British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowships

The British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowships is a three-year award made to an annual cohort of outstanding early career researchers in the humanities or social sciences.

The Music Department at the University of Manchester invites applications from prospective applicants to the British Academy’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Scheme, a three-year award made to an annual cohort of outstanding early career researchers in the humanities or social sciences.

Full details of the scheme are given on the British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowships website: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/funding/postdoctoral-fellowships/. 

Applicants must be within three years of the award of a doctorate, either already having been awarded a doctoral degree following a viva voce examination held on or after 1 April 2022; or having a reasonable expectation that they will have submitted and had their thesis examined by 1 April 2025.

Applicants must be a UK or EEA national or have completed a doctorate at a UK university. Any applicant who does not fall into one of these categories must demonstrate a strong prior association with the UK academic community, for example temporary employment (longer than twelve months) at a UK university. 

Candidates who have been unsuccessful in a previous round will require an invitation from the BA to resubmit.

Music at The University of Manchester is one of the leading research departments in the UK. With a culture based on our long-standing track record of world-leading research and a strong community of academic staff, researchers and postgraduate students, research drives everything that we do. Our staff maintain outstanding international profiles in a diverse range of specialist areas encompassing musicology and music analysis, ethnomusicology, composition and performance studies. Our position within the musically and intellectually vibrant city of Manchester also encourages exciting interdisciplinary partnerships with partners working on topics ranging from early modern material cultures to contemporary urban soundscapes, and from the politics of musical suppression in the Cold War to the promotion of wellbeing through the modern community choir. Full details of our research activities are given on our Research web pages (https://www.alc.manchester.ac.uk/music/research/).

Applicants who would like to be hosted by the Music Department at the University of Manchester to pursue a 3-year project, distinct from their PhD research, are required to first contact their proposed departmental mentor as well as the department’s Research Coordinator, Prof. David Berezan (david.berezan@manchester.ac.uk). Potential mentors amongst Music academic staff are listed (with specialisms) here: https://www.alc.manchester.ac.uk/music/about/people/.

You must subsequently submit a completed Expression of Interest form (provided by, and with input from, your prospective mentor) and 2-page CV no later than 8 July 2024 to david.berezan@manchester.ac.uk.

Further guidance on what is needed in each section can be found in the guidance notes from the 2023-24 round: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/funding/postdoctoral-fellowships/guidance-notes-2023-24/.

Financial information is not required at this stage.

Outline proposals will be subject to an internal competition within Music and the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures at the University. Applicants who are successful at this stage will receive specialist support from the University to complete the full application process to the British Academy before the competition deadline in early October 2024.