Early careers grants and fellowships

We are now accepting Expressions of Interest for Round 9 of the Future Leaders Fellowships. The scheme is now open. This is a highly competitive scheme, and SOAS has space for only two candidates of excellent quality.  

The FLF is a highly-sought after scheme which offers successful candidates from any discipline the chance to progress into outstanding leaders in their field. The FLF scheme is uniquely designed to drive innovation and grow research leadership, and is able to fund researchers for four years, with the option to apply for a three-year extension. Unlike many other UKRI schemes, there is no upper limit to the funding that can be requested, as long as it is reasonable and justified by the project. This is a very attractive scheme and so candidates should expect that competition will be fierce. 

Please take a look at the profiles of past SOAS UKRI Fellows: 

• Dr Daniel Mulugeta 
• Dr Romina Istratii 

Deadline 

• 10 March 2024 (internal deadline for expressions of interest)
• 18 June 2024 (funder deadline) 

We cannot accept applicants who have not proceeded with the internal deadline process. 

Application process

Complete an Expression of Interest form by 10 March. This will then be reviewed by a panel. If successful, you will then be invited to complete a full application and provided with appropriate academic and professional services support, with a final deadline of 18 June.  

Who can apply?

Candidates must be Early Career Researchers looking to establish or transition to independence, i.e should not already hold a permanent academic position. 

Further details and guidance for the scheme can be found on the UKRI website. Please read the guidance carefully and ensure that you meet the scheme’s eligibility criteria before you send your EoI.  

ERC Starting Grants are awards up to €1.5 million (with an option to request a further €1 million) for early career researchers to lead a research programme for a period of up to 5-years.

The scheme is aimed at researchers who can demonstrate the ground-breaking nature, ambition, and feasibility of their research proposal.    

Deadline 

The external deadline October 2024, but we require applicants to send their final draft to their RKE Development officer, peer-reviewed, several weeks prior to the funder deadline. 

We encourage prospective applicants to view the webinars held by the UK Research in Brussels (UKRO). 

If you feel that your research programme aligns with SOAS’s mission and areas of research interest and are interested in applying for a Starting Grant at SOAS (now or in future rounds, or if you simply want to hear more about the scheme), please express your interest to apply with SOAS by 1 September 2024. 

Who can apply?

Nationality and country of residence: ERC grants are open to researchers of any nationality who may reside in any country at the time of the application. The Council is particularly keen to encourage excellent proposals from Principal Investigators based in non-associated third countries. As things currently stand in recent post-Brexit negotiations, the UK is an ‘Associated Country’ and therefore still eligible to apply for ERC schemes.  

Career status and profile: Scholars 2-7 years after the completion of their PhD (with completion date being passing their Viva voce). A Starting Grant PI should have already shown evidence of the potential for research independence, for example, by having produced at least one important publication as main author or without the participation of their PhD supervisor.  

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.  

Deadline  

The upcoming deadline is October 2024 but SOAS requests that you submit your application on FlexiGrant several weeks before the funder's deadline.  

Who can apply?  

Nationality and country of residence: British citizens and any nationals from the EEA are eligible, regardless of where their PhD was obtained.   

Career status and profile: Applicants must be of Early Career Status, meaning they must apply within 3-years from the date of their successful viva voce examination. For this round of competition, applicants are expected to have completed their viva voce between 1 April 2022 and 1 April 2025.  

There is no minimum number of academic outputs required in your publication record, but the BA will want to see evidence that your track record is outstanding. Please note, however, that it is up to you to articulate how you fulfil these criteria.  

If you research is practice-based, you may still be eligible to apply; in any case, a clear scholarly rationale is required for the choice of research methods, processes and outputs.  

If you would like to apply via SOAS in this round, please email research@soas.ac.uk and CC your chosen mentor and Head of Department.