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Published: 28 May 2025 92 views
This is a three-year partnership from 2025 to 2027. The final round of Fellowships – starting in January 2027 – will be awarded in due course as part of the same programme.
Fellows will spend the first ten months of their Fellowships at IASH, followed by up to two months based in their home countries focused on knowledge exchange and dissemination in collaboration with the British Council.
The Fellowship provides a bursary of £2,500 per month and travel expenses as well as desk space, library access and academic mentoring as part of the vibrant scholarly community of visiting fellows at IASH. Fellows will also be expected to engage closely with the British Council throughout their Fellowships (including visits to UK offices), with the option to spend time in a British Council office in their home country as part of the knowledge exchange component of the Fellowship.
The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We create friendly knowledge and understanding between the people of the UK and other countries. We do this by making a positive contribution to the UK and the countries we work with – changing lives by creating opportunities, building connections and engendering trust. We work with over 100 countries across the world in the fields of arts and culture, English language, education and civil society. Last year we reached over 80 million people directly and 791 million p... continue reading
| Application Deadline | 28 Jul 2025 |
| Country to study | United Kingdom |
| School to study | University of Edinburgh |
| Type | Fellowship |
| Sponsor | British Council |
| Gender | Men and Women |
IASH hosts a lively scholarly community of visiting fellows. It is a supportive environment for postdoctoral researchers, while also offering networking opportunities with successful mid-career and eminent senior scholars. The Institute occupies a historic building with private courtyard and leafy views – perfect for uninterrupted thinking, reading and writing. Yet there is also plenty of opportunity to socialise and share ideas.
In short, a 2026 British Council 90th Anniversary Research Fellowship provides:
These Fellowships are intended to support research that is aligned with the overarching vision of the British Council (“a more peaceful and prosperous world built on trust”) and the purpose outlined in their strategy:
We support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide.
Applicants must be based in an ODA-recipient country where the British Council operates and be qualified to undertake postdoctoral level research for this early career Fellowship, meaning they must have a PhD, completed within the last seven years (factoring in career breaks, e.g. periods of parental leave or time away from academia).
Research topics should be relevant to the areas of priority across Arts, Education and the English language that are outlined in our strategy, and to areas of cross-cutting strategic British Council interest such as international relations and soft power, international development and peace building, and cultural relations and cultural diplomacy.
Application Timeline:
29 April 2025 Application portal opens
23 May 2025 at 13:00 UK time Applicant webinar (register here: https://bc90webinar.eventbrite.co.uk)
28 July 2025 at 23:59 UK time Application deadline
By end of August 2025 Selection of candidates
January 2026 Fellowship start date
January – October 2026 Fellowships are undertaken at IASH, University of Edinburgh
November – December 2026 Knowledge exchange and dissemination with British Council
For more details, visit University of Edinburgh Fellowship webpage
