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Constitution Unit welcomes The British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship applications 2025/26
17 March 2025
The Constitution Unit is welcoming applicants to The British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship scheme for September 2026 entry, with an internal deadline of 13 May 2025.
Please note that the deadline to submitting your outline application to the British Academy will be in October 2025. The Department of Political Science’s deadline for applications is 27 May 2025, which means that you will need to contact your potential mentor at the Constitution Unit at the very latest by 13 May 2025.
The British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship offers outstanding early career researchers the opportunity to strengthen their experience of research in a university environment. This scheme aims to help develop the award holder’s curriculum vitae and boost their prospects of obtaining a permanent university post. The primary emphasis is on the completion of a significant piece of publishable research, and the integration of the award holder into the community of established scholars within their field.
The Fellowship is tenable for three years starting, at the earliest, on 1 September 2026. It is non-renewable. The British Academy currently funds 80% of salary costs, with the balance paid by UCL. Research expenses are covered at 100% within the upper limit, which is set at £6,000 over the three years.
Please note that the funder will not release the call until July 2025, but the guidelines and funding levels rarely change and so we are confident we can proceed using the guidelines from last year.
Potential mentors
Potential candidates should identify an academic who would support their application and agree to act as a mentor. The following academics from the Constitution Unit would welcome approaches in the research areas indicated below (candidates are encouraged to explore their webpages for more detailed information about their previous research):
Professor Russell is the Director of the Constitution Unit and Professor in British and Comparative Politics at UCL. She welcomes applicants wishing to conduct research in areas including parliaments and legislatures (organisation, policy impact, member behaviour, bicameralism and reform), political party organisation and constitutions and constitutional reform.
Professor Renwick is the Deputy Director of the Constitution Unit and Professor of Democratic Politics at UCL. He welcomes applicants wishing to conduct research in areas including electoral systems, electoral reform, referendums, deliberative democratic institutions, democratic reforms and innovations, and constitutions and constitutional reform.
Dr Fleming is Lecturer in British and Comparative Politics at UCL and part of the senior team at the Constitution Unit. He welcomes applicants wishing to conduct research projects relating to parliamentary politics (either comparative or UK-focused).
Researching at the Constitution Unit
Completing a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Constitution Unit will allow the applicant to also become part of a leading research centre on political and constitutional reform.
The Constitution Unit is a politically independent research centre based in the Department of Political Science at UCL, with a sharply practical focus. Founded in 1995 to conduct detailed research on constitutional reform in the UK, the Unit continues to produce rigorous, timely and independent research and has close working relationships with policymakers, including representatives of all political parties. Its work has had a significant real-world impact over the past 25 years.
Our recent major projects include Constitutional Principles and the Health of Democracy (led by Professor Russell), Democracy in the UK after Brexit (led by Professor Renwick) and The Politics of Parliamentary Procedure (led by Dr Fleming), as well as ongoing research into The Changing Role of the House of Lords (also led by Professor Russell).
Our previous projects include: Brexit, Parliament and the Constitution, the Working Group on Unification Referendums on the Island of Ireland, Mechanics of a Further Referendum on Brexit, Doing Democracy Better, the Independent Commission on Referendums, the Citizens’ Assembly on Brexit and An Elaborate Rubber Stamp? The Impact of Parliament on Legislation.
We are part of the UCL Department of Political Science. The Department's status as one of Britain's leading centres for research in political science was confirmed by the 2021 Research Excellence Framework. Other potential mentors covering a broader range of political science topics are also available in the Department.
Application process
Applying is a multi-stage process.
Stage 1: Identify a mentor at the Constitution Unit (deadline: 13 May 2025)
First, you must find a prospective mentor who is willing in principle to support your application. At the Constitution Unit, this would be Professor Russell, Professor Renwick or Dr Fleming.
Please contact your preferred mentor directly as soon as possible, at the latest by 13 May 2025, briefly indicating your project topic, broad proposed approach, details of your previous qualifications (with grades) and any relevant publications.
The eligibility criteria include:
- Applicants must be supported by the UK host institution in which they wish to hold the Fellowship.
- Applicants must be within 3 years of the award of a doctorate (in other words, with a viva between 1 April 2023 and 1 April 2026).
- Applicants may only apply once in the three years that they are eligible. Previously unsuccessful applicants will only be able to submit another application if specifically invited to do so by the British Academy.
- Applicants are encouraged to consider moving to a different institution for the Fellowship from that at which their doctorate was undertaken.
- Exemption from the above criterion may be granted for reasons occurring after the date of the viva voce examination such as maternity leave, illness or family commitments.
- Applicants 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 2026 are eligible for consideration, but will have to withdraw their application if the examination is not completed on time.
- Those with a permanent academic post are ineligible to apply.
- Applicants must be either a UK/EEA national, or have completed a doctorate at a UK university. Applicants who do not fall into one of these categories must demonstrate a 'strong prior association' with the UK academic community. This is typically gained through having been employed in a temporary capacity at a UK university for at least 12 months.
Stage 2: Apply to the Department of Political Science (deadline: 27 May 2025)
If you have the agreement of a prospective mentor to support your application, you should then apply to the Department of Political Science. To do this, send your proposal to Zeynep Bulutgil (z.bulutgil@ucl.ac.uk), copying in Monica Burgess (polsci.research@ucl.ac.uk), by 9am on 27 May 2025.
The proposal should include:
- Title.
- Abstract: summarise your proposed research for an informed general audience (150 words).
- Reason(s) for choice of host institution (150 words).
- Previous research, normally referring to your doctoral thesis (600 words).
- Proposed programme: a description of the research programme, including methodology. The scholarly importance of the project and its feasibility, especially in terms of the proposed methodology and timescale, should be emphasised (1,500 words).
- Plan of action: the viability, specificity and originality of the research programme and of its achievability within the timescale should be emphasised (800 words).
- CV, including a list of publications.
Stage 3: Submit an outline application (deadline: October 2025)
Next is the Outline Stage, which is open to everybody within the eligibility criteria. The deadline for this will be in October 2025.
Stage 4: Submit a second stage application (expected deadline: February 2026)
After that is the second stage, to which submitting an application is by invitation only. The expected deadline for this is February 2026.
Useful links
- UCL Department of Political Science call for applicants
- The British Academic Postdoctoral Fellowship Outline Stage Application Notes 2024/25
- The British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowships