ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowships

About the project

The Midlands Graduate School is pleased to invite applications for next round of ESRC-funded Postdoctoral Fellowships , to be based at seven of our partner institutions: Aston University , the University of Birmingham , De Montfort University , the University of Leicester, Loughborough University , the University of Nottingham , and the University of Warwick . Fellowships will not be available at Nottingham Trent University for 2026 entry.

This call is for 9-month fellowships (or part-time equivalent) beginning on 1 October 2027 . 4 x fellowships are available through this call.

These 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. This opportunity is open to applicants who:

Applicants who have passed their viva voce with major corrections will be able to apply to the following year’s call when their PhD has been awarded. This is to ensure that all fellows are able to commence by the annual start date of 1 October. Following major corrections, if the revised thesis had been submitted and the corrections approved by the 23 March 2027 deadline, the applicant would be eligible. The applicant will be required to provide proof that the corrections have been approved.

Permanent members of staff in an academic position with a research component are not eligible for this scheme. If a candidate has previously been employed on a part-time basis, that employment can be calculated on a pro-rata basis.

Please read the call specification and FAQ documents fully before applying.

Proposals are welcome from single or inter-disciplinary backgrounds but the fellowship activities must be aligned to one of the Midlands Graduate School DTP's 17 accredited pathways .

Institution: All MGS institutions can host a postdoctoral fellow, provided they offer the relevant pathway.

Pathway : Fellowships must be aligned to accredited pathways. You can find a list of our pathways here . Also note that your application will need support from the relevant Head of School or Department.

(Note: not all institutions offer all pathways - please see our Pathway Grid)

Mentor: All applications must include a named mentor, who is also aligned to the chosen pathway. Further information about this aspect of your application can be found on page 4 of the call specification , and pages 7-8 of the FAQ document . If you need help in identifying a mentor you can contact the relevant institutional pathway lead for further advice.

Applications will need to be costed. There is support available in the ESRC call documentation to help you with this (see key documents), and the institution to which you are applying will also offer support. Get in touch via the relevant enquiry contacts below.

Applicants are required to complete the ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowships Application Form and submit this along with all required attachments to by the application deadline 23:59 on 23 March 2027 .

Please refer to the call specification for more details on what is required within each of these attachments.

Please note that there are further earlier internal deadlines and process depending on the institution to which you are applying which will be made available below no later than (TBC):

Deadline

16.00 BST on Monday 27 April 2026

Applicants must have submitted an Expression of Interest (EoI) form Link opens in a new window , including attachments, by the deadline.

Please contact Dr Vera Kubenz, Strategic Funding Manager for Business and Social Sciences ( v.kubenz@aston.ac.uk ) for any queries and support with the EoI. We advise that you access the EoI as soon as possible to allow sufficient time to complete the EoI documents.

Applicants to the Health and Wellbeing pathway at Aston are strongly encouraged to contact Dr Jennifer Whale ( j.whale1@aston.ac.uk ) at the same time for support from the College of Health and Life Sciences.

Deadline

Wednesday 15 April (noon BST) - Interested applicants must send a completed University of Birmingham EOI form + CV by email to the relevant contact (stated on the EOI form).

Deadline

Friday 24 April 2026 - Applicants must have completed the De Montfort University Expression of Interest form Link opens in a new window and submitted it to mgs@dmu.ac.uk . You will be notified regarding your eligibility to apply for a fellowship.

Deadlines

Deadline

16.00 BST on Monday 13 April 2026 - Applicants must complete the Loughborough University Expression of Interest Form and submit it with a 2 page CV to rd.fellowships@mailbox.lboro.ac.uk , copying in esrcdtp@lboro.ac.uk . Applicants must combine the completed LU Expression of Interest (EoI) form and CV in a single PDF file.

In completing their EoI form all candidates must include the name of the academic who is supporting their application development and who has confirmed that they are prepared to act as their mentor for the duration of the Fellowship. Proposed mentors must be academics from an eligible pathway/department.

Deadlines

Thursday 9 April 2026 (noon BST) - Complete the MS Forms Expression of Interest .

