The Leverhulme Trust announce increased funding for 2021 Early Career Fellowships

The Early Career Fellowships is one of The Leverhulme Trust's most popular, long-running and successful schemes. The grants offer a bridge into an academic career for researchers with a proven research record, providing them with the opportunity for independent career progression and enabling them to undertake a significant piece of original publishable research. The Fellowships also provide support for movement within the UK, allowing Fellows to gain experience at different institutions and broaden their academic careers. 

In response to these uncertain times and the financial challenges facing universities in the forthcoming academic year, the Leverhulme Trust Board wanted to reassert their confidence in early career academics and invest more in the scheme. The Board will therefore be committing an additional £3.625 million to the Early Career Fellowship competition in 2021 to support an altered funding model, which will be in place for this round only. In 2021, the Trust will contribute 100% of each Fellow’s total salary costs in year one, up to a maximum of £50,000, and will then contribute 50% of the Fellow’s total salary costs, up to a maximum of £25,000, in years two and three, with the balance to be paid by the host institution. The Trust Board hopes this temporary change will give universities across the breadth of the sector the best opportunity to continue to support postdoctoral career development during the worst of the emerging financial crisis.

The University of York has a strong record of hosting Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellows. Our current Fellows are: Michael James (Chemistry); Luke Wilkinson (Chemistry); Lydia Zeldenrust (English and Related Literature); and Rachel Delman (History) and we're looking forward to welcome new Fellows in the Autumn.

Applications for this scheme will open in January 2021, with a funder deadline in February 2022. More information can be found at: https://www.leverhulme.ac.uk/early-career-fellowships and we'll also be sending more information on opportunities for support closer to the time.