Academic visitors
The School of Global Studies welcomes academics, researchers, students and practitioners throughout the year.
- Research Associates
This status is suitable for those wanting an affiliation with the School, most commonly for those who have recently completed their PhD. To qualify, they must have a sponsor in the School who is willing to recommend them and serve as their point of contact. On approval Research Associates are granted a University of Sussex email address and access to the library on campus.
Successful applications are not permitted to make use of the services provided by the research office, and are simply granted an association, an email address and the title of Research Associate.
Contact Sharon Krummel (s.a.krummel@sussex.ac.uk) for an application form.
- Research Fellows
All applications for research fellowships in the School must be made in collaboration with a permanent member of the School’s academic faculty and costed by the University’s Research Development Manager Clare Neil C.Neil@sussex.ac.uk, in the Research and Enterprise Division.
All Research Fellows funded via the University have full access to research facilities and are allocated an academic ‘mentor’.
Post-doctoral research fellows are automatically part of the University’s doctoral school which provides bespoke career development opportunities. Post-doctoral and other research fellows are encouraged to contribute to the School’s teaching programmes.
If you are interested in applying for a funded Research Fellowship in Global Studies at Sussex your first step should be to discuss your specific research interests with an appropriate member of academic staff who can then advise you on specific application procedures.
Funding opportunities are usually advertised.
- Visiting Research Fellows
Visiting Research Fellows (VRF): those whose funding is independent of the University. VRFs come for a minimum of two weeks and a maximum of three years and normally pay an administrative fee to the School.
Contact: Sharon Krummel, Research Coordinator (Visitingglobal@sussex.ac.uk).
- Visiting Research Fellowships
The School of Global Studies encourages all Departments, Research Centres and Clusters to offer Visiting appointments to researchers and scholars who contribute to the intellectual life of the School.
Appointments can be made for periods of two weeks to three years and must be approved by the Head of School (Professor Elizabeth Harrison) and/or Director of Research and Knowledge Exchange (Professor Michael Collyer).
This status is generally offered to:
- academics from another institution, either from UK or abroad
- individuals working in the private or public sector
- self-employed research consultants.
You must have completed a PhD as Fellowships are not available to undergraduate or postgraduate students.
Applicants should contact a member of faculty or Head of Department to complete the Visiting Research Fellowship application form [DOC 48KB].
VRFs must be proposed by a member of faculty in the School who should agree to act as their sponsor for the period of their visit. Fellows can be associated either with:
- departments
- research centres
- the School of Global Studies as a whole.
Members of faculty who become a sponsor for a Visiting Research Fellow will be expected to act as a point of contact for the VRF and to make reasonable attempts to integrate them into the life of the School where appropriate.The sponsor’s role may include:
- supporting the applicant through the VRF application process
- introducing them to other members of the School
- guiding applicants to relevant areas of the University of Sussex campus and facilities e.g. Housing Office website in advance of visit
- meeting with the Fellow from time to time to answer any questions they may have or direct them to someone who can help them.
- Visiting Research Fellowship fees
Visiting Research Fellowships incur a one-off administrative fee of £350 (regardless of the length of the visitor’s stay) to cover costs of administration and allocated resources including a Sussex email address, stationery, postal facilities, and access to the University Library. The VRF will have access to the Library’s Sussex Research Hive, a dedicated area for visiting researchers and doctoral students with computer access as well as private study areas. Depending on Covid-related restrictions, there are also bookable meeting rooms and space for discussion and collaborative work.
The fee may be waived in exceptional circumstances although this is subject to variation depending on funding available to the applicant and the perceived contribution the applicant can make to the School’s academic life.
Once your application has been approved, you will receive a letter of confirmation of award of VRF status from the School of Global Studies Research Coordinator, Sharon Krummel. This will state the fees payable. This figure cannot be amended retrospectively. An element of fieldwork and time away from the campus during your stay is not a reason to request a discount on your fees as this would be expected by the nature of the research of the School, and the administrative cost remains the same.
- Requesting a visiting appointment
To request a Visiting Research Fellow appointment, applicants should initially contact the faculty member they are interested in working with or the Head of the Department or Research Centre that they wish to work within.
The faculty member or Head should then talk with the Head of School and/or Director of Research and Knowledge Exchange to agree that the expectations of the Visiting Research Fellow are met in principle and confirm whether the administrative fee is payable.
Contact Sharon Krummel (Research Coordinator) at Visitingglobal@sussex.ac.uk to ensure any resource requirements can be met.
The faculty member or Head of Department should complete a Visiting research fellowship application form [DOC] in partnership with the applicant. This form along with a current CV and two letters of reference should be emailed to Sharon Krummel at Visitingglobal@sussex.ac.uk.
Applicants should allow at least one month for their applications to be processed, and ideally longer than this. The application process involves coordinating with other offices within the university, which can be time-consuming. We need to ensure there is enough time for the necessary administrative procedures to be completed.
Decisions on appointments to general Visiting Research Fellow positions rest with the Director of Research and Knowledge Exchange and/or the Head of School. All decisions will be based on the following criteria:
- the anticipated contribution the applicant will make to the School’s academic life
- the quality of the proposed project or activity
- the fit between the applicant’s interests and those of the proposer and host centre or Department
- the appropriateness of the proposed outputs
Once the appointment has been approved by the Director of Research and Knowledge Exchange and/or the Head of School, the following steps will take place:
- the appointment will be confirmed to the member of faculty who proposed the appointment.
- the documentation sent in by the prospective VRF and his/her referees will be reviewed within the School of Global Studies.
- a letter of appointment will be issued.
- identity and eligibility to visit the University will be confirmed, including checking passports and visas where applicable. This will normally be carried out by video call.
- an invoice for payment of the fee will, where appropriate, be issued by the School.
Applicants for visiting appointments must be awarded an equivalent title to that which the academic holds in their own institution. Those who are Professors should apply as Visiting Professors rather than VRFs.
An application to become a Visiting Professor follows the same process as that of a VRF. The only additional requirement is that a short statement of support by the academic sponsor of a Visiting Professor applicant should also be supplied.
- Visiting research students
The School of Global Studies welcomes visiting PhD students who wish to come to study at Sussex for a period of up to a year. Visiting research students can either join one of the School’s departments or alternatively become affiliated to one of our research centres. Interested research students should apply to the university using the standard application procedures. You should state clearly in the application that you wish to come as a Visiting Research Student.
Find more information about the documents needed (including language testing requirements).
It is not necessary for Visiting Research Students to supply a full research proposal but we do need an abstract (200-250 words) of the work you intend to engage in whilst at Sussex.
It is also useful to know whether you have a potential supervisor at Sussex in mind. Many visiting students will have already formed links or been in discussion with Sussex faculty prior to their application although this is not a prerequisite.
Contact the Global Studies PhD admissions team: globalresearch@sussex.ac.uk.