SCAR Fellowships

About Fellowships

The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) initiated the SCAR Fellowship Programme in 2002. The aim was to encourage the active involvement of early-career researchers in Antarctic scientific research and to build new connections and further strengthen international capacity and cooperation in Antarctic research. Since the initiation of the programme, more than 80 SCAR Fellowships have been awarded.

The SCAR Fellowship Programme is designed to encourage the active involvement of early-career researchers in furthering our understanding of Antarctica. The Fellowships enable early-career researchers to join a project team from another country, opening up new opportunities and often creating partnerships that last many years and over many Antarctic research seasons.

Some flexibility was introduced during the pandemic and this will continue. Applicants are able to propose partly or entirely remote Fellowships and, where issues later develop around travel or planned activities, we will work with awardees to enable their fellowships to go ahead.

In 2024, additional funding is being provided by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation through the Polar Initiative. We will therefore once again be awarding 4-5 Fellowships this year.

Applications for the 2024 Fellowship Scheme are now open and close 31 July 2024.

Award:

  • 4-5 awards for 2024
  • Up to USD $15,000 per award;
  • Home institute to bear in-home country costs (e.g. visa costs, domestic travel);
  • Host institute to waive bench fees, if any.

Who are they for?

The SCAR Fellowship Programme is for PhD students, or those within five years of having completed a PhD, to undertake research at major international laboratories, field facilities, and/or institutes in or operated by SCAR member countries with the goal of exposing them to recent advances in research and to develop long-term scientific links and partnerships.

The work must be carried out in a research group of a SCAR member country different from that of the applicant’s origin and current residence. Fellowships are awarded on the selection criteria for competitive selection, which are clearly stated in the Evaluation section on the Information page.

Topics of projects proposed should align with SCAR’s mission and ideally with one or more of our various groups. SCAR fellowships are open to researchers from SCAR member countries.

Translations

The guidelines for the Fellowships have been translated into different languages. We’d like to express our gratitude to the volunteers coordinated by the SCAR Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Action Group (EDI) and the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS) in preparing these:

How to Apply

The application form and advice on applying can be found in the How to Apply section.

Applicants may find the 2016 SCAR-COMNAP-APECS webinar on preparing Fellowship applications useful. A second webinar on the same theme was conducted in Spanish in 2017. In 2021, SCAR Fellowship webinars were held for Portuguese speakers and German speakers. You may also find the answers to any questions on the FAQs page.

Eligibility

SCAR fellowships are open to researchers within 5 years of finishing their PhD in Antarctic and Southern Ocean-related disciplines. Full details of eligibility can be found on the Information page.

If you have any queries concerning your eligibility, please email the SCAR Secretariat.

Opportunities from SCAR's partners

SCAR has been working for many years with the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP) ​and the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) to support talented early-career researchers, engineers, environmental managers, and other professionals to strengthen international capacity and cooperation in fields such as science support and facilitation, environmental management implementation, and climate, biodiversity, conservation, humanities and astrophysics research by way of an annual funding opportunity. In 2019, these Antarctic organisations were joined by the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO), who support additional Antarctic-related fellowships.​

Our partner organization, COMNAP, launched their fellowship scheme in 2011. From time to time, there are projects that overlap both of our organizations’ fellowship scheme goals and we have been able to jointly award fellowships, with four joint SCAR-COMNAP Fellowships awarded since 2012.