British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowships 2026-27
The Department of Sociology, Politics and International Relations, Queen Mary University of London, invites expressions of interest from post-doctoral researchers considering making an application for the 2026/27 British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship competition.
About the fellowships
The British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship offers outstanding early career researchers the opportunity to strengthen their experience of research and teaching in an academic environment. This scheme aims to help develop the award holder’s curriculum vitae and boost their prospects of obtaining a permanent academic 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.
Eligibility requirements
- Applicants must be supported by the UK host institution in which they wish to hold the Fellowship.
- Applicants must be within three years of their successful viva voce examination. For this round of competition, applicants are expected to have completed their viva voce between 1 April 2024 and 1 April 2027. Exemption from this criterion may be granted for reasons occurring after the date of the viva voce examination such as: maternity leave, illness, family commitments etc but must be confirmed with the BA prior to application.
- Applicants must be a British citizen or EEA national, or have completed a doctorate at a UK university. Any applicant who does not fall into one of these categories must demonstrate a strong prior association with the UK academic community, for example through a previous period of non-permanent employment (for a minimum of 12 months) at a UK university.
- Not have held a permanent academic post in an institution of higher education at any time in their career (exemption usually possible for permanent positions below 0.5FTE).
- Resubmissions of previously unsuccessful applications are not permitted unless by invitation of the British Academy
The eligibility criteria listed above are based on the 2025/26 guidance. Please check the British Academy’s guidance for 2026/27 for full details once it has been released.
Candidates should note that unsuccessful applicants cannot reapply unless the British Academy invites them to do so. Therefore, we encourage applicants to consider the best time (within the eligibility period) to apply, thinking about the development of their research experience and achievement since their PhD award.
How to apply
This scheme is extremely competitive. As a result, QMUL will only support the strongest of applicants. Candidates interested in applying for a fellowship based at the Department of Sociology, Politics and International Relations should submit an Expression of Interest to sse-research@qmul.ac.uk by Monday 3rd August 2026 including the following:
- an explanation of the reasons for your choice of the School and Queen Mary as your host institution, including the name of your proposed mentor and confirmation that they have agreed to support your application (maximum 150 words).
- an outline of your proposed programme of research (maximum 1,500 words)including consideration of method, sources, and significance
- your planned research outputs, e.g. monograph, journal article(s), book chapter(s), digital resources, events (workshops, conferences), other (please specify) (maximum 300 words)
- a list of existing publications (1 page maximum)
- a CV (2 pages maximum)
- a draft sample of writing, either published or accepted for publication (article or book chapter length).
Your application should demonstrate:
- that you are eligible according to the BA’s criteria
- the excellence of your research track record and professional track record (where relevant);
- your fit with the School and relevant links to the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
All applications will be considered in an internal selection process and candidates notified shortly after the deadline.
Successful applicants will then have approximately six weeks to finalise their outline application, ahead of the funder deadline of 30 September 2026. They will also be invited to attend an orientation session run by The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences about the final stages of application. This will take place w/c 1 September 2026.
The School will be running an information session on 20th July at 12:00 to provide an overview of the scheme and offer guidance on writing your proposal. You are advised to register via the link below.