Dennis Sciama – Non-Stipendiary Junior Research Fellowship 2026
Salary
Non-Stipendiary
Application deadline
Sunday 26 October 2025
Wolfson College is proposing to elect one non-stipendiary Junior Research Fellowship from 1 January 2026 for two years. The Fellowship is open to postdoctoral researchers at the University of Oxford, working in the areas of astrophysics, the philosophy of physics, astroparticle physics and cosmology. This fellowship is being offered in memory of Dennis Sciama (1926-1999) a member of the Universities of Cambridge (1959-1970), Oxford (All Souls College and Wolfson College,1970-1999) and the Scuola Internazionale di Studi Avanzati, Trieste, Italy (1980-1999).
With an emphasis on encouraging new conceptualisations, the Junior Research Fellowship hopes to support work that bridges at least two areas of the field and takes a broad view from the very small to the very large.
The aim of the Junior Research Fellowship is to provide the conditions for research excellence so that fellows can develop their work in a range of directions. This goal is promoted by Wolfson College making their facilities available for the interaction of scientists with complementary interests in a collegial environment.
Candidates will be required to be engaged in research, with a full-time University of Oxford contract of employment for the duration of the Fellowship or have full-time external funding for research within a University of Oxford Department or Faculty or Wolfson College, and to spend the greater part of the academic year in Oxford. Candidates must hold a doctorate by the commencement of the Fellowship (1 January 2026).
The Dennis Sciama Fellowship is intended equally for those with only limited post-doctoral experience and for those who are becoming established scholars in their field. All Fellowships carry Common Table rights (currently up to £59.50 a week for own meals in Hall), and other benefits. Applications are particularly welcome from women, and black and minority ethnic candidates who are under-represented in academic posts in Oxford. Preference will be given to candidates who have not already held a Fellowship at the same level at another College.
Junior Research Fellows are not members of the Governing Body of the College, but they are eligible to sit on nearly all College committees, and may be elected as representative members of the Governing Body. Junior Research Fellows may be asked to act as a College Advisor to graduate students.
Tenure
The Fellowship will be for a maximum of two years and is not renewable.
Funding The Fellowships are non-stipendiary. Candidates are asked to demonstrate their financial independence with evidence of their means of support. Where funds are applied for but not confirmed, any offer will be conditional on proof of funding being provided before the start of the Fellowship
References
References will be requested after the shortlisting stage for interview candidates who should themselves contact their two referees asking them without further request to send a confidential reference to the President’s Office before the interview date. References should be emailed (as a pdf) to the President’s Office on presidents.office@wolfson.ox.ac.uk
Applications
Application should include:
- A completed application form and a curriculum vitae (no more than two pages).
Please email your complete application to arrive by the closing date to: presidents.office@wolfson.ox.ac.uk Please send as ONE pdf file (excluding the optional Recruitment Monitoring form which should be sent separately as it does not constitute part of the application.)
OPTIONAL – if you wish to complete and return the optional Recruitment Monitoring Form, please send as a separate pdf to recruitment@wolfson.ox.ac.uk. It does not form part of the application.
CLOSING DATE: SUNDAY 26 OCTOBER 2025INTERVIEW DATE: THURSDAY 20 NOVEMBER 2025 No alternative interview date will be offered