The School for Public Health Research (SPHR) have launched their fellowship competition, which offers a flexible opportunity to start either a pre-doctoral or post-doctoral fellowship on a full-time or part-time basis. Applications are invited from individuals who may also have worked or be working within public health practice but wish to pursue an academic or practice academic career in public health research. Their goal is to recruit outstanding and diverse candidates across the full range of fellowships. They are committed to a supportive, inclusive, caring and positive community and welcome applications from under-represented groups.

The NIHR School for Public Health Research (SPHR) aims to build the evidence base for effective public health practice by bringing together England’s leading public health research expertise in one virtual organisation. The School conducts applied public health research to increase the volume and quality evidence on cost-effective interventions and supports local public health practitioners and policy makers to engage with research and seek out research evidence to inform their decisions.

Established in April 2012 and renewed 2022-27, the NIHR School for Public Health Research (SPHR) is a partnership between nine leading centres of academic public health research excellence across England. Members of the School are Universities of Bristol, Cambridge, Exeter and Sheffield; Imperial College London; The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM); the LiLaC collaboration between the Universities of Liverpool and Lancaster; Fuse, The Centre for Translational Research in Public Health, a collaboration between Newcastle, Durham, Northumbria, Sunderland and Teesside Universities; and PHRESH, a collaboration between the Universities of Birmingham, Warwick and Keele.

The fellowships are expected to begin between January and March 2023 and will be available across the nine members of SPHR.

Fellowships will be aligned to the SPHR research programmes:
•Health inequalities
•Public mental health
•Healthy places, healthy planet
•Children, young people & families

The NIHR SPHR pre-doctoral fellowships in Public Health Research are open to individuals with a Master’s degree, for up to 24 months, offering those appointed the opportunity to consolidate and build their CV and prepare an application to undertake a PhD in public health. We are also keen to encourage applicants who may also have worked or be working within public health practice but wish to pursue an academic or practice academic career. To access the full advert and application form please see this PDF. Find out more about their current cohort of pre-doctoral fellows here.

The NIHR SPHR post-doctoral launching fellowships in Public Health Research are open to individuals with a PhD, for up to 24 months, offering those appointed the opportunity to consolidate and build their CV and prepare funding applications to secure future funding (e.g. NIHR Advanced Fellowship). To access the full advert and application form please see this PDF. Find out more about their current cohort of post-doctoral fellows here.

The closing date for applications to both schemes is 12 noon Monday 27th June 2022.

Dr Ruth Plackett, SPHR post-doctoral launching fellow, talks about her role in the SPHR Public mental health programme here.

Frequently asked questions:

Q1. Where can I find the application form?
A1. There are links to the application forms within the adverts for each type of fellowship. Please read the advert, eligibility criteria and guidance carefully before you complete an application form.

Q2. Is there a word version of the online form so that applicants can see the whole form before completing it?
A2. Please find a pdf of the pre-doctoral fellowship application form here and the post-doctoral launching fellowship application form here. Please note – you must submit your application using the online form. Applications submitted by other means will not be considered.

Q3. The fellowships are open to UK citizens and those with confirmed right to work in the UK. How can I check if I have the right to work in the UK?
A3. You can check if you have the right to work in the UK on the UK Government website here https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-visas-and-immigration

Q4. I am registered for a PhD by publication, am I eligible for the pre-doctoral fellowship scheme? / Can I apply for a pre-doctoral fellowship in order to register to complete my PhD by publication?
A4. If you are registered for a PhD, you are not eligible to apply for a pre-doctoral fellowship. / The pre-doctoral fellowships are not PhD studentships and they are not a route to obtaining a PhD by publication. Accepting applications from those already registered (or planning to register) to undertake a PhD would not be in the spirit of the pre-doctoral fellowship scheme.

If you have a question that is not answered in the advert, the application form or in the FAQs, please email it to sphr.training@ncl.ac.uk
You can find out more about the SPHR here: https://sphr.nihr.ac.uk/