The latest round, for visits between August 2026 and July 2027, is now open, and will close on 27 February 2026. Apply here: https://www.iash.ed.ac.uk/application-form
The Charles Wallace Pakistan Trust funds one Visiting Research Fellowship every two years at the University of Edinburgh. The Fellowship is held at the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, in association with the University’s Centre for South Asian Studies. The Fellowship is for two to three months, and is for research in the social and political sciences. Applications for science, engineering, medicine, arts or humanities research will not be eligible.
Applicants must be Pakistani citizens, resident and pursuing their academic careers in Pakistan. They must have a doctorate and be under 50 at the time of application. Anyone who has received a CWPT grant in the past five years would not be eligible.
The Fellowship provides a grant for living expenses in the UK which is currently at the monthly rate of £1,600, and a contribution of £1,250 towards the cost of airfares, visa and initial costs. The CWPT Fellow enjoys a private office in the Institute, with all the usual research facilities, and is a member of IASH’s lively research community. They will be expected to play a full part in the activities of the Institute, as well as working closely with colleagues in the Centre for South Asian Studies, and to give one seminar at IASH and one at the Centre on his/her current research work during their tenure.
A webinar will be offered on Monday 15 December 2025 (13:00-14:30 GMT) for scholars interested in applying for IASH Fellowships for academic year 2026-27. The session allows time to ask questions and prepare an application. Register here. Please register even if you are unable to attend, as the recording will be circulated afterwards. Representatives from some of our partners will speak about the programmes, and IASH staff will give insights into the facilities and funding available, as well as hints and tips for crafting a successful application.
Application procedure
Applications
Applicants must clearly state the career benefits of a Fellowship at Edinburgh in their proposals. Please note that fieldwork outside Scotland is highly unlikely to be permitted - any necessary fieldwork should be completed before the beginning of a Fellowship. This Fellowship is for 2-3 months, so we also ask applicants to reflect carefully on what is achievable within that time, and provide a feasible and thoughtful work-plan within their application.
Applicants must make contact with staff at the Centre for South Asian Studies in advance of making their application: Dr Rahul Ranjan (https://edwebprofiles.ed.ac.uk/profile/dr-rahul-ranjan) and Dr Moyukh Chatterjee (https://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/staff/moyukh-chatterjee). They can assist with connecting applicants with a suitable mentor at the University of Edinburgh, who must then be named on the application form.
This Fellowship is available every two years, so future opportunities to apply will occur in academic year 2028-29.
Closing date
Applications for the 2026-27 round are now open, with a deadline of 17:00 UK time on 27 February 2026. Applications received after that date will not be considered. Successful candidates will be notified by email by the end of April, with a formal letter of confirmation to follow; please ensure that you supply a valid email address so that you can be contacted quickly after decisions are made.
The application form
The application portal is now open - click here to apply.
References
- A minimum of two and a maximum of three confidential references are required.
- At least one referee should come from outside the institution of the applicant.
- Referees should comment meaningfully on the nature and quality of the research proposal, as well as on the qualifications of the applicant.
- In addition, a short letter of recommendation is required from the mentor at the University of Edinburgh with whom you plan to collaborate.
Applicants should ask their referees to send references by email to the Institute Director at iash@ed.ac.uk by 27 February 2026.
Future opportunities to apply will occur in academic year 2028-29.