Opportunity for postdoctoral researchers

13 May 2025

A silhouette of a head, within which are pictured shelves of brightly-coloured books
A head full of books - free image courtesy of pxhere CC0-by-1.0 (2023)

Finishing or finished your doctorate? Keen to pursue further research in the domain of inter-religious relations?

Inviting expressions of interest

The Faculty of Divinity is inviting expressions of interest from recently completed or final stage doctoral students whom the Faculty might support in this year's round of applications for British Academy postdoctoral Fellowships (3 years), the Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship (3 years), Marie-Curie Fellowships (2 years) and British Academy International Fellowships (3 years). 

The aim of such schemes is to offer opportunities for outstanding early career researchers to strengthen their experience of research and teaching in a university environment which will develop their curriculum vitae and improve their prospects of obtaining permanent lecturing posts.

Successful applicants may be supported for a period of 3 months (in the first instance), to enable them to develop a strong fellowship application.

Applicants must submit an expression of interest using the instructions on jobs.cam.ac.uk (reference 51308) by 09 June 2025. 

Expressions must include the following information: 

  1. A 2-page CV to include institution and date of PhD (or anticipated date of submission/examination), and a list of publications and presentations; 
  2. Proposed mentor within the Faculty, and whether that mentor has been approached; 
  3. Title of the proposed postdoctoral research; 
  4. A 1000 word summary of proposed research including outputs.

Share a draft

The Cambridge Interfaith Programme encourages anyone with a research proposal in the domain of inter-religious relations to share a draft application with us by email (to cip@divinity.cam.ac.uk) to arrive no later than 4pm on Monday 2 June. We will review drafts and may provide feedback so that you can adapt your final submission. We may also introduce you to an appropriate mentor.

We will acknowledge receipt of all draft expressions of interest. The level of feedback available will depend on the overall volume of applications shared and the quality of your draft materials.

Please note: Your email to CIP is not a part of the formal application process. Your final expression of interest must be submitted according to the instructions given at jobs.cam.ac.uk and you are solely responsible for submitting by the advertised deadline of 09 June.

Eligibility

The named funding schemes have different eligibility criteria. Detailed criteria (based on the current or most recent iteration of the scheme) can be obtained through the links above.

The following summary is provided by way of quick guidance:

  • British Academy postdoctoral fellowships: The application deadline is 1 October at 17:00 GMT. Anyone of any nationality who has a doctorate from a UK university is eligible. British citizens and any nationals from the EEA are eligible, regardless of where their doctorate was obtained. Applicants are expected to have completed their viva voce between 1 April 2023 and 1 April 2026. (Those who have applied for this scheme before may not re-apply, unless they were shortlisted.)
  • Leverhulme: Thesis must have been submitted by the deadline (likely to be February 2026), and not more than four years earlier (i.e. February 2022). Applicants must not yet have held a full-time permanent academic post in a UK university or comparable UK institution, nor may Fellows hold such a post concurrently with the Early Career Fellowship. Applications from candidates whose permanent post does not include any research will be considered. Applicants must have a UK degree OR hold an academic position in the UK as of October 2025 (from four months prior to application).
  • Marie Curie: Applicants must have a PhD degree (or have successfully defended your doctoral thesis) at the time of the deadline (10 September 2025). Applicants must not have more than 8 years postdoctoral research experience. Applicants should have been resident outside the UK for at least 24 of the 36 months up to September 2025.
  • British Academy international fellowships: Applicants must currently be working outside the UK and not hold UK citizenship. Competence in oral and written English is required. Expected deadline is March 2026. Applicants must have a PhD, or be in the final stages (so as to pass their viva before October 2026). Applicants should have no more than 7 years of active full-time postdoctoral experience at the time of application (including teaching experience and/or time spent in industry).

If you find any discrepancy between the above summary and the scheme web pages, the scheme web pages are determinative.