100 Leverhulme Early Career Fellowships at the Department of Archaeology, Cambridge University, UK

Applications are open for Leverhulme Early Career Fellowships 2020 at the Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge. The Leverhulme Trust Board is offering 100 three-year postdoctoral fellowship awards in 2020.

The Fellowships deliver career development opportunities for researchers with a proven record of research at a comparatively early stage of their academic careers (within five years of submitting their PhD).

The University of Cambridge has 31 Colleges and 150 Departments, Faculties, Schools and other institutions. Founded in 1209, it is the world’s second-oldest university in the English-speaking world. Its Department of Archaeology is one of the oldest in the world.

Why at the Department of Archaeology at Cambridge? The Department allows students to undertake in-depth study and research of particular regions or periods, along with training in research and analytical skills.

Application Deadline: 27 February 2020 at 4 pm (18 December at Cambridge University)

Brief Description

• University or Organization: Leverhulme Trust Board
• Department: Department of Archaeology at Cambridge University
• Course Level: PhD
• Award: Maximum of £25,000 per year and annual research expenses of up to £6,000
• Access Mode: Online
• Number of Awards: Approximately 100 each year
• Nationality: International
• The award can be taken in the United Kingdom

Eligibility

• Eligible Countries: Applications are open for all nationalities
• Acceptable Course or Subjects: Applications will be considered in all subject areas except:

1. Studies of disease, illness and disabilities in humans and animals
2. Research that is intended to inform clinical practice or the development of medical applications

• They welcome applications from the following themes:

1. Environment, Landscapes and Settlement
2. Heritage
3. Human Evolutionary Studies
4. Material Culture
5. Rethinking Complexity
6. Science, Technology and innovation

• Admissible Criteria: To be considered for Leverhulme Early Career Fellowships, the student must meet the following criteria:
• Applicants must give the dates on which they took their PhD viva and on which they were awarded the PhD.
• Applicants are not eligible for the Leverhulme competition if they submitted their PhD before 27 February 2016 (unless they have had a career break) and no later than 4 pm on 27 February 2020.
• The Fellowships are tenable in any university or institution of higher education in the UK.
• Applicants must not yet have held a full-time permanent academic post in a UK university or comparable UK institution, nor may hold such a post concurrently with the Early Career Fellowship.
• All candidates must hold a doctorate or have equivalent research experience by the time they take up the Fellowship.
• Applications are invited from those with a doctorate who submitted their doctoral thesis for viva voce examination not more than four years before the application closing date
• Applicants must either hold a 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 which commenced no less than 4 months before the closing date.
• Candidates who have been, or are currently a Principal Investigator on a three-year postdoctoral research project, or have held or presently hold a comparable three-year postdoctoral position to pursue their research are not eligible to apply
• A candidate may submit only one application per year. Previously unsuccessful applicants may reapply.
• The Fellow must be resident in the UK for the duration of the Fellowship

Note: Check full eligibility criteria here.

How to Apply

• How to Apply: To make an application, applicants must access the Leverhulme Trust Grants Management System. Before applying for this opportunity, applicants must take admission at the Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge.
• Supporting Documents: A cover sheet, a brief CV, a list of your major publications, a detailed statement of your proposed research, a statement of your current research (maximum 250 words), a brief statement (maximum 150 words) explaining why the Department of Archaeology is the best place for this research to be undertaken, and two letters of reference, at least one from outside Cambridge.
• Admission Requirements: All wishing to be hosted by the Department of Archaeology should email their applications (including the requested references) to Nicholas Ward at [email protected] by 4 pm on Wednesday 18 December 2019.
• Language Requirement: Applicants must have an excellent knowledge of the English language as speaking, writing, and reading.

Note: Applicants are encouraged to contact an academic working in the relevant discipline in the Department to talk over their proposal before submitting it by the 18th December deadline.

Benefits

• Winner will receive half salary costs, demanding matching funding from the host institution.
• For claimants desiring to be hosted by Cambridge University, the Isaac Newton Trust (INT) has agreed to offer matching funds of £25,000 p.a. to cover the remaining half of the salary costs.
• Successful candidates would join a large and dynamic group of postdoctoral research fellows at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research.
• In addition to research funding from the Leverhulme Trust, they would be eligible to apply for up to £5,000 a year from the McDonald Grants and Awards Scheme to cover any other research expenses.