Category Archives: other events

CHEVENING OXFORD CENTRE FOR ISLAMIC STUDIES FELLOWSHIP (OCIS) AND OCIS ABDULLAH GÜL FELLOWSHIP

Application Deadline: 7 October 2025, at 12:00 (UTC)

LOCATION: United Kingdom

The Chevening Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies (OCIS) Fellowships are aimed at mid-career academics or professionals who are dedicated to the promotion of academic activities that encourage a more informed understanding of the culture and civilization of Islam and contemporary Muslim societies.

ELIGIBILITY:

To be eligible for a Chevening OCIS Fellowship, you must:

Demonstrate the potential to rise to a position of leadership and influence.

Demonstrate the personal, intellectual and interpersonal attributes reflecting this potential.

Be a citizen of one of the following countries and a resident in one of these countries at the point of application: Afghanistan, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the Philippines, Senegal, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, or Uzbekistan.

Return to the country of your citizenship at the end of the period of the fellowship.

Hold a postgraduate-level qualification (or equivalent professional training or experience in a relevant area) at the time of application.

Have significant professional and/or academic research experience (at least five years).

Have a good working knowledge of English to be assessed in your application form and if you are invited to interview.

Not hold British or dual-British citizenship.

Not be an employee, a former employee, or a relative of an employee of His Majesty’s Government, or have been within the last two years from the opening of Chevening applications (including the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office; all British Embassies/High Commissions; the Home Office; the Ministry of Defence; the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy; the Department for International Trade; and the UKVI), the British Council, or a sponsoring UK university.

* Note: Immediate relatives are defined as parents or step-parents, siblings or step-siblings, children or step-children, spouses, civil partners, or unmarried (where the couple have been in a relationship akin to marriage or civil partnership for at least two years).

Please note that applicants who have previously received financial benefit from an HMG-funded scholarship or fellowship are eligible to apply after a period of five years following the completion of their first HMG funded award. In these cases, applicants will be required to demonstrate their career progression from that point.

Applicants should be prepared to outline a short proposal on the area of academic research they would like to conduct at the time of application submission. The proposal should include a main research question and how the applicant intends to conduct this research while in residence at the Centre.

The Chevening Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies Fellowship (OCIS) and OCIS Abdullah Gül Fellowship selection process involves two rounds of interviews. The first interview will be with British embassies and high commissions. Candidates should be prepared to explain their suitability and motivations for the Chevening OCIS fellowship and should also be prepared to explain their research interests. Successful candidates will be invited to a second and final interview with representatives from OCIS which will focus further on your research interests.

BENEFIT:

Five-month period of research at OCIS.

Living expenses for the duration of the fellowship.

Return economy airfare from home country to the UK.

Allowance package for research-related activities.

Access to a programme of cultural events and activities organised by the FCDO and the Chevening Secretariat.

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ST JOHN’S COLLEGE CAMBRIDGE, RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP COMPETITION 2026 FOR EARLY-CAREER ACADEMICS

Application Deadline: 2pm BST on 18 September 2025

LOCATION: United Kingdom

The St. John’s College Research Fellowships provide rising stars of academia with a rare opportunity to pursue postdoctoral research in an interdisciplinary community. Up to four Research Fellowships will be awarded in this competition. Applicants should have submitted their PhD after 1 October 2024, or be on track to have submitted their PhD by 1 October 2026.

ELIGIBILITY:

They accept applications from a graduate of any university within or outside the United Kingdom.

In this year’s competition they welcome applications for research in all STEM subjects and in the following arts/humanities disciplines: Anthropology, Architecture, Modern and Medieval Languages (French, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian, and Portuguese), Classics, Education, History, History and Philosophy of Science, History of Art, Theology, Religion and Philosophy of Religion, Land Economy, and Philosophy.

Their Research Fellowship awards are for early-career academics. Successful candidates will normally be either postdoctoral researchers who have recently submitted their PhD or graduate students in the latter stages of research leading to a PhD.

Candidates should have either:

1. Submitted their PhD after 1 October 2024

Or

2. Be on track to have submitted their PhD by 1 October 2026.

Candidates holding a fellowship or other postdoctoral stipend (for example, awarded by a Research Council or other similar body) may apply, noting that any stipend or other funding received will be deducted from the Research Fellowship award.

Holders of a Fellowship at a Cambridge college may not apply. Candidates who accept a Fellowship from another Cambridge college will be deemed to have withdrawn from the St. John’s College Research Fellowship competition.

The 2026 St. John’s College Research Fellowships competition runs from 30 July to 18 September 2025.

Your application must be submitted online by 2pm BST on 18 September 2025. Referees will have until 2pm BST on 23 September to complete your references.

You can apply before getting all three references, but your application will be considered incomplete if the references are not added by the reference deadline. It is your responsibility to ensure that referees submit their references in time.

St John’s College policies are fully inclusive, regardless of age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, gender identity or reassignment, or relationship status.

BENEFIT:

The four-year award offers a research stipend starting at £33,482 pa with an annual uplift, and award holders are elected to a Research Fellowship for this period.

Award holders are permitted to receive additional pay for up to six hours ’ College or University teaching a week during term time.

Research Fellows benefit from up to £10,000 in additional grants over their four-year tenure. These grants support the costs of academic materials, travel expenses, computer equipment, books, and costs relating to organising a conference or workshop in St. John’s.

Fellowships are held on condition of residence within the University of Cambridge, i.e., within 20 miles of the centre of Cambridge. Research Fellows can choose to live in College in single residential accommodation, with charges applying for services and supplies.

Research Fellows who live outside College, including those who live with their partner/family, are eligible for a housing allowance worth up to £35,760 over their four-year tenure. This allowance is paid monthly and is capped at 50 percent of rent paid. Research Fellows living outside St. John’s will have an office in College.  

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