Leverhulme Early Career Fellowships (EXPIRED)

Background

Thanks to the generous support of the John Fell Fund, the Oxford Philosophy Faculty is able to support up to two Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship applications in the 2012 competition. Applications for this competition require the support of a member of the Philosophy Panel at Oxford who is willing to act as mentor. Information about the application process can be found below. Importantly, the Oxford Philosophy Faculty will hold an internal competition to decide which applications will be put forward under the scheme, so applicants should not approach The Leverhulme Trust directly at this stage.

The Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship scheme is aimed at scholars who are at a relatively early stage of their academic careers and who have a proven record of research. Applicants must hold an awarded doctorate (or have equivalent research experience), and must not hold or have held a permanent academic position in a UK university or comparable institution. Further details about the scheme can be found on the Leverhulme Trust’s website. Candidates must check that they are eligible for the scheme before proceeding with the application process described below.

In addition to the salary (which normally will be set at stage one of grade seven of the University’s salary scale, £29,099pa, as at August 2011), the Leverhulme Trust will provide up to £6K pa to further the award-holder’s research activities. Please note that the University of Oxford will only support applications for Fellowships of three (as opposed to two) years in length.

How to apply

If you are interested in applying for a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship to be hosted by the Oxford Philosophy Faculty and you meet the necessary eligibility criteria, please let the Secretary to the Philosophy Faculty Board (Mr Tom Moore - details below) know as soon as possible.

Candidates must submit the application materials below by email no later than 12noon on Monday 6 February 2012. It is the responsibility of the candidate to arrange the support of a member of the Philosophy Panel at Oxford who is willing to act as mentor. Applicants who have queries about the role of mentors are welcome to contact the Faculty’s Research Coordinator, Professor Adrian Moore.

1. a one-page (maximum) CV including education, publications, any awards, thesis title and examiners;
2. a two-page (maximum) draft statement of research (which may use similar headings to that in the Leverhulme scheme’s notes of guidance);
3. a 150 word abstract summarising the research for a general audience;
4. an indication of what additional research expenses may be claimed (using the £6k research allowance from the Leverhulme Trust);
5. a description of why you believe the research project you intend to pursue would be of particular relevance to the Oxford Philosophy Faculty;
6. the name of a member of the Oxford Philosophy Panel who has agreed to act as a mentor, should your application be successful; and
7. the names of up to three academic referees; candidates should ask their referees to email copies of reference letters directly to the Secretary to the Philosophy Faculty Board by the deadline above.

The selection process

No interviews will be held; selection will be made on the basis of application materials alone. All applications will be considered as a gathered field by the Research Committee of the Philosophy Faculty Board; that Committee will have final responsibility for deciding which two candidates will be put forward to the Leverhulme Trust. In assessing applications, the Committee will be guided by the quality of the proposed research project, by its relevance to the Oxford Philosophy Faculty, and by the Humanities Division’s requirement that every applicant for a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship at Oxford must have completed, or be capable of completing by 31 December 2013, published research of the quality and quantity which would allow him or her to be submitted to the Research Excellence Framework as Category A staff.

We will aim to inform the successful candidates of the Research Committee’s decision by 15 February 2012, and in any case not later than the end of Monday 20 February 2012. The successful candidates will be required to submit the final version of their applications to the Humanities Division Research Facilitator for Philosophy, Clare Hickman, no later than 23 February 2011.