King's College London
Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship
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Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship 2027 Scheme
King’s College London welcomes expressions of interest from exceptional applicants who wish to apply for a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship (ECF) with King’s College London as their host organisation.
The deadline for receipt of expressions of interest is 5pm on Thursday the 1st October 2026; see details below.
About the Scheme
The Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship scheme is open to candidates who hold either a degree from a UK higher education institution, or a non-permanent role at a UK HEI. It typically provides a three-year fellowship in any area supported by the Trust, including the Fellow's salary and up to £6k per annum in research costs. Candidates are strongly advised to refer to Leverhulme guidance on the eligible scope of projects which can be found here.
All candidates must have submitted their doctoral thesis for viva voce examination not more than four years prior to the Leverhulme ECF application final closing date (anticipated to be February 2027). Candidates are strongly advised to consult the Early Career Fellowships Guidance for Applicants 2027 when published for all information about career break and COVID disruption eligibility.
Applicants are encouraged to consider how and why their proposed programme necessitates a Leverhulme ECF rather than a project grant or alternative postdoctoral fellowship; and why King’s College London is an appropriate host for them and their research project.
We welcome EOIs to the following Faculties and disciplinary areas:
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The Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy
We welcome applications from across the disciplinary foci represented in the Faculty, primarily social sciences, but potentially linking beyond. All applicants must have their PhD awarded with any corrections completed by the triage deadline of October 1st. Applicants are also expected to have established a relationship with a proposed mentor and be able to articulate the benefits of undertaking the Fellowship in our Faculty compared to another institution. Applicants with postdoctoral research experience and have at least 1 – 2 published or accepted scholarly publications will be regarded as more competitive for the scheme.
The Dickson Poon School of Law
We welcome applications in any area of law, but have a particular interest in criminology, public law, climate change governance, medical law and construction law.
King’s Business School
We welcome applications in research including contributions to our Knowledge Frontiers: Developing a modern workplace, Sustainable & responsible business, Improving health & public services organisation, Strengthening economic & financial systems as well as our overarching themes AI, Digitalisation, Big data and Automation.
Expressions of Interest
The significant support of the host institution is a critical component of these fellowships. As such, King’s has an internal process for identifying potential applicants to this scheme. Those interested in applying for a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship at King’s College London should email susanna.cornick-willis@kcl.ac.uk with the following details, in one pdf saved with your surname in the file name:
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- Your full name
- Your current research status and affiliation
- Expected host department
- Confirmation that you have contacted & agreed in-principle support from a suitable mentor within your expected host department
- A CV (2pp max)
- A Case for Support describing the proposed area of interest, ensuring it reflects the areas set out above; the proposed research project; an outline workplan; and reasons for choosing King’s as your host institution, including areas of research and individuals whose work complements your proposed project (2-4pp)
- Confirmation of your eligibility, reflecting the Leverhulme’s eligibility criteria
Applications must be received by 5pm on the 1st October 2026 at the latest. If you have any queries about the process please email Camilla.Darling@kcl.ac.uk; note that we welcome conversations about the detail of the research areas set out above as you develop an EOI. After assessment by King’s, selected candidates will be invited to develop a full application with King’s as their host institution; with submission to the Leverhulme Trust in early 2027.
Please note that if your disciplinary area is not set out above, King’s is not inviting EOIs in that area this year. If you need any guidance about the expectations for applicants or for mentors please see the Leverhulme guidance at this link [https://www.leverhulme.ac.uk/early-career-fellowships] or contact King’s as above.
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