Emeritus Fellowships

For senior researchers who have retired or partially retired from an academic post to complete a research project and prepare the results for publication

The primary intention of the scheme is to support the facilitation, integration or completion of the applicant’s own research output, rather than generally further support for his or her research group or research assistants.

Value

The maximum value of a Fellowship is £24,000, to cover research expenses.

Duration

Fellowships are tenable for between 3 and 24 months.

Before beginning your application, please read the information below or download it as a PDF Guidance for Applicants.

Eligibility
Employment and research status

Applicants must:

• be resident in the UK and hold or have held a teaching and/or research post at a UK university with research degree or taught degree awarding powers or an Independent Research Organisation or Institute listed as eligible for UKRI funding at the point of retirement
• have retired by the time of commencing the Fellowship and no longer have a normal contract of employment; applicants may hold a part-time position of up to 0.5 FTE
• have an established record of research

Applying for a second award

Applications will be considered from those who are still research active who have previously held an Emeritus Fellowship. 

An award is not immediately renewable upon an Emeritus Fellowship coming to an end. At least two years must have elapsed since the completion of the applicant's previous Fellowship before a further application can be made.

A second award will not be given for completion of a project for which an Emeritus Fellowship was originally awarded.

A second award should address a topic substantially different from that of the first award.

Fields of study

Applications will be considered in all subject areas with the following exceptions:

• studies of disease, illness and disabilities in humans and animals, or 
• research that is intended to inform clinical practice or the development of medical applications

There are two reasons for this: substantial funding is available from other sources for applied medical research; the Trust’s priority is to support investigations of a fundamental nature.

What the Trust offers

Fellowships are tenable for between 3 and 24 months, and must commence between 1 August in the year the grant is awarded and 1 July the following year.

Research expenses

The following costs are eligible:

• travel and subsistence costs for periods away from home
• the employment of a research, clerical or secretarial assistant to support (rather than conduct) the work of the applicant
• photocopies
• photographic expenses
• office or laboratory consumables

There is no provision for a personal maintenance allowance or remuneration for the applicant under this scheme.

Ineligible costs

The following costs are ineligible:

• a personal maintenance allowance or remuneration for the applicant
• institutional charges for accommodation or overheads

Please note that the Trust does not make awards on a full economic costing basis. Please consult paragraphs 3.31 to 3.37 of the Science & Innovation Investment Framework 2004-2014, HM Treasury (July 2004), which explains arrangements for the provision of overheads linked to charity funding.

Please ensure that your application does not include any ineligible costs .

How to apply

If you have not already done so, please read all the information on these Emeritus Fellowships pages or download it as a PDF Guidance for Applicants . 

To make an application, please access the Leverhulme Trust Grants Management System . The recommended browser to use is Google Chrome.

When completing the application form, please refer to the Application Help Notes .

Applicants will be informed of the result of their application in the May following their application.

Feedback on applications

Unfortunately, due to the large number of applications for this scheme, it is not possible to provide feedback to individual applicants regarding unsuccessful applications.