Museum Collections Visiting Fellowship

A new fellowship opportunity for 2025.

The 2025 UCL RIC Museum Collections Visiting Fellowship offers an opportunity to visit UCL to conduct research on a topic centred on the collections of UCL Art Museum, Grant Museum of Zoology, Pathology Museum, Petrie Museum of Egyptian and Sudanese Archaeology and UCL Science Collections.

The UCL Research Institute for Collections was founded in 2021 to foster research synergies centred on the library, museum, gallery and departmental collections held in UCL by bringing together curatorial and academic expertise. The Institute is offering a Visiting Fellowship in Museum Collections for a scholar in any field of study to visit UCL to conduct research on a topic focused on the UCL museum collections listed above.

The successful candidate will spend up to six weeks, or the part-time equivalent, at UCL researching the collections. Projects can start from July 2025 onwards. Fellows should aim to finish their project by the end of 2025.

The aims of the Fellowship are to facilitate new research into UCL museum collections and to raise awareness of the collections amongst the research community and the general public. The Fellow will be expected to engage with the curatorial and research community at UCL, and to disseminate the research outcomes to academic and non-academic audiences.

We encourage research that will approach our collections from different perspectives and through disruptive mechanisms by finding new ways of exploring our diverse cultural holdings and/or by focusing on under-researched perspectives contained within them.

Fellows will have the option of having their work considered for publication by UCL Press.

The UCL Museum Collections Fellow will receive:

• A grant of £5,000.
• Work-space on the UCL Bloomsbury campus (desk space within each museum to be determined after appointment and will vary by museum).
• Mediated access to the collections.
• Access to staff with specialist knowledge of the collection(s) in question when available.

The Fellow will be required to provide, as a minimum:

• A research output in the form of a recorded lecture, a conference paper, a publication or a scholarly digital resource.
• A live public output in-person or online during or after the Fellowship period, such as a talk online/in person, roundtable discussion, or family event. NB display within the museums is not likely to be feasible in 2025.
• A blog post, an event recording, a podcast or another digital output that outlines the research project for the RIC website.
• Acknowledgement of the grant in any resulting publications.

UCL Museums and Collections

UCL Museums and Collections comprise over 200,000 objects which play a fundamental role in delivering UCL’s mission as London’s Global University to integrate our education, research innovation and enterprise for the long-term benefit of humanity.

Part of Library, Culture, Collections and Open Science (LCCOS) at UCL, our world-class collections are not only an integral part of the student learning experience, but support international research, research-led exhibitions, and wide-ranging inclusive and public programmes.

• UCL Art Museum holds 12,000 art works from the 15th century to the present day. Prize-winning works from the Slade School of Fine Art sit alongside the School’s historic teaching collections, international in scope and spanning 500 years.
• The Grant Museum of Zoology was established in 1828 and is home to 100,000 specimens from every continent, every ocean, and every animal group.
• The Petrie Museum is home to one of the world's largest and most important collections of Egyptian and Sudanese archaeology, telling the stories of people who lived in the Nile Valley in the past.
• UCL Pathology Museum contains 8,000 human pathology specimens used for teaching, research and public engagement in human health.
• UCL Science Collections contain objects related to UCL's research and scientific advancement and are used to critically reflect on our collective past.

For further details of our collections, please see:

• The UCL Museums and Cultural Programmes webpages
• Our online catalogue, Collections Online

Please note that only collections managed by UCL Museums and Cultural Programmes and listed on these webpages are in scope. If you are uncertain whether your project is eligible, please contact us to check before applying.

Eligibility and Selection Criteria

The Fellowship is open to applicants of any nationality or career stage; from registered doctoral candidates to senior scholars, artists, collection professionals and independent researchers. Groups and communities of interest will also be considered.

Fellows need to ensure that they are eligible to work in the UK before making arrangements. UCL will undertake Right to Work checks for successful candidates. Please use the UK government website to check what documentation you need. UCL is unable to support visa applications.

The Selection Committee will consider applications according to the following criteria:

• Suitability and availability of selected materials held in UCL Museums and collections listed above.
• The potential of the project to increase public understanding of the collections consulted, and the suitability and feasibility of any proposed public activities.
• The potential of the project to make an original contribution to research and/or to develop innovative research methods for the study of these materials.
• The feasibility of the research objectives. 

How to apply and deadlines

Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact UCL before submitting an application, to briefly discuss the level of access to the collections that their proposed research project would require. Emails should be sent to Rebekah Seymour, RIC Support Officer (rebekah.seymour@ucl.ac.uk). Collection curators will be able to confirm availability for consultation, extent and suitability of collections for the project if not apparent from catalogue descriptions, the capacity and resources required to support potential outputs, and any apposite procedures to be aware of (for example, analysis request applications).

The deadline for applications is 6 January 2025. Applicants should send the following documents to ric-forms@ucl.ac.uk.

• Completed 

  application form

  application form
• A curriculum vitae including a list of publications or other research outputs.
• Shortlisted applicants will be required to provide letters of support from two referees commenting on suitability of the proposal and the ability of the candidate to deliver against it, as well as the contribution the proposed research would make to scholarship.

You will receive an automatic receipt on submission. If you do not get this, please contact rebekah.seymour@ucl.ac.uk. Please note that, apart from references, we can only accept documentation sent with your application. Any evidence submitted after the closing date will not be reviewed by the panels.

Applications will be shortlisted in March by a panel composed of UCL curatorial staff and collections managers. The final selection panel in April will comprise senior academics, service managers and external experts. Notification of the award will be made in early May.

Feedback will be provided to shortlisted candidates. We regret that, due to volume, we cannot usually provide detailed feedback other than this.

We aim to be as flexible as possible around the dates and duration of the Fellowship, however these will need to be agreed in advance with the RIC Support Officer, as will any changes during the term of the Fellowship.