Henslow Research Fellowship
SELWYN COLLEGE CAMBRIDGE
43,310 per year
Cambridge
Full-time
6th March 2026
Listed today
THE CAMBRIDGE PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY HENSLOW RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP FURTHER PARTICULARS Selwyn College invites applications for the Henslow Research Fellowship, funded by the Cambridge Philosophical Society, tenable for three years from 1 October 2026. The successful candidate will pursue research in the fields of Natural Sciences, Engineering, (including Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology) Mathematics, Computer Science, Experimental Psychology, Veterinary Sciences, or Medical Sciences in the University of Cambridge. Candidates must be completing, or have completed within the past three years, a PhD degree (for this purpose, the date will be the date on which the thesis was approved not when it was submitted). The Fellowship is not normally open to those who have already held a similar position. We are committed to equal opportunities and positively welcome applications from all sections and backgrounds of society as this helps us to maintain a diverse academic community and foster an environment that is truly dynamic and engaging for all. The initial stipend for a Research Fellow with a PhD will correspond to the first step of an incremental scale, currently £43,310 rising to £45,865 in year 3 (subject to the implementation of an annual cost of living rise). Payments for undergraduate small-group teaching (supervision) are additional, and are paid at agreed intercollegiate rates. Selwyn College acknowledges the generosity of the Cambridge Philosophical Society in funding this post. It is expected that accommodation would be available in College for a single Fellow, at a modest service charge. College flats, for which rent is charged, are often available for Research Fellows with a partner. Research Fellows enjoy the same privileges as other Fellows; these include seven free meals at the High Table per week, allowances for travel and other expenses incurred by Fellows in connection with their research, and loans towards the purchase of personal computers. The College is a relatively young institution by Cambridge standards and is located at the heart of the modern University. The College prides itself on its academic focus and supportive ethos. It provides a friendly environment in which all the members of its scholarly community of over sixty Fellows and over five hundred students can thrive. The concentration of the College on a single site helps create a vibrant, ambitious, supportive and progressive community that was one of the first Cambridge Colleges to espouse co-education and that maintains a firm commitment to diversity. The Henslow Research Fellow is expected to reside in Cambridge during term, except that, with the permission of the College Council, periods may be spent away from Cambridge for the purpose of research. Research Fellows may, in consultation with the appropriate Directors of Studies, undertake up to six hours of supervision of undergraduate students per week. Research Fellows are members of the Governing Body of the College and are eligible for election to the College Council and to committees. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS • The Henslow Research Fellowship is open to graduates of any university who have, or are about to, complete their doctorates. • Candidates would normally be expected to have completed not more than three years (full time equivalent) of post-doctoral research. • The Fellowship will not normally be awarded to anyone who has held a comparable post awarded as a result of an open competition e.g. a College research fellowship, Marie Curie Fellowship or similar. • Candidates must obtain a written statement of support from the Head, or comparable authority, of the University Department in which they intend to undertake their research. This statement must include a commitment from the department to provide the necessary space and resources. The statement must be uploaded by the candidate as part of the application process. APPLICATION PROCESS • Applications are made using an online system: https://app.casc.cam.ac.uk/fas_live/selhenslowrf/ The deadline for applications is 17:00 GMT on Friday 6 March 2026; extensions to this deadline will not be given. • Applicants will be required to upload a CV, and a statement, of not more than 1,000 words, outlining the research they propose to do and its significance in their field. Candidates should also indicate the written work (see below) that they intend to submit in support of their application. Please note that this statement will be read by people outside, as well as within, the candidate's own discipline and should therefore be intelligible to scholars in other subjects. • Candidates must provide details for two referees who are prepared to write in support of their application. Candidates must ensure that these referees submit their references, via the online system and no later than 12 noon GMT on Monday 9 March 2026. It is entirely the responsibility of applicants to ensure that the references are provided on time and in the form requested. The referees should be familiar with the work to be submitted and one should normally be the candidate’s PhD supervisor. • Written work is not required at the application stage, but it is essential to have this material readily available so that it can be submitted, via the online system, if required. It is expected that the written work will be requested from about 20 from those candidates who are to be taken to the next stage. If requested, written work must be uploaded by Monday 23 March 2026. • 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 should be available. The work for submission to external assessors should be in the region of 10,000 words and no more than 12,000 words at the absolute maximum. This limit does not include references or figure legends, but does include footnotes and endnotes. The submitted work must be in English.