Faculty of Humanities invests in 26 early career research Fellowships

04 Jul 2025

The Faculty’s Fellowships, plus those from the University and external funders, represent one of the largest Fellowship cohorts in recent years.

Twenty-six fully funded post-doctoral Fellowships have been awarded this year by the Faculty of Humanities. Combined with additional awards from the University centrally and external grant funders, this is one of the largest cohorts of Fellowships for the Faculty in recent history. 12 of the awards are part of the University’s Bicentenary investment of £28 million to recruit and support early career researchers between 2025 and 2027.

All Fellowships, of three years’ duration, have been awarded to outstanding postdoctoral researchers within four years of their PhD. Fellows’ research focuses on one or more of Faculty priority research themes of Digital Futures, Sustainable Futures, Creativity, Global Inequalities and Adaptive Societies. The investment means that each School in the Faculty will welcome Fellows in the forthcoming academic year.

Bicentenary Fellowship research areas include work in global political economies, intercity transport flows and mega city regions, police lethality and the legacy of slavery, solidarity impact, water rights and ageing in climate changing planet.

Professor Maggie B Gale, Faculty Vice-Dean for Research, commented: “We are very excited about this investment being made by the Faculty and University. The Faculty is extremely pleased to have been able to offer appointments to such an excellent cohort of early career researchers.

“This is part of a considerable investment to develop the next generation of researchers. All our award-winners are undertaking groundbreaking and innovative research aligned to our research priorities.

“Fellows not only receive the funding they need for their research but will be provided with focused mentoring and a comprehensive programme for career development, both from the Faculty and from the wider University’s central researcher development unit. This programme of appointments is part of our strategic prioritisation of long-term investment into our people and our research.”

Professor Fiona Devine, Vice-President and Dean of the Faculty, added: “Our Faculty is one of the largest in the UK and the breadth of work is significant.

“In addition to the 12 Bicentenary Fellowships, I’m pleased to share that we have granted four Simon Fellowships, five Hallsworth External Engagement and Impact Fellowships and five Hallsworth and Hallsworth Chinese Political Economy Fellowships. We also have colleagues from the Faculty who have been awarded research-funded University, British Academy and Leverhulme Fellowships, and five colleagues who have been appointed Association of Social Sciences Fellows this year.”