Applicants will be notified after Wednesday 22 April whether or not they will be invited to submit a full application.

Wednesday 27 May 2026 (noon BST) - Those invited to submit full applications to submit final proposal (with all required attachments) to the relevant Faculty Senior Research Development Manager (SRDM) contact for final checks.

Deadlines

Monday 27 April 2026 (12.00pm BST) - Applicants must have submitted an Expression of Interest (EOI) form via this webpage . Applicants will be notified of their RIS contact within 10 days of the EOI deadline.

Tuesday 12 May 2026 (12.00pm BST) - Latest date for draft proposals including required costs to be submitted to the assigned contact in RIS for review. Reviewed proposals will be returned to you by 21 st May 2026.

Tuesday 26 May 2026 (12:00pm BST) - Latest date for final proposals including all costings to be submitted to the assigned contact in RIS for final checks and approvals.

The ESRC are seeking demographic statistics for the overall postdoctoral fellowship applicant pool for the purpose of equal opportunities monitoring. In order to comply with our ESRC reporting requirements if you are applying for an ESRC postdoctoral fellowship with the Midlands Graduate School, you must also complete our ‘ Equality & Diversity Data Form Link opens in a new window ’, and include your Submission ID number on your final application. You will receive your Submission ID by email upon completion of the form.

General enquiries should be directed to the relevant institution within the DTP to where you are applying to hold the Fellowship.

MGS Partner | General Query Contact

Aston University

University of Birmingham

De Montfort University | esrcdtp@dmu.ac.uk

University of Leicester

Loughborough University

University of Nottingham | esrc-phd@nottingham.ac.uk

Nottingham Trent University | esrc.dtp@ntu.ac.uk

University of Warwick

• Have completed or are expected to complete their PhD at a UK research organisation. (Please note that you do not have to have completed a PhD funded by ESRC or a DTP.)
• ·Have been awarded a PhD or have passed their viva voce with minor amendments by the application deadline of 23 March 2027 and have been awarded their PhD by the fellowship start date of 1 October 2027.
• Have no more than 12 months active postdoctoral experience since passing their viva voce (allowing for career breaks) by 23 March 2027.
• Monday 13 April 2026 - Applicants/mentors to have approached their respective College Pre-Award and Contracts team to notify intention to submit a proposal, and discuss their project. For applications within CSSAH please contact CSSAHPAC@leicester.ac.uk Link opens in a new window . For applications with Psychology and Health Sciences please contact CLSPAC@leicester.ac.uk Link opens in a new window . For applications with Business please contact COBPAC@leicester.ac.uk Applicants/mentors must work with the research support contact to determine the costings for the project.
• Monday 11 May 2026 - Latest date for costings and final proposals to be submitted to the Pre-Award and Contracts team for approval.
• Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.
• Applicants may only make one application to the ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowship scheme for 2027 entry. If an applicant submits to more than one DTP, all of their applications will be withdrawn from further consideration.
• All final decisions on applications will be communicated to applicants by (TBC) 2027.
• Fellowships will commence on 1 October 2027 and end on 30 June 2028, unless you are applying for a part-time fellowship. If your start date is pushed back for any reason, the length of the fellowship will be reduced accordingly.
• International candidates should be aware that UK Visa and Immigration rules means that there may be restrictions relating to their engagement in this opportunity due to the short duration. Candidates are advised to seek guidance from their host university’s Human Resources/International Staff Support team before submitting their fellowship application.
• Please ensure that the department to which you are applying is accredited by the ESRC to host MGS Postdoctoral Fellows.
• You must be based in the same School/Department as your mentor.
• Please ensure that your proposed fellowship falls within the ESRC's scientific remit . ESRC have released a joint statement with AHRC which may be useful to you. If you have any doubts about the remit of your proposed project, contact the relevant pathway lead for advice.
• If you are also applying for an ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowship through another DTP please make us aware of this when you submit your application to us and let us know to which other DTP you are applying.
• Call Specification Details
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
• Application Form
• Equality & Diversity Data Form Link opens in a new window

Research areas