This funding scheme has now been archived and is not open to new applications.
This webpage is available for informational purposes and current fellowship holders only.
Postdoctoral Fellowships will be awarded to any recognised University or HEI in the UK, to provide a 12-month position (or pro-rata for part-time, minimum 50%) to allow outstanding candidates to pursue an original, independent research project in the general area of Experimental Psychology, as defined by the activities of the EPS. The Society plans to make one or two awards, depending on the quality of applications and the budget available. Invoicing for this fellowship will be in arrears at the end of the project.
Applicants must indicate an adviser, who must be both a contracted member of academic staff at the Host Institution, and an EPS ordinary member in good standing. The adviser is expected to ensure that the Fellow has the resources, facilities, support and scientific guidance required for the success of the project. As the Fellowship is designed to promote the independence of the Fellow, the scientific content of the project is expected to reflect the Fellow’s independent work, and not to be an extension of the adviser’s research programme. While the adviser can be the PhD supervisor, applicants should note that scientific independence may be more clearly evidenced if this is not the case.
Applicants are additionally encouraged to indicate a mentor, who need not be in the same department or institution, and need not be an EPS ordinary member. The mentor is particularly expected to provide advice on developing an independent scientific career. If the adviser is the former PhD supervisor, then an appropriate mentor is essential.
The award will cover the direct costs of employing the Fellow for 12 months to work on the project at the Host Institution (basic salary, NI, superannuation, applicable allowances such as London allowance). The salary should be commensurate with the Host Institution’s salary scale for postdoctoral research assistants, and with the date of the PhD. An additional sum of up to £5000 for justified research expenses may be requested. This may include attendance at appropriate conferences, such as EPS meetings, to present work funded by the Fellowship.
Eligibility
Candidates who have not yet obtained a PhD are eligible apply. However, they must have either obtained a PhD, or submitted their PhD thesis, by the proposed start date of the Fellowship.
Candidates who already hold a PhD may apply, provided the PhD thesis was submitted (the first submission before the viva examination) after 30th September 2020. Candidates who submitted a PhD prior to 30th September 2020, but subsequently had career breaks may also apply, if the career breaks fully account for the period between their submission and 30th September 2020. These candidates are asked to give dates and appropriate justification of their career break(s).
The topic of the PhD must lie in the broad area of Experimental Psychology.
The criteria for evaluating applications are:
• scientific excellence, importance and feasibility of the research
• the track record of the candidate, taking into account their career stage
• the project’s contribution to the candidate’s independent scientific career
• the fit with the EPS area of scientific interest
• suitability of the research environment at the Host Institution for the project
Key Dates
Deadline for applications: 1 March 2022
Decision made: mid-April 2022
Earliest date for award to start: 1 September 2022
Latest date for award to start: 1 January 2023
Full Terms and Conditions can be found here.
The completed documents should be sent to the Honorary Secretary by email (preferred) at expsychsoc@kent.ac.uk, or by post.
If emailing, applicants can prepare and submit a single PDF of the aggregated, signed application material. In this case it is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that all material is compiled and formatted appropriately. In either case material must be received in the office by the stated deadline. Please do not send a hard copy through the post if you have already emailed your submission.
Hard copies can be sent to the Hon. Secretary:
Prof Heather Ferguson
EPS Hon Secretary
School of Psychology
Keynes College, University of Kent
Canterbury
CT2 7NP
There is one submission deadline per year – 1 March. The proposals will be circulated to committee members with the Agenda for the next Committee Meeting. Retrospective applications will not be considered.
Applications should consist of the following (further details on application form):
- A completed application form.
- A research proposal (maximum of 1000 words).
- A one-page curriculum vitae of the applicant.
- Adviser supporting statement (maximum 500 words).
- Mentor’s supporting statement (maximum 500 words and is essential if adviser is/was PhD supervisor, optional otherwise).
- A letter from the Head of the department that would host the fellow, indicating the department’s willingness to administer the fellowship according to the Society’s terms and conditions for the Post-Doctoral Fellowship Scheme.
For Successful Applications.
Within two months of the Fellowship completion date, the award holder will be required to submit to the Hon. Secretary:
- A short report (max 1000 words).
- A completed Final Report Form – PDF confirming that any payments incurred during the period of the grant have been made, and that all local ethics procedures were followed.
- An invoice should accompany the Final Report and Final Report Form – Word, on which basis the EPS will reimburse the host institution. The EPS does not regard grant activity and grant reports as supplies or deliverables for specific items, and therefore does not expect to pay VAT on grant invoices.