Two 12-month postdoctoral fellowships for international early-career researchers are on offer, beginning in January 2026, via the British Council 90th Anniversary Research Fellowships programme.
The programme is open to postdoctoral researchers up to 7 years post-PhD based in any ODA-recipient country where the British Council operates, from Albania to Yemen. Research topics can vary widely within the arts, humanities and social sciences, as long as they are relevant to areas of priority across Arts, Education and the English language as outlined in the British Council's strategy, and to areas of cross-cutting strategic British Council interest such as international relations and soft power, international development and peacebuilding, and cultural relations and cultural diplomacy.
Fellows will spend the first ten months of their Fellowships at IASH from January to October 2026, followed by up to two months based in their home countries focused on knowledge exchange and dissemination in collaboration with the British Council. Each Fellowship provides a bursary of £2,500 per month and travel expenses as well as desk space, library access and academic mentoring as part of the vibrant scholarly community of visiting fellows at IASH. Fellows will also be expected to engage closely with the British Council throughout their Fellowships (including visits to UK offices), with the option to spend time in a British Council office in their home country as part of the knowledge exchange component of the Fellowship.
The British Council and IASH are holding an online Q&A webinar on Friday 23 May 2025 from 13:00-14:00 UK time on Zoom Webinar. The session will be recorded. Prospective Fellowship applicants are encouraged to register for this session even if they cannot attend ‘live’ as this will give them access to the recording afterwards: https://bc90webinar.eventbrite.co.uk
The deadline for application is Friday 28 July 2025.
Find out more on our website and access the application portal: https://www.iash.ed.ac.uk/british-council-90th-anniversary-research-fellowships
Visit the British Council website: https://www.britishcouncil.org/research-insight/consultancy-partnership-opportunities/research-fellowships-university-edinburgh
This is a three-year partnership, starting in 2025. The final round of Fellowships – beginning at IASH in January 2027 – will be awarded in summer 2026.