Apply for Visiting Fellowships 2025 (United Kingdom)

The British Academy’s Visiting Fellowships provide outstanding academics based in any country overseas (and active at any career stage and in any discipline within the humanities and the social sciences) with the opportunity to be based at a UK higher education or other research institution of their choice for up to six months. Visiting Fellows will work with colleagues at host UK institutions in order to develop new research collaborations and/or deepen existing partnerships with UK and other academics across the globe.

The scheme is open to candidates at any stage of their career. Applicants should demonstrate how a visit to a UK higher education or other research institution will be beneficial to them at the particular stage of their career.

Aims

• Visiting Fellowships illustrate the British Academy’s profound and on-going commitment to international engagement. The aim of this programme is to ensure that the UK remains an attractive, welcoming, and productive research environment for academics globally. Through this programme, the Academy aims to:
  • Enhance and build new links between scholars from around the globe and in the UK;
  • Foster opportunities and encourage the development of new and future partnerships for collaborative research into the humanities and social sciences
  • To enable academics from across the globe to undertake research and/or professional development with UK colleagues;
  • And strengthen the UK’s research bases in the humanities and the social sciences.

Funding Information

• Visiting Fellowships are available for a period of between 3 to 6 months. Applicants will be asked to provide their preferred start date for their Fellowship over the spring and summer (March-August 2025).
• The maximum funding available is £40,000.

Eligibility Criteria

• Visiting Fellows must be of postdoctoral or equivalent experience at the time of application. Applicants must not be in the process of completing a PhD or awaiting the outcome of their viva/submission of corrections at the time of applying.
• Candidates should be based outside the UK at the time of application. Applicants already living, working or researching substantially in the UK are not eligible to apply. Applicants who are working outside the UK but are employed primarily by a UK institution are also not eligible to apply.
• Applicants cannot conduct research related to their Visiting Fellowship outside the UK, but short fieldwork trips abroad may be possible where appropriate. During the award Visiting Fellows may normally spend a total of one month’s worth of such fieldwork outside the UK (if holding a fellowship for six months).
• Applicants may be on permanent or fixed-term contracts. If an applicant is on a fixed-term contract it must not end before the end date of the Visiting Fellowship. Independent scholars are welcome to apply.
• Applicants must demonstrate that they have been in contact with their UK host institution prior to the application. This should be reflected in a clearly defined and mutually beneficial project proposal. Please note that the British Academy is not able to assist with locating or facilitating contact with a UK host institution.
• Applicants may only submit one application to this round. Currently, the British Academy does not have funding to support another round of this scheme.
• The Visiting Fellowships will be made to individual scholars based on merit, considering also the suitability of the UK host institution for the proposed research collaboration. Suitable institutions may include any UK higher education or other research organisation recognised by the Academy (including, but not limited to, museums and galleries, as well as the British International Research Institutes).
• Awards are only available to individuals, to be held in an institutional context. Co-applicants are not permitted.
• Awards will not be made retrospectively: this means that the work for which support is requested must not have commenced before the award is announced.
• Applicants are required to provide a formal statement of support from the Head of Department/Faculty/Institute at which they will be visiting. This statement should include detailed explanation of whom the Visiting Fellow will collaborate with and what form the collaboration will take.

For more information, visit The British Academy.