Visiting appointments

The visiting period generally should last for one year, and is renewable up to a maximum of three years. Visiting appointments normally start in September or October (adjustments can be made for scholars who work according to different academic calendars).

Applications are invited from any scholar whose research is innovative, interdisciplinary, and has an international dimension. Applications are particularly welcomed from: female candidates, candidates from the global South and scholars whose interests complement the research of CIS Staff (see also list of research interests here). At least one place is usually reserved for post-doctoral fellowship candidates each year (see the British Academy and Leverhulme Trust websites for their deadlines).

Applicants can apply for a visiting fellowship, a visiting senior fellowship or a visiting professorship.

• Visiting fellow: this is our standard scheme for academic visitors or visiting non-academic professionals.

• Visiting senior fellow:  this category is for academic visitors who have already published work of distinction, or visiting non-academic professionals at a broadly comparable level in their profession. In addition, academic candidates must be at least at the Lecturer (post-major review equivalent), Senior Lecturer, Reader or Associate Professor Level at their home institution.

• Visiting professorship: Academics holding the title of University Professor or equivalent are eligible to apply.

• Visiting professorship in practice: Individuals with a non-academic background who have achieved prominence in public life or distinction in their profession are eligible to apply.

NB ‘Fellows’ is used on this website as a collective term for visiting appointees of all levels of seniority. Visiting Fellows, Senior Fellows, Professors and Professors in Practice are all subject to the conditions discussed below and entitled to the benefits listed.

CIS visiting appointments are non-contractual and unpaid, and applicants are expected to have arranged their own source of funding prior to applying. Fellows are also responsible for organising their own living accommodation. However, as part of their application for a fellowship, scholars may apply for small amounts of Research Funding.

All CIS Fellows will have use of the Centre and relevant LSE facilities during their stay in London.

As part of their visiting appointment, Fellows must play some part in the intellectual life of the School. Fellows will be integrated into the research clusters of the CIS’s network of academic departments, and are encouraged to organise conferences, workshops and events; attend and host seminars; contribute to blogs and other forms of public engagement; and interact with LSE faculty and students. They are also expected to prepare work for publication in peer-reviewed outlets during their stay at the Centre.

Please note that the CIS does not provide supervision for PhD students. Students interested in joining LSE should contact the relevant department.

An electronic copy (.docx or .pdf) of your completed application should be sent by e-mail.

Please note: Fellows are entitled to apply for external funding in their own name and using the School’s name (subject to the support of the Director of the Centre, and with the approval of your own institution). If you intend to apply for external funding while a Fellow at the Centre, you need to discuss this with the LSE Research Division at least a month ahead of the funder's application deadline. If this applies in your case, please contact the CIS Director at least a month ahead of the next application deadline and he/she will put you in touch with the Research Division.

• Download CIS visiting appointment application form [Word]  
• Download CIS visiting appointment renewal application form [Word]

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, but the CIS Management Committee considers applications collectively after the deadlines, rather than as they arrive. The outcome of applications will therefore be available around 12 weeks after the deadlines after which your application is received.

The deadline for appointments to the CIS for the academic year 2019-20 is Friday 10 January 2020.

The Management Committee of the Centre will review all valid applications received by the deadlines above, and recommend appointments to the Vice Chair of the LSE Appointments Committee, who takes the final decision on all appointments. The outcome of applications will be communicated to candidates around 12 weeks after the application deadlines.

Visiting Fellows who are not nationals of the European Economic Area, and who receive financial support of any form from a formal source of funding such as a government, university, research council, charitable organisation etc, to carry out research, will be required to have a Tier 5 visa before they can work at the School.

On the occasion of the CIS 50^th Anniversary celebration, former CIS Director, Dr Kirsten Ainley presented the Fred Halliday postdoctoral fellowship initiative, aimed at raising money to fund a postdoctoral fellowship in honour of Professor Fred Halliday, a pivotal figure at LSE for more than 30 years and a public intellectual who spoke with great clarity about the international concerns of his day.

The Centre for International Studies at the LSE, the Management Committee of which Fred served on for many years, wishes to maintain Fred’s legacy by establishing an annual Postdoctoral Fellowship in International Studies in his name. Fred is known best for his work on the Middle East, but he also devoted a great deal of his time to the study of gender, revolutions, human rights, and the uses of history and theory in International Relations.

In order to promote research in these areas, the Fellowship will be open to postdoctoral scholars working in any of the areas listed above. Fellows will be required to include an international component in their topic and, because Fred was committed to using academic enquiry to intervene in public debates, an element of ‘public engagement’ (broadly defined) in their research plans. Such engagement might include authoring blog posts or op-eds, an active presence on social media, the organization of public events, and other such activities. The Fellow will be expected to produce work for publication in peer-reviewed outlets during the Fellowship and will not be required to undertake any teaching.

The Fred Halliday postdoctoral Fellowship will enable cutting-edge work in areas of critical importance to continue at the LSE. The proposal has the full support of Fred’s family, who feel Fred would regard investment in the scholars of the future as a most fitting way to honour his legacy.

If you are interested in funding the initiative, and for more information, please contact the CIS Director, Professor Jens Meierhenrich at j.meierhenrich@lse.ac.uk