Research Fellowships

• 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. All candidates should note that these Research Fellowships are extremely competitive.
• Successful candidates are expected to be either graduate students, probably in the latter stages of their research leading to a PhD Degree, or post-doctoral researchers who have recently completed their PhD.
• 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.

• Newnham College is an equal opportunities employer.
• Fellowships at Newnham College are restricted to women. These appointments comply with legislation on sex discrimination, relying on the Equality Act 2010, Schedule 22, and Article 3 of the College Charter.

• 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 is offered in any field of Science, Mathematics, Engineering, or Psychology.

Exceptionally, two appointments were made for 2020, so no appointment will be made for 2021. Applications for the 2022 Fellowship will open in late summer 2021, and the successful candidate will enter into their Fellowship on 1 October 2022.

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 2022 Fellowship will open in late summer 2021.

2022: 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 2022.

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.

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 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 2019, was made by Clare College.

The Margaret Anstee Research Research Fellows work in the Margaret Anstee Centre for Global Studies founded in 2018 in honour of Dame Margaret Anstee, a graduate of the College and the first woman Under-Secretary General of the United Nations.

The Margaret Anstee Centre promotes research into economic and social development and/or international relations, and complements work being carried out elsewhere in the University.

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

MAC Fellowships are not offered every year; please visit the Margaret Anstee website to see when the next ones will become available.