Fellowships
Postdoctoral Fellowship
GENDER.ED Postdoctoral Fellowship
GENDER.ED partners with IASH (the Institute for Advanced Studies in Humanities) to offer the opportunity for researchers to pursue a programme of independent scholarship with a focus on gender and sexualities studies from an interdisciplinary perspective. GENDER.ED is the university's interdisciplinary hub for showcasing and promoting excellence in teaching, research and knowledge exchange impact in gender and sexualities studies at the University at Edinburgh. As the GENDER.ED Postdoctoral Fellow, you will be involved in GENDER.ED’s activities and be part of a community of academics, researchers and students engaged in the study of gender and sexualities across the university.
The Fellowship is hosted at IASH in Hope Park Square where researchers are welcomed from around the world. Situated just off the Meadows, IASH takes advantage of Edinburgh's rich cultural heritage, building bridges between humanities studies on campus and the wider cultural fabric of the city.
Why should I apply for a GENDER.ED fellowship?
GENDER.ED offers the opportunity to become part of a network of gender and sexualities scholars who are at the forefront of interdisciplinary research in this field. Opportunities to participate in a programme of events and activities such as our reading group and annual showcase will help to create a memorable experience and provide inspiration for your research.
Similarly, IASH is home to a community of scholars and fosters a supportive environment. The historic building is the ideal place for conducting academic research with a calming atmosphere as well as opportunities for networking and socialising. IASH's weekly Work in Progress seminars are a chance to hear from other scholars as well as present your own work in a supportive space.
What does a GENDER.ED Postdoctoral Fellowship offer?
- Research visit at the University of Edinburgh for three to ten months
- Bursary* of up to a maximum of £20,000
- Dedicated office space, University e-mail and library access
- An allocated University mentor from the staff affiliated with GENDER.ED or another area relevant to the Fellow’s research interests
- Weekly Fellows’ Lunch to build community
- Collegial work-in-progress seminar series for testing new ideas
- Calendar of engaging events at the Institute and College
- Opportunities to participate in and design funded workshops, colloquia, etc. at the Institute
- Visa sponsorship if required
* The bursary may be used to top up an existing postdoctoral Fellowship (e.g. British Academy), or as a contribution towards living expenses. Applicants are asked to indicate other sources of support for which they have applied and the expected date of outcome. No teaching is required, but successful applicants may be able to supplement the bursary by individually arranging their own concurrent teaching, though the Institute expects that a maximum commitment of 0.4 of a full-time position will be dedicated to work other than the Postdoctoral Fellow’s individual research project.
Who can apply?
We warmly welcome applications from both within and beyond the University of Edinburgh. Applicants must have been awarded a doctorate at the time of application, and normally within the last seven years (you must be able to produce a transcript, testamur, or a letter of completion/eligibility to graduate as part of your application; you do not need to have actually graduated at the time you apply). You should not have held a permanent position at a university, or a previous Fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities. Those who have held temporary and/or short-term appointments are eligible to apply. If you have taken parental leave or other time away from academia, this will not count towards the seven-year limit, but we ask that you provide brief details of why and for how long you were not working.
Application procedure
The closing date
The closing date for visits from August 2025 to July 2026 is 17:00 GMT was on 25 April 2025. Applications received after that date will not be considered. Decisions will be communicated in July. Please ensure that you supply a valid email address so that you can be contacted quickly after decisions are made.
Past GENDER.ED Postdoctoral Fellows
Dr Rosa Campbell | IASH (2023/24)
Dr Qazi Sarah Rasheed | IASH (2024/25)
- Additional Notes
- Consideration will be given to the academic record and the publications of all applicants and their capacity to disseminate their views among a community of like-minded people. Candidates must give evidence of any contact they have made with researchers within GENDER.ED / the University of Edinburgh, are required to make such contact before submitting their applications, and those who can evidence the relevance of their proposed project to the Edinburgh research community will be regarded favourably. Particular weight will be placed on the quality and timeliness of the project proposed, and we encourage innovative and interdisciplinary topics and approaches.
- For information about the scope of work undertaken within GENDER.ED, see the network’s website and researcher directory or browse through the staff pages of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.
- Only fully completed formal applications will be considered. It is the responsibility of each applicant to ensure that all documentation is complete, and that referees submit their reports to IASH by the closing date. Candidates may like to submit a copy of any one article or publication that is thought to be especially relevant to the research proposal and Fellowship submission. It must be emphasised, however, that no such submitted publication will be returned to the candidate.
- The Institute was established in 1969 by the then Faculty of Arts to promote enquiry of the highest standards in the Humanities, broadly conceived. It began to receive Fellows in 1970, and is now located as an independent institute within the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. Inter-departmental and inter-disciplinary study has always been encouraged.
- GENDER.ED is a cross-University hub for gender and sexualities studies from an interdisciplinary perspective. It showcases and promotes teaching, research, knowledge exchange and impact in gender and sexualities studies at the University of Edinburgh and beyond.
- The Postdoctoral Fellow will deliver a public lecture/seminar during their Fellowship. They will be expected to share GENDER.ED’s commitment to intersectionality and interdisciplinarity, and to its support for decolonial campaigns. They will actively participate in the hub’s own programme of activities and events, including its reading group and annual research showcase.
- Fellows must make the Institute their main place of work for the duration of the Fellowship. It is expected that Fellows will be in residence throughout the tenure of their Fellowship and will contribute fully to the life of the Institute during that time. Fellows will be expected to work in collaboration with one or more members of existing University academic staff in the GENDER.ED network, and to take an active part in both IASH and GENDER.ED events. No regular teaching is required.
- Applicants looking for suitable accommodation in Edinburgh may find these links useful.
- Consideration will be given to the academic record and the publications of all applicants and their capacity to disseminate their views among a community of like-minded people. Candidates must give evidence of any contact they have made with researchers within GENDER.ED / the University of Edinburgh, are required to make such contact before submitting their applications, and those who can evidence the relevance of their proposed project to the Edinburgh research community will be regarded favourably. Particular weight will be placed on the quality and timeliness of the project proposed, and we encourage innovative and interdisciplinary topics and approaches.