Koch Senior Fellowship in History

About the role

The Koch Historical Centre provides a new institutional home in Oxford for the pursuit of world-class historical research. Funded initially for 5 years, the Centre will receive its first intake of fellows in October 2025. The Centre aims to promote curiosity-driven humanities research with a strong emphasis on multi- and inter-disciplinary approaches to the study of history.  The Centre will be housed in Wadham College, Parks Rd, Oxford OX1 3PN, and will form part of the History Faculty, which will be based in the newly-inaugurated Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities (Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, Oxford, OX2 6AH) from September 2025.

The Centre will appoint 3 senior and 9 junior fellows each year. Senior fellowships will be of one year’s duration and will be open to individuals whose PhD was granted more than 10 years before their application.

The theme chosen for 2025-26 is the historical relationship between Religion and the State, and the Centre welcomes applications from scholars whose work contributes to broader discussion of the interaction of religious belief with historical writing. The Centre is particularly interested in appointing scholars who can make use of their knowledge of various interdisciplinary and historiographical approaches in order to enhance the weekly seminars.

About you

You will hold doctorate granted more than 10 years prior to the submission of this application, and have an established (inter)national publication record and reputation with a track record of internationally outstanding research. You will also be able to evidence active contributions to academic communities at academic national and/or international conferences, and proven expertise in multi- and inter-disciplinary approaches to the study of history. Experience of leading research programmes, including setting the strategic direction would be desirable.

This post is full time, fixed-term for 12 months.

Application Process

All practical and procedural queries should be sent to our recruitments team: recruitments@history.ox.ac.uk . All enquiries will be treated in strict confidence; they will not form part of the selection decision.

You will be required to complete a supporting statement, of no more than 2 single-spaced sides of A4, setting out how you meet the selection criteria for the post and to include details of your proposed project related to the fellowship theme for 2025-26, a curriculum vitae, and the names and contact details of two referees as part of your online application.

Only applications submitted through the university’s e-recruitment portal (click the 'Apply' button above) and received before noon Friday 21^st March 2025 can be considered.

Please note that you will receive an automated email from our online recruitment portal to confirm receipt of your application. Please check your spam/junk mail if you do not receive this email. You may also receive updates on the status of your application via the same means.

Committed to equality and valuing diversity