BA/Leverhulme Senior Research Fellowships Grant

The British Academy/Leverhulme Senior Research Fellowships support established scholars in completing significant research projects by providing a year of research leave. This fellowship is aimed at individuals who have struggled to dedicate time to their research due to teaching and administrative responsibilities. Eligible candidates must be employed at a UK institution, with no restrictions on age or status, and are encouraged to disseminate their findings for future academic advancement.

The British Academy/Leverhulme Senior Research Fellowship is for established scholars wanting relief from their teaching and administration duties to be able to bring to completion a significant piece of research. The Fellowship, funded by the Leverhulme Trust and the Thank Offering to Britain Fund, provides award-holders with a sustained period of research leave for one year.
Particular focus is on individuals who have not been able to focus on research due to their other responsibilities, and so the aim of this scheme is to allow successful award-holders to concentrate on bringing a major piece of research towards completion.

Eligibility

The Academy takes no account of an applicant's age or current status (e.g. Professor, Lecturer) in determining eligibility for these awards.Rather, in all cases, award-holders are expected to be able to disseminate the results of their research not only through publications, but also through feeding into their future academic career after the end of the awards.Any field of study in the humanities and social sciences is suitable for support. Additionally, applicants must be employed in a UK institution.The only cost payable will be the salary of a replacement lecturer, who should normally be at an early career stage and appointed at the usual starting salary for first-time appointments, together with associated employers’ costs of NI and USS (and London Allowance where applicable).

Ineligibility

Please note – applicants who have already applied to the Academy’s 2025-26 round of the Mid-Career Fellowship scheme should note that they are not permitted to apply to the British Academy/Leverhulme Senior Research Fellowship scheme in the autumn of 2025.These Fellowships are not covered under the Full Economic Costing (FEC) regime, and no research expenses for the Fellowship holder are available.