Post-Doctoral Fellowships

Our Department has a successful record of sponsoring and hosting outstanding candidates for prestigious post-doctoral fellowship competitions. There are a variety of funding routes for the schemes, and we welcome eligible applicants of the highest calibre from all backgrounds, genders, or ethnicities. The Department is sometimes restricted in the number of candidates it may submit to a particular scheme, and in all cases, we must assess whether we can offer candidates an appropriate fit for their research interests and career needs.

Initially, you will want to contact an academic member of staff with cognate research interests to discuss the possibility of applying. We expect to work with applicants in revising a draft application. For this reason, we ask you to be honest if you are exploring an application to the same scheme with another sponsor; we hope that our time invested in your application is balanced with the likelihood you will apply through us. In many cases, we will work with you on draft applications in advance of funders announcing a current round of  schemes; we suggest you base a draft on the most recent published guidance and adjust in light of the eventual call for funding.

• British Academy International Fellowships
• British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowships
• ESRC Northern Ireland and North East Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) - Postdoctoral Fellowship Scheme
• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
• Unfortunately, we are not entering the Leverhulme ECF competition this year

If you would like to express interest in applying for one or more of the Fellowships please contact Dr Christian Liddy, Deputy Director of Research (Grants) at c.d.liddy@durham.ac.uk and Paivi Eerola at artsandhumanities.researchteam@durham.ac.uk. 

British Academy International Fellowships 2026 in the Department of History Durham University 

The Department of History invites expressions of interest from outstanding candidates who wish to apply for a prestigious British Academy International Fellowship through Durham University.  

We welcome enquiries from eligible candidates particularly whose research interests relate to the research themes in the department ( https://www.durham.ac.uk/departments/academic/history/research/research-areas/) or to relevant University Research Centres and Institutes (https://www.durham.ac.uk/research/institutes-and-centres/). Applications are particularly welcome from women, and black and minority ethnic candidates, who are under-represented in academic posts in the University. 

Working in conjunction and with approval from their mentor, candidates should check their eligibility to apply and confirm their intent to submit an application to the scheme. Notification of intent to submit must be received by the Departmental Deputy Director of Research (Grants) (Prof Christian Liddy c.d.liddy@durham.ac.uk) by 12 noon, Friday 30th January 2026. Further details about the internal application process will be available via the Arts and Humanities Research Team (artsandhumanities.researchteam@durham.ac.uk).

Further information on the British Academy International Fellowships, including details of eligibility criteria, can be found at:

• International Fellowships 2026 | The British Academy
• International Fellowships: Frequently asked questions | The British Academy

Candidates are also strongly advised to review the Scheme Guidance notes: International Fellowships: Scheme guidance notes | The British Academy

For more information or informal enquiries, please contact Paivi Eerola at artsandhumanities.researchteam@durham.ac.uk