Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowships
Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship (LTECF): Application Selection Process
Leverhulme Trust are offering three year (36 month) full-time fellowships in any subject area (other than some health-related disciplines), open to candidates within four years of their PhD submission by the application due date of 19th February 2026, and who have not previously held a full-time academic post at a UK university. Full details of the LTECF scheme can be found here: https://www.leverhulme.ac.uk/early-career-fellowships
The fellowships are tenable at any university in the UK, with the Trust encouraging movement between institutions since a candidate’s undergraduate experience. Thus, applicants wishing to hold a LTECF at the University of Glasgow (UoG) may come from within UoG or from another University. Applications require approval from the host institution and from the relevant Head of Department.
The award offers joint support from Leverhulme Trust and the host University, with each covering half the salary costs of the Fellowship: Leverhulme Trust offer up to £28,000 maximum per year for salary plus £6,000 per annum in research costs.
An internal Lord Kelvin/ Adam Smith (LKAS) Leadership Fellowship application to secure the institutional match funding will need to be submitted in January 2026, ahead of the Leverhulme Trust submission.
To manage the submissions process for LTECF proposals from candidates wishing to be hosted within one of the Subjects within SPS @ UoG, we require candidates to submit a synopsis template to socpol-researchsupport@glasgow.ac.uk by 5pm on Friday 24th October 2025. The template can be downloaded Leverhulme-ECF-application-template-2025-26 (Microsoft Word Document). Details of what is required are given below in this document.
Applicants must make contact with the Research Director of the Division within which they wish to hold their Fellowship in order to discuss their research idea and to agree the mentor to be allocated to the applicant, who can help with discussions about the development of the proposal. The Division Research Directors are listed below:
Political & International Studies: Patrick Bayer
Sociological & Cultural Studies: Christopher Bunn
Urban Studies & Social Policy: Morag Treanor or David Waite
The School of Social and Political Sciences (SPS) Research and Knowledge Exchange Committee will consider all submissions and select those it wishes to offer institutional and departmental support for during the applications process. Candidates will be notified of this decision by Friday, 21st November 2025.
Thereafter, we would expect to receive the applicant’s full proposal for internal peer review by Monday 12th January 2026 prior to submission to LT by 19th February 2026.
SYNOPSIS OF PROPOSAL
This should consist of the following, contained in a single document:
Applicant Name:
Title of research proposal: No more than 80 characters including spaces.
Statement of Eligibility: Explain briefly how you meet the eligibility criteria for the scheme.
Host Division: State which Division within SPS you wish to be hosted within (Politics and International Studies; Sociological and Cultural Studies; Urban Studies and Social Policy).
Proposed Mentor: Name your mentor within the host Division, and their Subject Group
Abstract: This account should be given in non-technical terms so as to be easily comprehensible to a non-expert (maximum 100 words).
Details of current and past research: Give details of your current and past research experience (maximum 250 words). Focus on the research most relevant to the current application.
Proposed Research: Short statement of aims, objectives, methodology and outcomes. 500 words max.
Major Publications: List your main or most relevant publications, identifying ‘submitted’ and ‘published’. One page max.
Other Outputs: Please list up to 3 other non-traditional outputs and knowledge exchange/ impact activities you have led/ been involved in, with a brief description (up to 50 words per item)
Relevant Research in Host Division: What research within the Division is relevant to your project. (Max 100 words).
Relevant Research in the School (SPS) and other disciplines at the University of Glasgow? What research within the Division is relevant to your project. (Max 100 words).
Other Institutional Applications: Please confirm whether you are also considering applying for the Leverhulme ECF 2026-7 Scheme via other institutions in addition to University of Glasgow.
Statement from Division Research Director: Fit with Divisional research priorities and benefits of hosting the candidate. (max 150 words)