competitive and as such UCL operates a two-stage internal process to select the strongest applicants to put forward for funding. The first stage in this process is at the departmental level.
Applicants will need to submit a completed Leverhulme application form including a research proposal and their academic CV to Prof. Claire Thomson (claire.thomson@ucl.ac.uk) and Dr Jennifer Rushworth (j.rushworth@ucl.ac.uk) by 5pm, Friday 24 October 2025.
Selected applicants at departmental level will then be put forward to second stage at faculty level for a further shortlisting process in mid-late November. Please find the application form at the bottom of this page.
You should ensure that we have the right contact details for you and that you check your email regularly in the days after submitting your application to us, in the event that you are shortlisted.
Attached is the form in either word or pdf format, for completion in the first instance. For more information click here.