Joint Postgraduate Award with the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology
This grant scheme provides an opportunity for a postgraduate psychologist to be seconded to the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST).
It allows them to support the creation of psychology-related briefing materials for MPs and peers.
The fellowship lasts 13 weeks (full-time) or longer if part-time. It may be undertaken remotely, at POST's offices in Westminster, or under hybrid working arrangements.
The successful applicant will start their fellowship by January 2026 or by April 2026.
Read the application guidance document for more information.
Deadline
This scheme runs annually.
- Scheme open date: Wednesday 12 March at 9.00am
- Scheme close date: Sunday 4 May at 11.59pm
Funding
The opportunity will be funded by the BPS and successful candidates will receive a one-off stipend payment of £7,922.50.
Assessment criteria
Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria:
1. Be a postgraduate student registered for a doctoral degree in a psychology-related subject e.g. PhD/MPhil.
or
2. Taught practitioner doctorates (DClinPsy etc.) at a UK Higher Education Institute. This includes BPS Stage 2 (doctoral level) qualifications.
or
3. Applicants must have recently completed one of the degrees listed above.
Recently completed means:
a) for funded students - PhD funding must have ended within the 12 months prior to the application deadline (if your funding ended before 4 May 2024, you are not eligible for this fellowship).
b) for self-funded students – your PhD registration must have ended within the 12 months prior to the application deadline (if your PhD registration ended before 4 May 2024, you are not eligible for this fellowship). This criteria does not apply if previously you received PhD funding that elapsed before 4 May 2024.
- All applicants must have completed their first year of full-time study (or equivalent if part-time) by the end of 2025.
- All applicants must be at least a current Graduate Member of the British Psychological Society. Please note: If you are not currently a BPS member, you can still apply for the scheme whilst your membership application is being processed. However, if your membership application is unsuccessful or is not confirmed by the time we make the award, then you will no longer be eligible for the scheme.
Successful applicants will be required to apply for and pass Parliament's security clearance checks, including security vetting to Counter Terrorist Check (CTC) level in order to undertake the fellowship. Further information can be found in the application guidance.
Conflicts of interest
You must declare all personal and professional conflicts of interest.
A conflict of interest will not prevent acceptance of the application.
If we become aware of a conflict of interest not declared, we will withdraw the application.
How to apply
This is a two-stage application: an initial application and an interview.
Full details of the application and selection process can be found in the application guidance.
For the initial application, you will be required to complete an online form and produce a two-page briefing that you think would be of current interest to parliamentarians and addresses an area of public policy relevant to psychology.
The briefing should be completed using the template document and uploaded to the application form. The template is available to download from the application form.
We are planning on holding interviews on Tuesday 8 July 2025.
Please note: No late applications will be accepted.
Further information
POST has put together a page with answers to some of the most Frequently Asked Questions asked about POST fellowships.
If you have any other queries, please contact: [email protected]
Final Grant Report
Every grant recipient is required to provide a final report on completion of their project.
These reports provide feedback for members and potential grant applicants about how the society has allocated grant money.
It also allows the BPS to assess the success of the projects funded within the agreed grant period.
If successful, you will be required to complete this form within one month of the project or event completion date.