USF Postdoctoral Research Fellowships Open for Applications

This fellowship initiative is for early career researchers working in the field of urban studies to enable them to design and undertake a programme of dedicated research.

Founded in 2008, the Urban Studies Foundation (USF) is a Scottish charitable organisation that aims to advance academic research and education in the field of urban studies.

USF’s Postdoctoral Research Fellowships are offered to early career researchers to enable them to design and undertake a programme of dedicated urban studies research at an eligible higher education institution in any country. They are offered with the aim of advancing scholarly knowledge of any element of cities and urbanisation to the highest international standards of peer review.

The programme of study should involve original empirical inquiry, methodological rigour and conceptual innovation, set within a detailed knowledge of relevant existing research and scholarship. The expectation is that fellows will publish outputs from the research in international urban studies literature and utilise possibilities for achieving impact.

Applicants must have obtained a PhD (or equivalent higher degree) within the preceding five years. They must be demonstrably involved in urban studies research, with any disciplinary orientation within the broadly conceived social sciences or arts and humanities. An applicant can come from any part of the world and/or be resident/working in any part of the world.

The higher education institution where a fellowship is to be hosted must be one with a recognised base in urban studies research, but in principle it can be located anywhere in the world. Candidates must have developed their application in close association with a mentor from the potential host institution.

The award is worth up to £180,000 in total (up to £60,000 per year). USF will pay an annual award to the host institution. It is anticipated that the award will cover the salary agreed between the applicant and the host institution as well as additional research expenses. The 2021 round of the scheme will fund up to five fellowships. Funding is available for up to three years.

Applications must be submitted by the deadline of 1 November 2021 (23:59 GMT).

(This report was the subject of a RESEARCHconnect Newsflash.)