Stipendiary Research Fellowship in the History and Culture of the Countries of the Silk Roads 2025

King's College; Cambridge; On-site; GBP 24,000 - 28,000; Full time

Job summary

A prestigious university in Cambridge seeks a Research Fellow for a four-year position focusing on the history and culture related to the Silk Roads. The ideal candidate will have a completed PhD and a strong research background in relevant disciplines, engaging actively in academic activities and contributing to a vibrant research community. The stipend starts at £24,729, with additional allowances for accommodation and research expenses. Applications close on 28 September 2025.

Benefits

All meals provided

Financial support for research expenses

Accommodation allowance

Qualifications

• Strong background in disciplines related to the Silk Roads, such as anthropology or history.
• Must not have over 3 years of postdoctoral work by 1 October 2026.

Responsibilities

• Pursue a substantial research project on Silk Roads.
• Develop and organize academic activities related to Silk Roads.

Skills

Research experience in cultural studies

Strong analytical skills

Interdisciplinary background

Education

PhD in relevant discipline

Job description

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Stipendiary Research Fellowship in the History and Culture of the Countries of the Silk Roads 2025, Cambridge

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Client:

King's College

Location:

Cambridge, United Kingdom

Job Category:

Other

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EU work permit required:

Yes

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Job Reference:

acffd2648dd7

Job Views:

4

Posted:

12.08.2025

Expiry Date:

26.09.2025

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Job Description:

Through a generous donation, King’s College Cambridge is able to invite applications for a four-year Research Fellowship from those who are completing or have recently completed a doctorate and who intend to pursue a substantial research project on some aspect of the Silk Roads countries, societies, and cultures of Asia from the Western borders of China to the Mediterranean Sea, as well as their relationships with China in the East and Europe in the West. The research project can be situated in any discipline or interdisciplinary position and can address any aspect of the movement of materials, knowledge, cultural practices and technologies between China and the Mediterranean or any sub-region between the two at any period up to the present day.

This Research Fellowship is part of a broader programme, which includes lectures, seminars and conferences, as well as graduate scholarships and further Research Fellowships. As well as pursuing their own research project, the successful candidate will be expected to play an active role in developing the programme and in organizing academic activity concerned with the countries of the Silk Roads outside of their own specific project.

The ideal candidate for this Research Fellowship will have a strong background in a relevant discipline, including but not limited to anthropology, sociology, urban studies, architecture, history, environment and ecology, science and technology studies, political economy, and development, and be completing or have completed 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 questions of the Silk Roads specifically, but candidates will be expected to show in their applications that their academic background connects to the very broad area of the studies of the Silk Roads countries and how their plans for their future work relates to the work that they have already done.

A Research Fellowship is a postdoctoral position tenable for up to 4-years. Applications are welcome from graduates of any university. Candidates will usually have completed their PhD, but must not have undertaken more than 3-years of postdoctoral work by 1 October 2026 (i.e. your PhD cannot have been granted before 30 September 2023).

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 working across a wide range of problems. It is the aim of these projects to develop and consolidate crucial fields of study that are currently too narrowly restricted in their practitioners and/or their objects of analysis, and to strengthen the intellectual framework for international and global approaches to the humanities by tackling related issues that can only properly be understood when tackled globally. The Fellow in Silk Roads Studies will similarly be expected to ‘think big’ and consider the contemporary resonance of their project.

Research Fellows are members of the Governing Body, with full privileges of Fellows. 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. Privileges include all meals, limited financial support for expenses associated with research, the possibility of an office and accommodation in College properties. Although these are research posts, Research Fellows are encouraged to take advantage of opportunities to undertake a small amount of University and/or College teaching.

At the time of advertisement the stipend attached to a Research Fellowship is £24,729 prior to the award of doctorate, or £27,477 (after award of doctorate), rising each year to a maximum of £30,912 (to be revised). Additional payment is made for teaching. An accommodation allowance of £3,690 is paid to all Stipendiary Research Fellows, and an additional living-out allowance of up to £4,180, depending on income, is available to those Fellows not living in college-owned accommodation. Research Fellows may claim research expenses of up to £1,500 in any academic year.

The closing date for applications, including references, is 23.59pm on Sunday 28 September 2025. Further information about the College may be obtained from the College website.

Graduates of any university are eligible. Candidates will usually have completed their PhD but must not have undertaken more than 3 years of postdoctoral work by 1 October 2026 (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 obtain the necessary visa requirements of the United Kingdom.

Dates:

• The closing date for application is 23.59pm (UK time) on Sunday 28 September 2025. Applications received after this date and time will not be considered.
• Long-listed candidates will be notified in mid-October and will be expected to provide within 5-days a writing sample of not more than 20,000 words.
• Short-listed candidates will be notified late-November, and will be invited for interview on either Wednesday 28th or Thursday 29th January 2026. Please ensure that you will be available for interview on these dates, as it is not possible to arrange other times for interviews.
• Fellowship will begin on 1 October 2026 and will run until 30 September 2030.

Application Process:

To apply use the following link to go to the FAS website and create an application:

Apply Online

Before the closing date, applicants must complete all sections of the online Fellowship Application and upload onto the website (PDF only) the following:

• A curriculum vitae (of no more than three A4 sides) including details of higher education, degrees awarded, positions held and a list of publications.
• A document (of no more than 1,200 words in length, excluding bibliography, references, footnotes, endnotes) containing descriptions of your current research and of the research you propose to undertake during the Fellowship.

Applicants must also arrange for three letters of recommendation to be uploaded onto the site in PDF format by the closing date of the competition, 23.59pm (UK local time) on Sunday 28 September 2025. Each referee should be asked to provide the names of two further readers, not in the candidate’s institution, to whom work might be sent if the candidate is long-listed. It is the duty of the candidate to ensure that the referees submit the references before the closing date.

Your referees will need to provide their references through the FAS website. They will be sent an email containing a link to do this. Referees unable to submit references electronically via the FAS website may e-mail the competition administrator Dr Caro Schade at [emailprotected]

Please note that all application materials must be in the English language.

The application will not be considered in the competition until it has been submitted and all references have been received. An email will be sent once this has occurred.

In mid-October, the College will contact long-listed applicants by email to ask for samples of written work, up to 20,000 words (either published papers or chapters of a doctoral thesis). This work must be supplied within 5-days of the sending of the e-mail. If you submit published papers, you will need to include a covering written statement, which explains your precise contribution, if your submission includes multi-author paper(s).

If you have any further questions regarding any aspect of the competition, please e-mail the competition administrator Dr Caro Schade at [emailprotected]