Jesus College Sciences Research Fellowship 2025

Jesus College invites applications each year for one stipendiary Research Fellowship in a Sciences subject. This Fellowship will normally be tenable for three years from 1 October 2025.

This competition closed at 9.00am on Tuesday 10th September 2024. If you have a user account registered with this competition, please go to the My Account page to view your data.

Competition Details

Eligibility Requirements

  • Application for a Sciences and Interdisciplinary Research Fellowship is open to those in any of the following disciplines:
    Biological Anthropology; Biology/Biological Sciences; Biotechnology; Chemical Engineering; Chemistry; Computer Science; Ecology; Engineering; Environmental Sciences; Mathematics/Mathematical Sciences; Medicine; Natural Sciences; Physics; Psychology; Veterinary Sciences.
    Any candidate whose research crosses disciplinary boundaries involving at least one of the subjects listed above (for example, Computer Science and Linguistics) should apply to this competition.
  • In selecting the best candidate in its Research Fellowship competition the college expects to elect someone with an excellent record of research in their chosen subject and the potential to pursue that research at the highest level.
  • The Fellowship is intended for researchers early in their careers. 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 been awarded their PhD Degree. Candidates who have undertaken more than five years of full-time research are unlikely to be considered.
  • Please view the Eligibility Requirements for further details.
  • The Fellowship is a fixed-term three year Research Fellowship normally commencing on 1 October 2025.
  • Statements of research are required and should not be more than 2,000 words, outlining the work candidates would submit in support of their application and the research they propose to pursue if elected. Please note that the statement will be read by people outside as well as inside the candidate's own discipline and should therefore be intelligible to scholars in other subjects.
  • A CV is required.
  • Short-listed candidates will be required to submit a 500 word statement indicating the importance of their current and proposed work in relation to their field or discipline.
  • Candidates must notify the College if they accept a Research Fellowship at another college.
  • A further short-list will be decided and those candidates will be called for interview. Interviews will be held in January 2025. Interviews will either be held face to face or by zoom/conference phone.
  • Candidates must provide details for two referees who have agreed to submit a reference through the website. The referees should be familiar with the work to be submitted and one should normally be the PhD supervisor.
  • The application as well as two referees' references must be submitted online by 9.00am on Tuesday 10th September 2024.

Written Work

  • Dissertations are not required at this stage, but it is essential to have written work readily accessible. Those candidates whose applications are short-listed for further assessment will be invited by November 2024 to submit a copy of their chosen written work electronically. Please ensure that your contact details on your application are kept updated at that time (preferably giving your e-mail, mobile, or telephone details). If candidates' work is not received by the deadline, they will be deemed to have withdrawn from the competition.
  • The College is concerned with the quality, rather than quantity, of the work submitted but, in order that an informed assessment may be made, it is important that sufficient material be available. As a rough guide, it is recommended that the work for submission to external assessors should be not more than about 40,000 words. The submitted work need not be in its final form but must provide evidence of outstanding originality and promise.
  • Submitted work should normally be written in English. If candidates are intending to submit work in a foreign language, they should give notice by indicating this on their application where they enter the title of the work.

Fellowship Details

  • The successful candidates will be elected to a Fellowship of the College, with which further obligations and privileges are associated; these include membership of the Governing Body of the College (The Society), the prime decision-making body. The College is an educational charity and each member of the Governing Body is a Trustee. The appointment is subject to the Statutes and Ordinances of the College. Fellows are expected to participate in the communal life and governance of the College and to promote develop and extend the affairs and reputation of the College.
  • Remuneration for a Research Fellow is set by reference to the University of Cambridge general stipend and salary scale. Steps 35 (£30,487) is applied respectively over the three years of Fellowship. The College is able to assist in the provision of subsidised accommodation for Research Fellows (valued at £9,600 per year). Free dinner (or lunch) is provided for all Research Fellows regardless of whether they live in or out of College. A candidate who holds another award may expect to receive a supplementary payment from the College, provided this is allowed by the award-giving body.
  • The College will pay a 'bench fee', of the order of £12k pa (subject to annual review), to allow a Research Fellow to access University Department facilities.
  • Research Fellows may join the University of Cambridge's Pension Scheme, and the College is prepared, where appropriate, to make a contribution to university fees.
  • A Research Fellow may be invited to undertake a small amount of undergraduate teaching during Term, but will not be permitted to undertake other paid work or to hold other offices and awards except by permission of the College Council.

Application Timetable

  • The application process begins on Monday 5th August 2024.
  • The application and two references must be submitted through the website by 9.00am on Tuesday 10th September 2024. Incomplete applications will not be accepted.
  • Candidates will be short-listed in November 2024.
  • Successful candidates will be invited to interview (online) in January 2025.
  • Elections will be made before the end of January 2025.
  • Successful candidates will normally enter into their Fellowships on 1st October 2025.