Fellowships-in-Residence

Fellowships-in-Residence

Fellowships-in-Residence provide an opportunity for academics based outside Oxford to conduct research on American history, politics, international relations, literature or culture at the RAI. Applicants should be working on research within the field of the RAI’s core activities.

Fellows-in-Residence use their time at the Institute to write books and articles, and participate in our community through seminars and events. Preference will be given to applicants who outline a specific research project for their time at the RAI, which either uses the resources of the Institute's Vere Harmsworth Library or would be of interest to our scholarly community.

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This provides a non-stipendiary opportunity for academics not employed by the University of Oxford to conduct research on American history, politics, international relations, literature or culture at the RAI. Applicants are likely to be people who have recently completed a doctorate at an institution other than Oxford or who are at an early stage of their academic career, or academics with tenured posts in the UK or elsewhere who are taking sabbatical leave or wish to conduct research in Oxford during the summer vacation. The aim is to allow people who are not linked to Oxford to be a part of that community and benefit from Oxford’s world-class resources, such as full access to the Vere Harmsworth Library, which offers the strongest collection in US history in Europe, including a wide range of digital resources.

Fellowships-in-residence are tenable for one, two or three terms in a single academic year, or for one summer vacation. For dates of term, see here.

The RAI can arrange for Fellows-in-Residence to have a University card (which provides library access) and an RAI email address. They will have access to a hotdesk. 

Applicants are likely to be: 

  • people who have recently completed a doctorate at an institution other than Oxford
  • early career academics
  • academics with tenured posts in the UK or elsewhere who are taking sabbatical leave
  • academics with tenured posts in the UK or elsewhere who wish to conduct research in Oxford during the summer vacation

We are unable to offer Fellowships-in-Residence to people who have not yet completed their doctorate, even those who anticipate completing their studies by the time their proposed fellowship would start.

Applicants must be actively working on research within the field of the RAI's core activities. They must also commit to spending at least three days a week in person at the RAI for the whole term of their Fellowship-in-Residence.

Apply for a Fellowship-in-Residence

 

Fellowship-in-Residence applicants must submit:

  • A completed application form
  • A two-page curriculum vitae
  • A one-page outline of the research to be undertaken during the Fellowship. This should include the title of the project(s) to be undertaken, a summary of the project, its research question and intellectual significance, as well as prospective publication plans
  • Two academic references in support of the applicant, which must reach the RAI before the application deadline

 

All application materials should be sent to enquiries@rai.ox.ac.uk. 

Applications for Fellowships-in-Residence tenable in the summer of 2024 or the 2024-25 academic year are due by Monday 29 January at noon. 

 

 

The programme of seminars and lectures took my breath away and ensured there was always a buzz in the air. And the scholars I met, from all over the world, challenged and stimulated me daily. My time at the RAI was a wonderful intellectual experience.

Dr Michael Ondaatje, University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia

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