ESRC postdoctoral fellowships

ESRC invites applications for postdoctoral fellowships (PDF) to be based at accredited ESRC Doctoral Training Partnerships (DTPs).

Fellowships are aimed at those in the immediately postdoctoral stage of their career, to provide the opportunity to consolidate their PhD through developing publications, their networks, and their research and professional skills.

The PDF opportunity forms part of ESRC’s strategy to support early career researchers and will be delivered through our national network of DTPs.

The opportunity is open to applicants who have completed their PhD at a UK research organisation and who have less than 12 months of active postdoctoral experience from passing their viva voce to the competition closing date. 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.

Call specification, FAQs, and the application form will be available on the DTP websites.

All applicants must submit a full proposal along with the required attachments by 16.00 UK time on 16 May 2024 to the DTP they are applying to. Please note that some DTPs may also have a mandatory Expression of Interest stage prior to the deadline for full applications. Each DTP will peer review the proposals and make funding decisions on behalf of ESRC by July 2024.

The DTPs who are eligible to receive proposals and award fellowships can be found on our website.

For queries, please contact the relevant DTP.