Oxford Humanities: British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowships Frequently Asked Questions The Academy has its own FAQs

section at http://www.britac.ac.uk/funding/pdfdir/pdffaqs.cfm - although this has not been updated since 2009it is to be treated with caution. 1) I am currently completing my DPhil/PhD: am I eligible to apply? You will be eligible to apply in the current round as long as you will have had your viva voce by 1 April 2012. 2) Is there an age limit? There is no age criterion for the award, but you must normally be within 2.5 years of the award of your doctorate at the point of submitting the application (the formal award of your doctorate should have been made on or after 1 April 2009 for applicants to the current round). 3) Can I apply if I am not British? If you are not British, you can apply if you have received (or are studying for) your doctorate from a UK university, or if you are an EEA national with some association with the UK academic community. The Academy will consider awarding exemption to any candidate who does not meet the standard criterion provided they can demonstrate a 'prior association with the UK community' that is equivalent to that of having obtained a doctorate from a UK university. This may include, but is not limited to, being resident in the UK and working in a temporary capacity (more than one year) within a UK university or other research institute. If you are in any doubt, you should contact the BA for guidance at posts@britac.ac.uk. 4) What should I do if I'm studying for my doctorate at another university but want to hold the Fellowship at Oxford? We are very keen to encourage prospective PDFs from outside Oxford to apply through us, as well as those currently based here. You should make contact with the person at Oxford who you would like to be your mentor at an early stage, and ask if they would be prepared to undertake this role. Once they have agreed, follow the steps laid out in the 'Oxford Humanities Application Procedure and Checklist for Applicants' page. 5) Which subject areas does the scheme cover? British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowships can be held in any area of the humanities or social sciences. Abstracts of current and previous Fellows' projects can be found on the BA website. 6) What should I do if I want to apply to a Faculty or Department outside the Humanities Division? You should contact the relevant Faculty or Department Administrator who will advise you what the procedures are in that particular unit. To see what subject areas are covered by the Humanities Division, see links to Humanities Faculties. To find information about Faculties or Departments in the Social Sciences, go to the Social Sciences links page.
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7) How do I find a mentor? You may already have a clear idea of who is the most suitable person to be your mentor. If not, consult the webpages of the relevant Faculty to find the academic with interests most closely relevant to your own. You should also ask your own supervisor for their advice. The mentor does not need to be a specialist in the precise area of your research, but a broad overlap of interests will be most useful to you. Your mentor will have particular responsibilities in advising you with regard to publication, career development, job opportunities, and so on; the commitment is not expected to exceed one hour per month. 8) Can my preferred mentor be based in a Faculty other than my prospective host Faculty? In certain circumstances this is possible, but only with the prior agreement of the relevant Faculties. 9) Do I need a College place? The British Academy asks Oxford to ensure that all Postdoctoral Fellows have an association with a college, as this is one way of making the most of your time here. You should therefore think about which College(s) you might wish to be affiliated with. If you have been a student here before, this might be your former or current college; if not, you may wish to be associated with your mentor's college. You might also consider whether there is already an active subject community in your subject area in a given college. However, applicants do not need to arrange a college association at the outline stage. Applicants invited to the second stage of the competition (in February 2012) will be sent details of how to proceed in arranging a college association. 10) Can I make a last minute application? If you contact us in the week beginning 12 September, we may be able to process your application, but only if you have a mentor in place by the end of that week. After 19 September 2010, we will not be able to support your application and you should apply next year (if you are still eligible). 11) Who can I ask to provide a reference? You are asked to name two referees. The British Academy's advice is that one should normally be your doctoral supervisor, and the other must be from a different institution. Normally the external examiner will be the most appropriate second referee. It is unacceptable to have two references from scholars working in the same institution. In certain circumstances, e.g. when the viva voce examination has not yet been held, the external examiner may feel unable to provide a reference. In these circumstances an alternative second referee (who must be external) should be asked to provide a reference by the deadline, and the external examiner may be asked to provide an additional reference when able to do so at a later stage of the selection process. If you feel that there is not an alternative external referee who knows you and your work well, then you should ask your doctoral supervisor and/or mentor to recommend a scholar known to them who works within your sub-discipline, and
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who they would trust to take an interest in your work for the purposes of writing the reference. 12) Can I apply for any additional research expenses? Yes. If your application is taken through the second round of the competition (see Application Procedures), you will be invited to apply for up to 2,000 per annum in research expenses. This can be used for research travel (e.g. to archives), conference travel and registration fees, or for the costs of organising a conference yourself. You are strongly encouraged to make use of this invitation as the BA may not consider any additional applications for funding. 13) How does my application get to the British Academy? All applications must be submitted via the British Academys online submission system, eGAP2 (https://egap.britac.ac.uk/). When the submit button is pressed by the applicant, the application is passed electronically to Oxfords Research Services department, who arrange for institutional approval and then submit the application to the British Academy prior to the external deadline in early October. Applicants must submit their applications for institutional approval via e-GAP2 no later 9am on Monday 3 October 2011. It is the applicants responsibility to ensure that the submit button has been pressed by this time.