The Faculty of English and Department of Anglo Saxon Norse and Celtic (ASNC) at the University of Cambridge welcomes applicants for consideration for the British Academy International Fellowship scheme.

The British Academy International Fellowship is a two-year initiative aimed at attracting and retaining emerging talent in the UK to create a globally connected and mobile research workforce. This program seeks to draw talented international early career researchers to conduct their research in the UK, support them in pursuing high-quality and innovative projects, and provide opportunities for career development.

Eligibility

Applicants should ensure that they meet the following requirements:

• Have a PhD, or applicants in the final stages of their PhD must be of postdoctoral status, i.e. have had their viva voce, by the time the International Fellowships Final Awards Panel meets on the 1 June in the year of application. Confirmation of award of the PhD will be required before any Fellowship award is confirmed.
• Applicants should have no more than five years of active full time postdoctoral experience at the time of application (discounting career breaks, but including teaching experience and/or time spent in industry).
• Be working outside the UK.
• Not hold UK citizenship.
• Applicants must hold a PhD from a non-UK institution
• Be competent in oral and written English.
• Have a clearly defined and mutually-beneficial research proposal agreed with a UK host researcher. Important:  A Faculty member is needed to act as the ‘UK Sponsor’ for the application and must work with the lead applicant to develop the project proposal. The sponsor will provide mentoring, support and guidance throughout the duration of the Fellowship. Please note that your UK sponsor in the chosen department must be consulted prior to the internal deadline and must have agreed to support the development of your project proposal and application. Please ensure your sponsor has read the relevant scheme notes. Sponsors should be permanent faculty employed members of staff (normally assistant professors, associate professors or professors). Please contact ajm325@cam.ac.uk if you are unsure of the status or eligibility of your potential sponsor.
• Applicants should ensure that they meet all the eligibility requirements, which are explained in the scheme notes. The 2026 scheme notes have now been published. Please also see the updated FAQ’s document.

Important: Please note the following changes to the scheme for 2026:

• Applicant eligibility will move to 0-5 years post PhD. This is a change from 0-7 years post-PhD. Career breaks, parental leave and other periods of leave outside of academia will still be discounted from this time period. The applicant must already be of postdoctoral status, i.e. have had their viva voce, by the time the International Fellowships Final Awards Panel meets on the 1 June in the year of application.
• Applicants must hold a PhD from a non-UK institution. Applicants who hold a UK PhD are eligible for the British Academy’s Post Doctoral Fellowships scheme. Those with UK-based Masters will still be eligible to apply.
• Reduction in the number of applications per sponsor (i.e. UK host academic). The UK sponsor will now only be able to support one application per round.
• No longer require a statement from a nominated referee. There will no longer be a requirement to provide references as part of an International Fellowships application, bringing the scheme in line with all other Academy schemes.

Submitting an application via English/ASNC

The deadline for expressions of interest for applications to English is 5pm BST on Monday 5 January 2026 (please note that this expression of interest does not apply to candidates wishing to apply through ASNC).

Please send the name of the person who has agreed to act as your faculty sponsor and a short description of your project to ajm325@cam.ac.uk

Following this, the internal Faculty deadline for candidates who would like to be considered for English and ASNC is 12:00 noon BST on Monday 26 January 2026

 Applicants should send the following by this date:

• A two-page CV, including the dates on which you had your PhD viva and on which you were awarded the PhD.
• Details of your research proposal: title and draft proposal
• A list of publications (not exceeding one side)
• A letter of support from your UK faculty sponsor.

This is the internal faculty deadline for applications to be assessed and selected for onward submission to the British Academy, which will likely have a deadline of mid-March 2026. You will be informed in good time before the funder deadline as to whether the faculty is able to support your application.