Residential Fellowships

The Residential Fellowship programme complements the portfolio of opportunities offered by the Institute to bring leading international scholars to Loughborough University as IAS Fellows.

IAS Residential Fellowships are open to outstanding international researchers from across all disciplines who wish to pursue a month-long research residency within the scholarly community of Loughborough University and its Institute of Advanced Studies. In addition to established postdoctoral academics, we welcome applications from scholars, artists, writers, public intellectuals and policy-makers outside the academy, whose research profiles resonate with areas of specialism at LU. The University is fully committed to equality, diversity and inclusion in all areas, and the IAS encourages applications from international scholars from any field whose work contributes to our active promotion of interdisciplinary knowledge, intercultural understanding and social responsibility.

IAS Residential Fellowships are intended to enhance and extend Loughborough’s international research collaborations and networks, encourage innovative interdisciplinary research, and catalyse new and emergent directions for future research projects. To fulfil these ambitions, applicants for the IAS Residential Fellowship programme will be required to nominate an academic colleague or research group at the University with whom they would like to work during their tenure as a Fellow. To ensure a lasting legacy of international scholarly exchange through our Fellowships, we encourage applicants to our IAS Residential Fellowship programme to incorporate into their proposals plans for joint publications, joint applications for research funding and/or the development of future collaborative research activities with Loughborough colleagues.

Eligibility:

Applicants interested in Residential Fellowships must -

• be based outside the United Kingdom.
  
  
• have a fully awarded PhD degree at the time of the deadline for applications, or be established artists, writers, public intellectuals and policy-makers in their field. Researchers undertaking undergraduate, postgraduate or doctoral research are not eligible for this scheme.
  
  
• make initial contact with their intended primary Loughborough Academic collaborator, to ensure their support for the application, and Fellowship visit, if successfully selected at panel. Loughborough Academics would be expected to only support one Residential Fellowship application per year, and would be required to select one, if approached by multiple applicants.

It is not, however, a requirement to have previously collaborated with the Loughborough Academic, you just to make contact regarding your intended application.

ATAS Approval:

Please also check if ATAS (Academic Technology Approval Scheme) approval is needed for your visit. ATAS is a scheme run by the UK government for international students who want to study certain subjects in the UK. The ATAS certificate is issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and gives security clearance to study these subjects. ATAS clearance only applies to certain subject areas, where the knowledge gained could be used in the development or delivery of weapons of mass destruction (e.g., certain science, engineering or technology subjects).

More details are available here on the Academic Technology Approval Scheme page.

If you are offered an IAS Residential Fellowship:

The IAS provides

• Return travel for the Fellow to Loughborough (we can provide support for visa applications if required, please indicate this on your application form);
• Bespoke, one-bedroom accommodation in the heart of Loughborough’s Midlands campus at the 'IAS Flat', or two-bedroom accommodation situated immediately outside the Loughborough Midlands campus in the 'IAS House'. (Please indicate on your application whether any family members will be travelling with you);
• A fixed stipend of £1500 to offset subsistence, local travel and/or incidental costs during your month-long stay;
• A flexible working base in International House, the home of the IAS, and access to the University Library (NB: we can explore access to more specialist equipment/facilities on a case-by-case basis as required, but cannot guarantee granting every request);
• Collegial support for your research project, including a lively intellectual environment, and the arrangement of formal and informal networking opportunities across the University;
• Provision for research collaborations with LU colleagues, including assistance in organising seminars, roundtables or other events agreed as part of the application.
• 1 to 1 session on funding opportunities with Loughborough University 

IAS Residential Fellows are expected to

• Be in residence at LU, participate in IAS activities, and engage with staff and research students to develop ongoing intellectual collaborations and research outcomes;
• Share their research through presentations at the IAS, such as seminars, workshops or public-facing events (NB: All Fellows are expected to deliver at least one work-in-progress seminar, one workshop for doctoral researchers, and attend IAS Friends and Fellows Coffee Mornings, during their tenure);
• Write a short report on activities and achievements against objectives outlined at application stage (within 3 months of the end of the Fellowship);
• Acknowledge IAS support in any publications resulting from their Fellowship;
• Become a member of our Loughborough IAS Alumni community.

Timescales:

IAS Residential Fellowships are for a period of one calendar month, tenable at any point between September and July of the coming academic year, as agreed between the IAS and the Fellow. You will nominate your prefered months in the application form.

During the period of the Fellowship, Fellows are expected to be in residence at the IAS on the University’s main campus in Loughborough. Where a Fellow’s research programme is linked to the work of a colleague or group at Loughborough’s London campus, the IAS will facilitate periods of stay at both campuses.

You are advised to check any travel restrictions in your own country and in the UK before submitting your application. 

This is an annual call, typically opening in January of each year and closing in May. The next deadlines will be -

• 5pm UK time on Friday 21st May 2027 -
  For visits taking place between September 2027 and July 2028
• 5pm UK time on Friday 19th May 2028 -
  For visits taking place between September 2028 and July 2029

How to apply:

This scheme has now closed for the 15th May 2026 deadline. Applications for the September 2027 to July 2028 period will open later this year. A link to the application form will be added here when they open.

The IAS Residential Fellowship scheme is a competitive process and we expect to award around 12 Fellowships per academic year.