Independent Research Fellow

Are you an Early Career Researcher keen to advance in the field of Psychology? University of Sussex offers the opportunity for a new ECR to join our community, or further develop their existing role here. We are offering support to talented researchers writing applications for major fellowships, who wish to establish a longer-term career at University of Sussex. We would offer mentorship to develop your bid and, if you are successful, an attractive start-up package including additional Sussex-funding for a PhD studentship, and a transparent tenure-track process to secure a permanent position at the end of the fellowship. Your successful bid would be for an externally-funded fellowship that lasts for at least 5 years and should ideally cover all of your fellowship salary. Your deadline to contact us is 15^th May 2025 for applicants wishing to apply for an ERC Starting Grant (whose submission date is October 2025; start date 2026). 

Eligibility is open to researchers of any nationality with 2-7 years post-PhD experience (adjusted for career breaks and part-time status). Applicants should have a highly promising scientific track record and an excellent research proposal. The School is dedicated to diversity and inclusivity, having an Athena SWAN Silver Award, a Race Equity Action Plan, and an active Equality, Diversity, & Inclusion group. We especially encourage applications from those returning from career breaks, and from black and minority ethnic candidates, and women, trans, and non-binary candidates, who are under-represented in the School of Psychology.

Any candidate who successfully wins the externally-funded research Fellowship would be accorded Research Fellow status as a Principal Investigator within the School Psychology, and would be integrated within one (or more) of our six Subject Groups (Biological/ Clinical/ Cognitive/ Developmental/ Social Psychology, or Research Methods). The successful candidate will also benefit from access to shared research facilities, infrastructure, and resources including technical staff. Specialist facilities include the Sussex Child Research Hub, Behavioural Neuroscience labs, Clinical Imaging Sciences Centre (with 3T MRI), Brain and Body laboratory; Human Psychophysiology and Psychoacoustic laboratories; and Vision laboratories. In addition, the School of Psychology hosts a number of Research Centres where we have significant critical mass: Sussex Neuroscience, Sussex Addiction Research and Intervention Centre (SARIC), Sussex Centre for Research on Kindness, Centre for Research on Cultural and Societal Diversity, Sussex Centre for Mental Health Research, Centre for Research Reform and Open Science, and the Sussex Centre for Sensory and Perceptual Diversity.

In the last Research Excellence Framework exercise (REF2021), 88% of our research was deemed to be “world leading” or “internationally excellent” placing us in 18^th place (out of nearly 100 UK institutions). In the 2025 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, Psychology at Sussex was positioned 11^th nationally, and 77^th globally, which is a reflection of our strong international character. 

Informal enquiries are encouraged in advance to Prof. Jamie Ward, Deputy Head of School. The deadline is 15th May 2025 for the October 2025 deadline for ERC Starting Grants, and year-round for and other independent fellowships in Psychology (e.g., UKRI Future Leaders, Wellcome Early Career Awards, Royal Society Fellowships, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships). Please send a CV and a 2-page summary of your grant idea to jamiew@sussex.ac.uk.

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