We are eager to welcome postdoctoral researchers to the CMS. Project-specific opportunities are advertised on our News page and on our public mailing list. In addition to this, there are several recurring postdoctoral fellowship programmes available that can support a position at the CMS. These include:
- British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowships (see also this page)
- see 2024 announcement, internal deadline 7 August 2024
- open to British citizens/EEA nationals, or people with a UK doctorate
- Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowships
- see 2024 announcement, internal deadline 12 noon on 24 October 2024
- open to people with a UK degree
- Newton International Fellowships
- in 2022 the funder deadline was 16 March 2022
- open to people working outside the UK who do not have UK citizenship
- Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships
- in 2024 the funder deadline was 10 September 2024
- open to people who have not worked in the UK more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before the call deadline
- applicants must have been awarded their doctorate before applying
- Junior Research Fellowships
- no geographic restrictions
- different colleges have different schemes with different applications, but some are covered by this joint application scheme
- Daphne Jackson Fellowship
- rolling deadline
- typically two years funding at 0.5 full-time equivalent
- for those looking to return to a research career after a break of two or more years for family, health or caring reasons
- Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship
- for outstanding early career scientists who require a flexible working pattern due to personal circumstances, such as caring responsibilities and/or health-related conditions
- 8 years funding
- typically September deadline
- Future Leaders Fellowship
- for early career researchers who are are transitioning to or establishing independence
- 4 years funding, with potential 3 years extension
- no minimum or maximum project cost
- flexible topic area
- pre-selection process at the University means that applications have to be made well in advance
- Royal Society University Research Fellowship
- to enable outstanding early career scientists to develop an independent research career
- 8 years funding
- STEM topic areas
Unless otherwise stated, these fellowships often require the applicant to be an early-career researcher, which normally means that not too many years have elapsed since the award of the doctorate.
Most fellowship calls happen on an approximately yearly basis. This means that if you've missed a given call for applications, and the next call has yet to be announced, you can expect it to happen approximately one year after the previous call.
Please check the funder guidelines for the final word on eligibility; also see the Faculty's Postdoctoral Opportunities page for more information about applying for these opportunities. Please also contact the CMS Director Peter Harrison (pmch2@cam.ac.uk) to discuss potential topics and strategies for applications.
For fellowships other than Junior Research Fellowships, the University typically has its own internal deadlines several weeks before the advertised funder deadlines. Even if no internal deadline is stated, the Research Office requires significant notice in advance of an application. Please therefore get in touch well in advance (e.g. two months) of funder deadlines to signal your intention to apply for a given fellowship.
