Postdoctoral Fellowships

The Grand Union Doctoral Training Partnership invites applications for up to five, 9 month Postdoctoral Fellowships to commence on 1 October 2026. The Fellowships will, at the latest, end by 30th June 2027. The Fellows will be based at one of our partner institutions: Brunel University London, The Open University, or the University of Oxford. 

Fellowships are aimed at those in the immediately postdoctoral stage of their career, to provide the opportunity to consolidate their PhD and prepare for the next stage of their research careers. This is likely to be a research career in academia; however, those with a clearly articulated programme of activities to support their transition to a research career outside of academia (e.g. a researcher in public, private, or civil society organisations) will also be considered. New research cannot be funded through these awards. Potential applicants who wish to apply for research funding should apply to the ESRC's New Investigator Grant Opportunity. 

Proposals are welcome from single or multi-disciplinary backgrounds but the fellowship activities must be aligned to one of the Grand Union DTP’s 24 thematic pathways and based at least 50% within the social sciences.

Grants will cover salary costs, and candidates can apply for up to £7500 to support mentoring costs and additional research activity (e.g. travel conference attendance, training, and fieldwork). As a general guide, mentor costs will be around £3,000 and candidates can apply for around £4,500 for additional activity. 

Fellows must be based in a Department or academic unit that is a host for the relevant pathway (these are listed on the individual pathway pages).

Eligibility

The call will be open to applicants who have undertaken their PhD at a UK research organisation and the fellowship must be held at a research organisation that is part of a DTP which is eligible to participate in this initiative and aligned to an accredited subject area: https://www.ukri.org/opportunity/esrc-postdoctoral-fellowships/. At the application submission deadline (01 June 2026), 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 (01 October 2026).

Grants are restricted to those with no more than 15 months of active postdoctoral experience. This is measured from the applicant's viva voce pass date to the application deadline of 01 June 2026.

Application Process 

Full details on the scheme are available below in the ESRC Call Specification and FAQ Documents. There will be a two stage competition, 1) an expression of interest stage, then 2) a full application stage.

Candidates should identify the DTP pathway to which they would be aligned and consult the relevant department/academic unit about potential applications to ensure compliance. Details are available on the specific Pathway Page.

Fellows are required to have a mentor who is a senior colleague based at the University and in the pathway where the Fellowship is held. The mentor, wherever possible, should not be the PhD supervisor. If you need help identifying a suitable mentor, please contact the relevant Pathway Lead. 

1) Expression of Interest Stage

Applicants should submit a case for support (4 sides of A4 maximum, font size 11) and their CV (2x sides of A4 maximum, font size 11) and to the relevant department if they wish to be considered. Individual departments may request additional documents to be submitted if they wish as part of expression of interest process.

The deadline for submitting the documents for the Expression of Interest to the relevant department is 16:00 20 April 2026. 

Interested Applicants will receive confirmation by the 01 May 2026 from the department if they are to be asked to submit the application in full.

In order to support ESRC equality and diversity monitoring, applicants are also required to complete and return an Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form at this stage in the application process separately to the main application. Information received will be anonymised, will not form part of any selection process and will not be disclosed to the selection panel or department/academic unit.

• *Applicants wishing to be considered for a Fellowship in the Department of Politics and International Relations, Oxford, are required to submit a short mentor statement as part of their EOI application. Please contact the department directly for further information. 
• *Applicants wishing to be considered for a Fellowship in the Centre for Criminology or Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, Oxford, are required to submit a 1-2 page mentor statement as part of their EOI application. Please contact the department directly for further information.
• *Applicants wishing to be considered for a Fellowship in the Oxford Department of International Development (ODID), are required to submit a short mentor statement as part of their EOI application. Please contact the Research and Grants Team directly in advance of the EoI deadline for further information. 

2) Full Application Stage

If invited by the department to submit a full application, an application form and all required documents detailed in the ESRC Call Specification must be submitted as a single pdf via the relevant department/academic unit by 16:00 on 01 June 2026 to  granduniondtp@socsci.ox.ac.uk. Please note: the DTP will not accept applications submitted directly by candidates. 

In order to support ESRC equality and diversity monitoring, applicants are also required to complete and return an Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form separately to the main application. Information received will be anonymised, will not form part of any selection process and will not be disclosed to the selection panel or department/academic unit.

When considering where to apply, potential applicants should carefully consider which DTP would offer the best fit for their area pf research and career aspirations. Only one application to a single DTP is permitted. If an applicant submits to more than one DTP, all of their applications will be withdrawn from further consideration. 

DTPs will share the names of applicants and the research organisation at which they obtained their PhD with each other. If an applicant is found to have submitted more than one application, all of their applications will be withdrawn from further consideration. 

In submitting your application, you are consenting to sharing that information with other DTPs. 

The Grand Union DTP will peer review the proposals and make funding decisions on behalf of the ESRC in the week commencing 22 June 2026.

ESRC Call Specification     ESRC FAQs

Application Forms

ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowship Expression of Interest Application Form     Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form

Enquiries

General queries about the scheme and/or departmental/unit contacts at either Brunel University London, The Open University, or the University of Oxford can be directed to the following: