APPLYING FOR SCAR FELLOWSHIPS

Applications for the 2025 Fellowship Scheme are now open and will close 31 July 2025.

Quick Access Links:

All proposals must be made on the appropriate forms and submitted online through the SCAR Online Application page.

Translations

The guidelines for the Fellowships have been translated into different languages and were produced in 2024. 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:

Note: The application deadline is on the 31st of July 2025.

SUMMARY OF SCHEME

Eligibility

Eligibility for SCAR Fellowship (full details are given further down this page):

  1. Current PhD researcher or within 5 years of finishing PhD;
  2. Visiting an Antarctic research facility in or run by a SCAR Member country, which is different from applicant’s (a) country of origin and (b) current country of residence;
  3. Should contribute to the objectives of one or more of SCAR’s science groups, including the Humanities and Social Sciences group, and/or the Scientific Research Programmes.

Award Specifications

  • 4-5 awards for 2025;
  • 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.

Application Package Contents

The application pack contains the guidance and forms needed to apply for a SCAR Fellowship (full details are given further down this page).

  • Research Proposal (with relevant appendices);
  • Home Institute Reference;
  • Host Institute Agreement;
  • Guidance on Elements of the Application;
  • Guidance on the Evaluation Process.

Additional Notes

Application Form

ELIGIBILITY FOR SCAR FELLOWSHIP

The SCAR Fellowship programme is for PhD students, or those within five years of completing a PhD (on the day of the application deadline).  Fellows undertake research at an institute in one of the 46 SCAR Member countries different from that of the applicant’s origin and current residence. (For a full list of countries, please see the information about SCAR Member Countries.) In special cases (e.g. maternity/paternity leave), this five-year period may be extended. Please contact the SCAR Secretariat for special cases.

From 2022, and the three years following, a Prince Albert II Fellowship will be awarded, funded by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation through the Polar Initiative and selected from among the successful applications in the broad research areas of biodiversity and climate change.

Fellowship flexibility introduced during the pandemic will continue. Applicants can propose partly or entirely remote Fellowships. If issues develop around travel or planned activities, SCAR will work with awardees to enable their Fellowships to proceed.

Fellowship research topics should link to the objectives of one or more of SCAR’s science groups, including the Humanities and Social Sciences group, and/or the current Scientific Research Programmes endorsed by SCAR.

Fellowships are awarded based on the criteria for competitive selection, which are clearly stated in the Evaluation guidance given below and in the application pack.

Proposal texts should clearly state expected activities to be carried out, achievements, key deliverables (e.g. papers, technologies), cost, and time frame.

Guidelines for preparing the proposal are given on the Research Proposal sheet in the Application Pack. In addition, there is a webinar on “Writing for Success” available in English and Spanish, and SCAR Fellowship webinars available in Portuguese (held in 2023 and 2021) and German.

To apply for a Fellowship, candidates will be required to first contact and liaise with appropriate host Antarctic projects or programmes to secure the support and mentorship of an active team capable of including them in their own research programme or project group.

Awards will be up to USD $15,000, providing, as needed, economy-class round-trip travel and a modest subsistence allowance for the fellowship period. The fellow’s home institute will bear all expenses incurred in his or her home country (domestic travel, visa costs, etc.), and the host institute will waive any bench fees that they might normally charge trainees.

APPLICATION PACK

The Application Pack contains the Summary Checklist, the Research Proposal instructions and keywords list, the Home Institute Agreement form and the Host Institute Agreement.

Elements of the Application:

  1. Research Proposal – Prepared following the guidelines given in the Research Proposal section of the Application Pack. The Applicant must have the Research Proposal (with relevant appendices) as a single document, ready to be uploaded during the application process;
  2. Home Institute Agreement and Reference – Applicant to send Home Institute Agreement to the Home Institute Referee, and the Referee to return it to the Applicant, along with the reference letter, as a single document, ready to be uploaded during the application process;
  3. Host Institute Agreement – Applicant to send Host Institute Agreement to the Host Institute Referee, and the Host to return it to the Applicant, ready to be uploaded during the application process;
  4. Online Application Form – to be completed by the Applicant before the deadline (note: Applications for the 2025 scheme are open until the 31st of July 2025.)

It is the applicant’s responsibility to make sure that all parts of the application (Research Proposal, Home Reference and Host Agreement) are completed and received by them before beginning their online application.

Making the Application:

Once the Research Proposal, Home Institute Reference and Host Institute Agreement are complete and ready to upload, applicants may submit their online application:

Fellowship Application

EVALUATION

SCAR will coordinate volunteers from the Antarctic research community with specific expertise in the indicated discipline areas to evaluate applications. This will be based on a series of five categories, with the following guidance included for potential applicants:

Quality of the proposal (35%)
The overall quality of the proposal will be evaluated with respect to the proposed research and methodology. This will be based primarily on your research proposal and the evidence you provide for its importance, timeliness and how well both your own background and the expertise of the host institute contribute to the proposal.

Relevance to SCAR activities and/or Groups (25%)
How does the research you are proposing fit in with the existing research activities of SCAR groups and programmes? How will you follow up with these activities after the Fellowship ends?

Does the proposal help build capacity in a country that would most benefit? (20%)What specific benefits will you, as a fellow, and your home institute, gain from the Fellowship?  Do you plan to have specific outreach activities at your home institute or elsewhere in your home country to communicate the results and experience of your Fellowship?

Is the study largely self-contained? (10%)
Has the proposal made it clear that the planned research is well thought through and has a data plan in place agreed with the host institute?

Is the study feasible in the time estimated and will it likely lead to publication? (10%)Your proposal needs to make clear that you have considered the practicalities involved in undertaking the research and that there are clear deliverables that can be achieved.

COMPLETION OF FELLOWSHIP

At the end of the Fellowship, each candidate must provide a report to be published on the SCAR website. Reports should cover the accomplishments, and a budgetary report should be completed following a structure similar to those posted on the Fellows page of the SCAR website. The SCAR Fellowship Scheme should be acknowledged in any resulting publications.

Fellowship Application