King’s College Cambridge is delighted to launch the Mervyn King Research Fellowship and invites applications from those working in all areas of Economic History including the History of Economics. Applications are welcome from all those who wish to undertake a major project over the course of the four years of this Fellowship. The brief is deliberately wide to encourage creative thinking, and applicants should not unduly restrict themselves to any single academic discipline nor necessarily focus on a traditionally identified paradigm. The ideal candidate for this Research Fellowship will have a strong background in a relevant area of work and be completing or have completed recently an outstanding doctoral thesis. It is not a requirement that the candidate’s doctoral studies or the work that they submit in support of their application should have concerned this topic specifically, but candidates will be expected to show in their applications how their plans for their future work relate to the work that they have already done. The successful candidate will be expected to engage broadly with the whole college community.

It is the aim of King’s Research Fellowships to develop important fields of study that are currently too narrowly restricted in their practitioners and/or their objects of analysis. For this reason, candidates are encouraged to propose creative and innovative projects which will not only make an important contribution to the specific area of interest, but also strengthen the intellectual framework of the humanities as a whole.

The successful candidate will join a lively research community which includes Research Fellows and College Research Associates as well as Fellows who hold University posts. This includes a number of Fellows working in Economics, History, and Politics which will potentially align with the successful candidate’s project, and a wide range of other subjects which will provide both challenge to and stimulus for novel ways of approaching it. Research Fellows also engage with colleagues from the Collegiate University as a whole in the pursuit of their project.

A Research Fellowship is a postdoctoral position tenable for up to four years. Applications are welcome from graduates of any university. Candidates will usually have completed their PhD or equivalent qualification, but must not have undertaken more than 2 years postdoctoral work or work outside of academia by 1 October 2025 (i.e., an applicants PhD cannot have been granted before 30 September 2023).

Research Fellows are members of the Governing Body, with the full privileges of all Fellows. These include all meals, a degree of financial support for expenses associated with research, and the possibility of an office and accommodation in College properties. Currently, the stipend of a Research Fellow is £24,126 prior to the award of doctorate, or £26,807 after award of doctorate, rising each year to a maximum of £30,912. An accommodation allowance of £3,530 is paid to all Stipendiary Research Fellows, and an additional living-out allowance of up to £4,000, depending on income, is available to those Fellows not living in college-owned accommodation.

 In addition to pursuing research, a Research Fellow is required to live in Cambridge or close by and to participate in College life and activity. Although these are research posts, Research Fellows are encouraged to take advantage of opportunities to undertake a small amount of University or College teaching, or tutorial duties. Such activity is remunerated separately and can make an important contribution to the development of an academic career. During the course of the Fellowship, a Research Fellow may be granted an intermission for one or two years to take up a temporary position either in Cambridge or elsewhere provided that doing so would be consistent with the Research Fellow’s career development.

The closing date for applications, including references, is 9 am on Monday 16 September 2024. Further information about the College may be obtained from the College website.

Eligibility: graduates of any university are eligible. Candidates will usually have completed their PhD but must not have undertaken more than 2 years of postdoctoral work by 1 October 2025 (i.e. your PhD cannot have been granted before 30 September 2023).

 The college has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK. If you do not have the right to work in the UK already, any offer we make will be conditional upon you gaining it. The College will give informal advice and assistance but ultimately it will be the responsibility of the candidate to fulfill the necessary visa requirements and to obtain a visa.

Dates:

 ● The closing date for application is 9 am UK local time) on Monday 16 September 2024. Applications received after this date and time will not be considered.

 ● Long-listed candidates will be notified in late-September and will be expected to provide within 5-days a writing sample which they believe best represent their talents. This should be no more than 20,000 words and may include a thesis chapters or publications.

 ● Short-listed candidates will be notified late November/early December, and will be invited for interview on either Wednesday 15th or Thursday 16th January 2025. Please ensure that you will be available for interview on these dates, as it is not possible to arrange other times for interviews.

 ● The Fellowship will begin on 1 October 2025.

Application: To apply use the following link to create an application: https://app.casc.cam.ac.uk/fas_live/mervynking/