 Money and a room of one’s own: funding, fellowships, and the transition from PhD to Postdoc Dr Charlotte Mathieson Research Fellow Institute of Advanced Study University of Warwick

“a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction” (Virginia Woolf) …. Money and office space = the 2 essentials of postdoc life

Outline  Fellowships & Funding  Fellowship schemes  Other types of funding  Surviving the post-PhD years

Postdoctoral Research Fellowships  Research-focused  Full-time work on research project  Minimal/no teaching component (often optional)  Distinct from PhD  Topic: new project, not thesis-to-book  Academic career preparation  Expected ambition towards permanent academic position

Leverhulme: “Early Career Fellowships aim to provide career development opportunities for those who are at a relatively early stage of their academic careers, but who have a proven record of research. The expectation is that Fellows should undertake a significant piece of publishable work during their tenure, and that the Fellowships should lead to a more permanent academic position.” British Academy: “opportunities for outstanding early career researchers to strengthen their experience of research and teaching in a university environment which will develop their curriculum vitae and improve their prospects of obtaining permanent lecturing posts by the end of the Fellowship. The primary emphasis is on completion of a significant piece of publishable research.”

Main schemes at a glance  Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship (3 years)  British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship (3 years)  Wellcome Trust (Medical Humanities) Research Fellowship (3 years)  Institutional schemes (various – 2, 3, 5 years typical)

Postdoctoral fellowships British Academy  within 3 yrs of doctorate (date of viva)  UK/ EEA national or PhD in UK HEI  apply through a UK host institution  Salary and research expenses  Full economic costing from BA  Success rate c. 5% ; reapplication  Deadline in October Leverhulme  within 5 yrs & not had FT perm. post  PhD from UK HEI  apply through UK host institution  Salary and research expenses  NOT FEC: match-funded by HEI  Success rate similar; reapplication  Deadline in March

Postdoctoral fellowships Wellcome Trust Research Fellowships  Medicine funder with medical humanities remit  3 years funding; expectation of leading to career in med hums  PhD awarded prior to application; no year limit, but must not have held permanent or established post  Salary and expenses; fully-funded by Wellcome  Apply through a UK HEI; preliminary followed by full application  2 rounds of applications a year (Jan/April; July/September)

Postdoctoral fellowships Other postdoctoral fellowship schemes  Warwick Institute of Advanced Study  Nottingham Research Fellowships  Birmingham Research Fellowships  Sheffield Vice-Chancellor Fellowships

What are funders looking for? Person – Place – Project

What are funders looking for? Person  Track record: publications, funding  Outstanding research ideas  Commitment to academic career  How the fellowship will develop you

What are funders looking for? Place  Suitability of research environment for you & project  research centres, resources (e.g. archive collections), skills training opportunities, colleagues & mentor  Mobility: not required but encouraged  “the development of an academic career is best served by gaining experience at different institutions” (Leverhulme)

What are funders looking for? Project  Distinct from previous work  “It is not advisable to base the research proposal for the three-year Fellowship simply on publishing the PhD thesis in book form. Rather, evidence of progression to a second project will be required” (BA)  Outstanding, original research contribution  value to the field, significance, rigour

Fellowships: general advice  Time  research options well in advance; check requirements/ eligibility  Plan  Identify gaps in CV & what you need to work on  Weigh-up applying early vs. building up track-record  More time  Draft, redraft, redraft again. Get feedback from colleagues, peers.  Internal review & institutional sign-off

Other positions/schemes  Postdoc position on bigger project  Individual research contributing to bigger project goal  Teaching fellowships  Teaching contract, usually less about skills or research development  AHRC early career scheme  Grant scheme – not individual scholarship  Up to 8 years post-PhD / 6 years of first academic position  £50k - £250k

Other funding Small grants to support research – Victorian societies, archives  BAVS research funding scheme  £500 for PGs/ECRs to support research activity  Gladstone library  Scholarships & bursaries  RSVP  Curran fellowships for travel and research in 19 th c  William Morris Society  Joseph R. Dunlap Memorial Fellowship and William Morris Society Award

Public engagement schemes  AHRC/ BBC new generation thinkers  “a new generation of academics who can bring the best of university research and scholarly ideas to a broad audience – through BBC broadcasting”  University schemes for PE/Impact

Surviving the post-PhD years My post-PhD: 1.5 years of hourly-paid teaching, marking, invigilation, academic writing classes and 1-1 tuition, private A-level tuition, research assistant on project bid, library projects on support for ECRs, freelance proofreading, etc etc… = “HOW NOT TO DO IT” Eventually: 0.6 FTE research project fellow at Institute of Advanced Study for 1 year; increased to FT with 40% research time for a further 2.5 years.

A few things I learned…  Be flexible  Jobs that combine teaching/admin/research  Benefits: skills development e.g. public engagement  Stay affiliated  Associate Fellows – library card, affiliation title  Ask for more  Office space, lockers, small travel bursaries  Conference fees

A few things I learned…  Peer support is everything: talk to each other  Networks, union groups.  Peer support is everything: help each other  Applications, interview & presentation practice  Plan  5-10 years  Best laid plans… be flexible, but keep long-term in view

Dr Charlotte Mathieson Institute of Advanced Study University of