Do you have a query about the ESRC PDF scheme? - Please see below the most frequent areas of the application process that the LSE DTP receives queries about.
Please note, the application process for 2017-18 has now closed. Applications for 2018-19 will open in January 2019
The LSE Application Form is the on-line form completed by applicants, with a first section on Personal Information. It is a requirement of the LSE HR recruitment process and not a separate document for upload required by the ESRC.
Details of two references should be supplied in the on-line LSE application form. This is a requirement of the LSE recruitment process.
One of these references should be your main reference for your application and the referee that will need to supply the Reference Statement for ESRC requirements. For this document the LSE DTP have issued the following guidance:
The Referee Statement should be a maximum of one side of A4 and attached with the application documents. If the Referee would prefer to submit a confidential reference then the reference should be sent to phdacademy@lse.ac.uk and the email subject clearly marked ‘Private and Confidential – ESRC PDF Referee Statement’.
- CV and List of Publications at the LSE
The CV (maximum of two sides of A4) should include the applicants own conference papers or publications. The List of publications should contain the bibliography for references cited in the proposal. For the LSE application process we are asking that the list of publications is included as an additional page to the CV. This may be different to the application process at other ESRC DTPs and is due to a restriction in the number of attached documents that the HR Recruitment system is able to accept per applicant.
- Letter of Support - Overseas Institutional Visit
If you are planning an Overseas Institutional Visit as part of your Postdoctoral Fellowship then you will need to supply a the letter of support from the Overseas Institution. This would take the form of a letter from the Overseas Institution’s Head of Department or Academic that will be hosting you during your visit. It should outline briefly the purpose and advantage of your visit, when you are planning to visit and length of your visit.
If you have not yet confirmed exact the visit length and dates with the potential host then please as specify or project this in the proposed time schedule in your application.
Please note that if you are successful in reaching stage three of the LSE application process then you will be expected to provide accurate costings for this visit.
At stage one of the application process it is not necessary to contact the mentor, just to identify them in your application form. The mentor should be at Professorial or Associate Professor level [ESRC Post Doctoral Fellow Scheme at the LSE pg12]
A secondary mentor is permitted, particularly in interdisciplinary areas or where the fellow will be spending time at an overseas institution. The secondary mentor could be the PhD supervisor or someone else from where they completed their PhD if they are moving institutions. [ESRC Call Specification pg3]
- ESRC Initial Eligibility Criteria
Applicants must have completed their PhD at one of the 73 research organisations that are part of an ESRC DTP or ESRC CDT. [ESRC Call Specification pg1]
Fellows must be located on an accredited DTP or CDT pathway. [ESRC Call Specification pg1] The LSE has 18 ESRC accredited departments and 24 accredited pathways. These are listed in the first document link under ‘Eligible programmes and pathways on our PhD Academy ESRC DTP Homepage.
Applicants do not have to have had an ESRC-funded studentship in order to be eligible to apply.[ESRC Call Specification pg3]
The roles are eligible for Tier 2 sponsorship from the LSE. If appointed LSE Human Resources will advise individuals.
Applicants must have been awarded a PhD or have passed their viva voce with minor corrections by 23 March 2018. All applicants must have been awarded their PhD by the fellowship start date of 1 October 2018. [ESRC Call Specification pg2-3]
- ESRC Postdoctoral Experience Eligibility Criteria
The grants are restricted to those with no more than 12 months of active postdoctoral experience. Active postdoctoral experience is defined as that accomplished between the viva voce being passed and the closing date of the competition [23 March]. This includes professional doctorates as well as the PhD. In calculating ‘active’ experience we will make allowance for career breaks’ [ESRC Call Specification pg3]
The call is not open to applicants who are established, permanent members of staff in an academic position with a research component. [ESRC Call Specification pg2]
If you have been employed on a fixed-term contract you are eligible to apply, provided you have not more than 12 months of active postdoctoral experience since the viva pass date and before the closing date for the competition. [ESRC FAQ pg3]
Periods of part-time employment can be calculated on a pro-rata basis. [ESRC clarification to DTP Directors].