Research Fellowships

Newnham College is proud to offer a number of Research Fellowships for outstanding female researchers early in their careers.

Our Fellowships offer an opportunity to carry out independent research in a stimulating and supportive academic community, to meet established researchers across a range of disciplines, and to take part in the life of Newnham College.

Stipends, for those without financial support from other sources, are:
i) For post-PhD Research Fellows: Point 41 on the University Scale, (currently £34,308 for 2022-23)
ii) For pre-PhD Research Fellows: Point 37 of the University Scale, (currently £30,502 for 2022-23)
The stipends are on a three point scale and rise each year to the next point on that scale.

Note that applicants who have taken time out of research for professional or family reasons will not be at a disadvantage.

For further details, see below.

Meet our current Junior Research Fellows

Eligibility

  • Our Research Fellowships are intended for outstanding female researchers early in their careers. The Fellowships offer an opportunity to carry out independent research in a stimulating and supportive academic environment.
  • Applications will be accepted from any female graduate of a university within or outside the United Kingdom. Where a candidate is appointed who requires a visa in order to work inthe UK, the appointment will be conditional upon the candidate successfully obtaining the necessary visa
  • All candidates should note that these Research Fellowships are extremely competitive.
  • Successful candidates are expected to be either graduate students whose doctoral degrees are complete or very near completion, or post-doctoral researchers who have recently completed their PhD degrees.
  • Both selection panels use the concept of “research age” in judging how long a candidate has been active in research, so that time out of research for professional or family reasons will not be at a disadvantage.
  • These appointments comply with legislation on sex discrimination, relying on the Equality Act 2010, Schedule 22, and Article 3 of the College Charter. Newnham College admits only those who are formally recognised as female and are identified as such on a current passport, driving licence, birth certificate or gender recognition certificate. This means women graduates, including transwomen graduates, and Assigned Female At Birth non-binary graduates are eligible to apply for Newnham’s Research Fellowships.

Fellowship details

  • Research Fellows are appointed for a period of three years, although many leave sooner if they are successful in gaining faculty appointments in Cambridge or elsewhere.
  • During their tenure JRFs have no other duties other than to pursue their research, but they may, if they wish, participate in College teaching. They are members of the College Governing Body, and may serve on other College committees.
  • The Fellowships carry a competitive stipend. Accommodation in a college set or flat may be available to rent.
  • Fellowships may also be awarded on a non-stipendiary basis to women who hold another post-doctoral appointment in the University or in a recognised University Partner Institution (UPI).
  • Funds are available to support research costs, such as conference travel. All Research Fellows are also entitled to a one-off sum of up to £10K towards the cost of running an approved Newnham-based research event, such as a conference, workshop or seminar series.

The Sciences Research Fellowship

The Sciences Research Fellowship is offered in any field of Science, Mathematics, Engineering, or Psychology.

Applications for the 2023 Fellowship are now open. Applications will close on Friday 23 September 2022 at 23:59 UK local time.

The successful candidate will enter into their Fellowship on 1 October 2023.

For further information and details of how to apply click here.

The Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Research Fellowship

The Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Research Fellowship subjects are offered on a three-year rotation, with the subjects as listed below. Newnham research students in the whole field of the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences may apply in any year, regardless of the rotational listing:

Applications for the 2023 Fellowship are now open. Applications will close on Friday 30 September 2022 at 23:59 UK local time.

The successful candidate will enter into their Fellowship on 1 October 2023.

For further information and details of how to apply click here.

2023: Architecture, Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Divinity, History, History of Art. The successful candidate will enter into their Fellowship on 1 October 2023.

2024: Archaeology & Anthropology, Classics, Geography, History and Philosophy of Science, Human Social and Political Sciences (HSPS), Modern and Medieval Languages (including Theoretical and Applied Linguistics), Politics and International Studies, Social Sciences, Philosophy. The successful candidate will enter into their Fellowship on 1 October 2024.

2025: Business & Management, Economics, English (including Anglo-Saxon, Norse & Celtic), Education, Land Economy, Law, Music.The successful candidate will enter into their Fellowship on 1 October 2025.

The Isaac Newton Trust / Newnham College Research Fellowship in Engineering

A Research Fellowship in Engineering is tenable for five years from 1 October 2019. The Fellow works within the Engineering Department and provides a limited amount of teaching for engineering undergraduates in Newnham College.

The Newby Trust Research Fellowship

The Newby Trust Research Fellowship is a stipendiary fellowship, for the following subjects only: Archaeology, Classics, the Creative and Performing Arts, English Language, English Literature, History (ancient, medieval and modern), Modern Languages and Linguistics, Music, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Visual Arts and Media.

This Fellowship is shared with Clare College and is offered every three years, by each College in turn. The current appointment, starting 1st October 2022, was made by Newnham College.

The Margaret Anstee Research Fellowship

The Margaret Anstee Centre for Global Studies was founded in 2018 at Newnham College through a legacy from Dame Margaret Anstee, a graduate of the College, and the first woman Under-Secretary General of the United Nations. It promotes research into economic and social development and/or international relations, in or relating to the Global South. The Centre also hosts the Archives of the Disappeared, an interdisciplinary initiative that addresses the challenges of research, documentation, and evidence collection in the study of communities, social movements, life-worlds and cultures that have been destroyed through acts of large-scale violence.

Although based primarily at Newnham, Margaret Anstee Fellows are encouraged to build connections with at least one Department or Centre within the University of Cambridge, such as Anthropology, Archaeology, Education, Engineering, Medicine, Modern and Medieval Languages, Geography, History, Sociology, POLIS, Plant Sciences, and/or the Centres for African Studies, Latin American Studies, South Asian Studies, Governance and Human Rights, Global Human Movement, and Development Studies.

The Centre is currently offering two Margaret Anstee Research Fellowships. Applications will close on Monday 3 April 2023 at 23:59 GMT.

The successful candidates will enter into their Fellowships on 1 October 2023.

For further information and details of how to apply click here.