Each year we accept applications for a funded PhD in Astronomy. The deadline for STFC and QMUL funded studentships this year is 31 January 2022 (although students with external funding may apply at any time). Please take a look at our PhD project page, or get in touch with a member of staff to learn more about the research opportunities that are available.
The Astronomy Unit has a high level of success in supporting research fellowship applications. We currently host 3 Royal Society University Research Fellows, 1 Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellow, 1 Winton Fellow, and 1 ERC Starting Grant and 1 ERC Consolidator Grant holders.
If you are interested in applying for a fellowship in the Astronomy Unit at Queen Mary, please get in touch - you can contact Dr Tom Haworth and/or the academic staff member most relevant to your research, all of whom will be happy to discuss your options and the application procedures. There are often restrictions on who can apply for these fellowships and how many we can support, so please contact us well in advance of any deadlines (see below for further details).
Available fellowships include:
STFC Ernest Rutherford Fellowships: The next ERF application deadline will be sometime in September 2023. The Astronomy Unit is normally able to support 1 application per year (and occasionally 2), and we use a competitive internal application process to select candidates. Our internal application deadline this year is the 30th June; late applications are possible, but may not receive full consideration. If you are interested in applying for an ERF with QMUL as your host institution, please follow the instructions below, or contact Dr Tom Haworth with informal queries.
Prospective candidates should submit a draft case for support, a CV (ideally using the STFC template, ERF 2022 CV Template [DOC 68KB]) and publication list to t.haworth@qmul.ac.uk by the 30th June.
The draft case for support should ideally follow the STFC Guidelines [PDF 205KB] (i.e. 4 pages maximum, Arial 11pt font), but does not have to be fully polished at this stage. The main things we are looking for are that you have a compelling, timely, and well-scoped research proposal, evidence of leadership ability, and a case for how your research connects to existing research themes at QMUL and in the UK more broadly; see the Assessment Criteria section of the STFC Guidelines [PDF 205KB] for more details.
Please contact us (the earlier the better) if you would like to discuss any details of the internal application process.
Royal Society University Research Fellowships (URF) and Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowships (DHF): These tend to have a similar deadline to the ERF, but there are no limits on how many applications we can support, and so we are able to give yes/no answers for whether we can support your application much more quickly. This year's application deadline will be sometime in September 2023. Please get in touch with us as soon as possible if you are interested in applying for a URF with us. Preparing and reviewing the application materials (including costings) generally takes several weeks, so candidates should be prepared to have their materials sent for internal review well in advance of the deadline. Ideally URF applicants should contact us by the 30th June.
Other Fellowships: For any other fellowship that you are interested in applying for at QMUL (e.g. Future Leaders Fellowship, Stephen Hawking Fellowship) please contact us well in advance of the deadline to discuss your application.
For job opportunities, please see the QMUL job listings.