The SWDTP Postdoctoral Fellowship 2027 round is now open.
The ESRC invites applications for postdoctoral fellowships (PDF) to be based at the SWDTP institutions of University of Bath, University of Bristol, University of Exeter, Plymouth University, University of West of England, Bath Spa University, Bournemouth University and Plymouth Marjon University.
Fellowships are aimed at providing a development opportunity for social science researchers in the immediate postdoctoral stage of their career, to consolidate their PhD through developing publications, their networks, and their research and professional skills.
The PDF call forms part of ESRC’s strategy to support early career researchers and will be delivered through the national network of Doctoral Training Partnerships (DTPs) and Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs).
The SWDTP has four 9-month fulltime equivalent to award for 2027.
Fellowships start on 1st October 2027 and must finish by 30th June 2028 (exceptions will only be considered for part-time awards, parental or sick leave).
Register to Attend the Information Session
An information session will be held online at 1-2pm on Tuesday 1st December to introduce the competition process.
Eligibility
To be eligible applicants must:
- Have been awarded a PhD or have passed their viva voce with minor amendments by the 23rd March 2027 and have been awarded their PhD by the fellowship start date of 1st October 2027.
- Have no more than 12 months (fulltime equivalent) active postdoctoral experience since passing their viva voce (allowing for career breaks). The period of active post-doctoral experience should be calculated from the viva voce being passed to the application deadline of closing date of 23rd March 2027
- Must conduct research that is clearly over 50% based in the social sciences
- Applicants requiring a visa to work in UK should check they are eligible to apply for a relevant visa.
- Submit an Expression of Interest to no more than one SWDTP institution
The application process begins with an Expression of Interest to one of our partner universities.
We only accept full applications from individuals that have been nominated by one of our partner universities.
If you are interested in applying, you should contact one of our partner universities using the contact details below as soon as possible. They will share with you the Expression of Interest (EoI) form and their internal deadline for receiving an Expression of Interest.
Applicants are also asked to complete an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) form at the time of submitting the EoI. The link to the EDI form is on the EoI document that you will be sent by partner institutions. Note: this is held confidentially and data collated for statistical reporting to the ESRC only.
You should be notified of outcomes from the EoI stage no later than 5th May 2026.
Contact details for our partner universities
Bath: resdev@bath.ac.uk
Bristol: rda-alss@bristol.ac.uk and rdo-rduk@bristol.ac.uk
Exeter: internalsifts@exeter.ac.uk
Plymouth: patricia.kanngiesser@plymouth.ac.uk
UWE: research@uwe.ac.uk
Bath Spa: a.parfitt@bathspa.ac.uk
Bournemouth: msilk@bournemouth.ac.uk
Plymouth Marjon: awalmsley@marjon.ac.uk
Finding a department to host your fellowship and a mentor
All applications must be supported by a mentor (see specifications and FAQs below for further information). Our partners can support you to find a suitable mentor within their university. Here we provide general advice to help you work out which partner university and department within that university is best aligned with your research and career aspirations.
- Identify the SWDTP pathway that aligns with your research area. The universities and departments within those universities that host relevant pathways can be found here.
- Use department websites to find a research centre or group that is aligned with your research interests. This is where you are most likely to find a supportive and vibrant research community and mentor with strong capacity to support your research and career aspirations. Webpages for research groups usually list their members with links to staff webpages.
- You may also use the SWDTP’s searchable database of potential supervisors, which includes academics from across our partner universities and pathways.
- If you are contacting a potential mentor, we recommend you include the link to this webpage so they are fully informed of the opportunity that you wish to apply to. You might also attach a short abstract for your PhD dissertation and a CV. Very briefly explain in the email, why you think they will be a suitable mentor. Keep the text in the email brief.
- If you are still uncertain how to identify a suitable department to host your fellowship, contact swdtp-enquiries@bristol.ac.uk.
- The SWDTP discourages applications where a former supervisor is a mentor. If there are exceptional reasons why this is necessary, a second mentor should be appointed.
Information for Applicants who Have Been Nominated by an SWDTP University
All applicants who have been successful at the Expression of Interest stage, must submit a completed proposal along with the required attachments in one collated
PDF document by 11:59 pm on 23 March 2027 to the SWDTP at swdtp-enquiries@bristol.ac.uk
Applicants at the full application stage will be informed of outcomes by 4 June 2027 at the latest.
Note: The above documents are provided for information only. You should not prepare a full application before winning a nomination from one of our institutions (see above).
Further information from the ESRC regarding early career researchers.
Further information from the ESRC regarding early career researchers can be found here