https://www.rsa.ox.ac.uk/research/research-opportunities/leverhulme-early-career-fellowship

Applications are invited from suitably qualified researchers in the early stages of an academic career, who wish to base a postdoctoral research project in the Ruskin School of Art at the University of Oxford. It is expected that, as in previous years, the School will be able to support two applications to the Leverhulme Trust.

The School will hold an internal competition to decide which application(s) will be put forward under the scheme, so applicants should not approach the Leverhulme Trust directly until departmental support is confirmed in writing. Being selected by the School does not ensure the award of a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship, but if you are selected to go forward to prepare an application to the Leverhulme Trust, we will work with you to ensure as strong a submission as possible.

The Trust believes that the development of an academic career is best served by gaining experience at different institutions. Applicants who have not already moved institutions in the course of their academic career (i.e. between their university of study and proposed host institution) should nominate a new host institution, or otherwise demonstrate clear evidence of the academic and/or personal reasons for remaining at the same institution, such as access to highly specialist equipment or a highly specialised research team.

It is hoped that the Fellowship would provide a platform for subsequent career development within the university sector or other research-active arts organisations. The objective is for Fellows to undertake a significant piece of publishable research during the tenure of the award, and the project put forward should therefore not be a reworking or mere extension of the candidate’s doctoral research project.

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Eligibility Criteria (see also https://www.leverhulme.ac.uk/early-career-fellowships)

All candidates must hold a doctorate by the time they take up the Fellowship.

Those who are or have been registered for a doctorate at any time may apply only if they have submitted their doctoral thesis for viva voce examination by 4pm on the closing date of 22 February 2024. Candidates must not be registered for degrees, professional or vocational qualifications at the time of commencing the Fellowship.

All candidates must have submitted their doctoral thesis for viva voce examination not more than four years prior to the application closing date. Hence those who formally submitted their doctoral thesis for viva voce examination before 22 February 2020 are not eligible unless they have since had a career break. Those wishing to make a case for a career break should present the case for interruption by a period of maternity leave, family commitments, illness, or other exceptional circumstances. Please note that time spent working outside academia does not qualify as a career break.

Due to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic the Trust will accept applications from candidates who submitted their doctoral thesis for examination up to five years prior to the closing date if they can make a case for their work having been impacted by the pandemic. Hence those who formally submitted their doctoral thesis for viva voce examination between 22 February 2019 and 22 February 2020 are eligible to apply if their work has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and they should explain their case in their application.

Applicants must either hold a degree (any degree) from a UK higher education institution at the time of taking up the Fellowship or at the time of the application deadline must hold an academic position in the UK (e.g. fixed-term lectureship, fellowship) which commenced no less than 4 months prior to the closing date. Hence, those who do not hold a UK degree and whose UK academic position commenced after October 2023 are not eligible. The Trust will consider candidates without a UK degree whose UK academic post commenced after October 2023 if they have been in continuous UK academic employment for more than 4 months prior to the deadline. The intention is to support the career development of those building an academic career within the UK.

Candidates who have been, or are currently a Principal Investigator on a three-year post-doctoral research project, or have held or currently hold a comparable three-year post-doctoral position to pursue their own research are not eligible to apply.

Further details about the scheme, including the eligibility requirements, can be found on the Leverhulme Trust’s website at https://www.leverhulme.ac.uk/early-career-fellowships.

Expressions of interest are due at midday on 11th December 2023. Please note that this deadline is now earlier than previously advertised

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The application process

Candidates are asked to indicate in their Expression of Interest their preferred mentor, but candidates should not expect input from the proposed mentor at this stage. Candidate preferences will be taken into consideration, though the School may nominate a different mentor according to availability and expertise. Candidates selected to go forward to the next stage will be put in contact with a mentor after the internal selection process has been completed. The mentor will provide support in the preparation of a bid to the Leverhulme Trust. For further information please see http://www.rsa.ox.ac.uk/people

Candidates must submit by email (subject line: ‘Leverhulme ECF 2024’) the following application materials by email to administratorrsa.ox.ac.uk no later than midday (12pm) on 11 December 2023.

1. A two-page draft statement of research (which may use similar headings to that in the Leverhulme Trust’s Application Guidance Notes);

2. A one-page CV including education, publications, any awards, thesis title and examiners;

3. A 100-word abstract summarising the research for a general audience;

4. One academic reference (ideally from the thesis supervisor). This can be sent either with your submission or directly by the referee to the email address provided above, but must be submitted to the same deadline;

5. Practising artists should provide online access to up to 12 images, or a short excerpt of time-based media, as appropriate. Please include the link to your work in your draft statement of research.

If there are any circumstances which may have impacted on your research to date that you wish to be taken into account - for example a period of maternity leave, family commitments, illness, or other exceptional circumstances - please include a separate statement, which will be received by the School’s Director of Research, Professor Daria Martin. Any such statements will be treated in confidence.

All applications will be considered by a sub-committee of the Ruskin School of Art’s Research Committee.

For any queries about the application procedure, please contact the Ruskin’s Head of Administration (Dr Richard Sykes), via administratorrsa.ox.ac.uk. Please use the subject line ‘Leverhulme ECF 2024’.

Candidates nominated by the School will be required to submit the final version of the application to the University’s Humanities Division. The Humanities Division will notify nominated candidates of the deadline, and a member of the Divisional Research Facilitation team, together with an academic mentor from the Ruskin, will provide assistance and advice during the preparation and submission of the application to the Leverhulme Trust.

The Leverhulme online application process will open on 1 January 2024 and its deadline for the 2024 competition will be 4 p.m. on 22 February 2024.