ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowships

ESRC invites applications for postdoctoral fellowships (PDF) to be based at accredited ESRC Doctoral Training Partnerships (DTPs).

Fellowships are aimed at those in the immediately postdoctoral stage of their career, to provide the opportunity to consolidate their PhD through developing publications, their networks, and their research and professional skills.

The PDF opportunity forms part of ESRC's strategy to support early career researchers and will be delivered through our national network of DTPs.

The opportunity is open to applicants who have completed their PhD in the UK at a UK research organisation and who have less than 15 months of active postdoctoral experience from passing their viva voce to the competition closing date. At the submission deadline, the applicant must either have been awarded a PhD or have submitted their thesis and passed their viva voce with minor corrections, with the expectation that the PhD will be awarded by the fellowship start date.

Call specification, FAQs, and the application form will be available on the DTP websites. All applicants must submit a full proposal along with the required attachments by 23.59 UK time on 1 June 2026 to the DTP they are applying to. Please note that some DTPs may also have a mandatory Expression of Interest stage prior to the deadline for full applications. Each DTP will assess applications through expert review and make funding decisions on behalf of ESRC.

The DTPs who are eligible to receive proposals and award fellowships can be found via the 'Apply' button above.

For queries, please contact the relevant DTP.