Funding to support outstanding individual researchers with excellent research proposals, and to promote public understanding and engagement with humanities and social sciences.
The primary rationale of the scheme is to free successful applicants from their normal academic and administrative commitments for a period of 6 to 12 months to devote to the completion of a major piece of research, including a strategy of public engagement and communication of the research outcomes to a broad audience during the period of the Fellowship.
ELIGIBILITY
These awards are intended primarily to provide opportunities for researchers who have already made an outstanding contribution to their field and have achieved distinction as an excellent communicator and ‘champion’ in their field, and who would usually be within no more than 15 years from the award of their doctorate
Allowances will be made for applicants who have had career breaks, and for established researchers who do not have doctorates, who should instead be within fifteen years of their first academic appointment.
Prospective award holders must be employed at a UK-based university.
VALUE AND DURATION
The total value of the fellowship is not expected to exceed £152,000, with the contribution to the salary of the Fellow capped at an upper limit of £80,000.
Awards can be held for a minimum of 6 months up to a maximum of 12 months.
KEY DATES
Deadline: 26 August 2026
Earliest start date: 1 September 2027
More information, including details of past awards, can be found on the opportunity webpage.