Supporting Academic Posts
The Faculty has an unparalleled depth of expertise across all periods and subject areas and hosts the UK's largest graduate school in English. To maintain this position, we must attract and to retain the best Faculty members in the world. We must endow our existing posts and create new posts that respond to the changing shape of our discipline, such as English and World literatures, American literature, book history, and the study of language. We also require new posts that will build on existing strengths. Our top fund-raising priority is to raise money for a Statutory Professorship in World Literatures.
Creating Post-Doctoral and Early Career Fellowships
We aim to secure funding for a number of Post-Doctoral and Early Career Development Fellowships. The most difficult part of any English academic’s career is the period between completing a doctorate and landing a first lectureship. Too many excellent scholars find themselves struggling to survive in the hiatus; some even leave the profession altogether. A fixed-term Post-Doctoral Fellowship, common in the Sciences but extremely rare in the Humanities, can transform a young academic’s research life and prospects. We hope to host several within the Faculty, covering a wide range of areas in English language or literature.
Supporting Graduate Scholarships
We are determined to expand our programme of graduate scholarships. The Faculty is committed to its duty to nurture and promote graduate students, who are the next academic generation. Cuts in government funding have seriously reduced the number of graduate awards made nationally within the UK and funding for international students remains highly competitive. We want to ensure that every excellent student who applies to study with us can take up their place, regardless of their ability to pay.
