Visiting Scholars Programme

The Department is eager to encourage collaborative research, nationally and internationally, and therefore warmly welcomes applications from established scholars, financially supported by their own institutions or by a research award, who wish to spend a period of time (from 3-12 months) working on a project of direct relevance to its areas of expertise and interest.

Facilities Offered

Visitors will be offered shared office space (subject to availability), library access, local IT facilities, and an email account. The University’s Huw Owen Library has excellent research holdings in the field, and the Department is adjacent also to the National Library of Wales, one of the UK’s copyright libraries. Visitors are welcome to participate fully in the research life of the Department by attending its weekly Research Seminar, as well as the many meetings and activities of its various Research Groups and Centres.

Expectations of Visiting Fellows

The purpose of the scheme is to bring to the Department exceptional scholars who can contribute to and enrich its intellectual and research activities. Therefore, in addition to conducting their own research, Visiting Fellows will be expected actively to participate in the following activities in the Department:

  • Undertaking collaborative research with Departmental Staff
  • Presentation of one or more work-in-progress papers, as part of the Department's  Research Seminar series, or to appropriate Research Groups
  • providing a formal lecture to the Institute, or wider public community

Categories of Visiting Fellows

It is important to the success of the scheme that visitors become fully integrated into the intellectual life of the Department. In order to ensure this, the Department will appoint Visiting Fellows preferentially on the basis of the following considerations:

i)  Priority will be given to a visitor who is nominated by an existing member of staff, and who is part of an existing research grant or collaboration with that staff member. Exchanges of this kind (funded by schemes such as the Newton International Trust, or other similar collaborative funding arrangements) will be given preference in the first instance;

ii)  Otherwise, an applicant should be sponsored by an individual member of staff, or by a Research Centre, and the ‘sponsor’ undertakes thereby to act as a mentor for the visitor, to be closely involved with the visitor’s research project, and to facilitate his/her participation in relevant seminar series. This role may also entail monitoring compliance with any visa conditions, where applicable. In addition to any joint writing and publication undertaken by them, we would also encourage the staff member and Visiting Fellow to work towards submission of a collaborative research grant application for the future.

iii)  If a potential applicant does not already have an established research connection to a member of staff, s/he should write to the Director of Research in the first instance to enquire if any good ‘fit’ is available. To help assess this, applicants will be asked for a statement of the research project (max 1000 words), two academic references, and where appropriate evidence of English-language ability. Anyone interested in making application by this route would be well advised to make an informal enquiry first, to establish that space is potentially available, ahead of submitting a formal application.

Application Process

Applications will be considered twice per year, and need to be submitted by two deadlines: the end of February (for visits during the first semester, or both semesters, of the next academic year); the end of August (for visits during the second semester, or next full calendar year).

Applicants in categories i) and ii) above must supply, through their nominator or sponsor, the following details:

  • their area of expertise and research interest
  • their collaborator or sponsor in the Department
  • their proposed research collaboration and objectives of the proposed visit
  • confirmation that the applicant has sabbatical leave or a similar independent source of financial support for their stay
  • curriculum vitae and contact details
  • the commencement and expiry date of proposed period of stay, and level of any grant support available
  • details of their visa status (if applicable)

Applicants under category iii) must supply the documentation requested above. Applications will be considered by an appropriate Management Team committee.  Applications and inquiries should be addressed to the Departmental Director of Research (see Staff List).