Post-doctoral opportunities at partner universities
If the time to complete your PhD is now measured in months and days, and you can see the ‘gaps’ that need to be filled, you have perhaps started to wonder about post-doctoral opportunities. While many post-doctoral opportunities come via supervisors and people you meet, some of St Andrews’ closest partner universities offer post-doctoral opportunities for international candidates.
Based in Prague, Charles University is the oldest university in Central Europe and the largest university in the Czech Republic. It recently advertised 61 MCSA International Postdoctoral Fellowships, across Medicine (8 fellowships), Maths and Physics (13 Fellowships), Natural Sciences (9 Fellowships) and Social Sciences and Humanities (31 Fellowships). Charles University also funds an its own international postdoctoral programme, the JUNIOR fund, which aims to bring foreign researchers to Czechia. The JUNIOR fund advertises its 2-year opportunities from early June each year. In 2025, there are 33 projects available, across all subject areas. Deadlines usually vary between late July and early August.
The University of Bonn is one of only 11 German Universities of Excellence and the only German university with six Clusters of Excellence projects, investigating slavery, economics and public policy; mathematics, the immune system, quantum computing and robotics and phenotyping in agriculture. It is worth getting to grips with these Cluster projects, if they are of interest to you. The University of Bonn also has 6 transdisciplinary research areas (TRAs), which cover most fields of research. As some postdoctoral calls are published by the Clusters and TRAs, you could subscribe to their newsletters, and understanding whether they publish an annual call, such as in quantum computing, or ad-hoc calls, such as a recent call in Mathematics (deadline 24 May). Bonn advertises Argelander Starting Kit postdoctoral grants, with annual deadlines of 15 March, 15 June and 15 October. Postdoctoral opportunites are also listed in the University’s main vacancies page. Bonn also offers Santander International Exchange Grants, which fund 1-3 months of mobility for PhD students who are yet to complete their thesis defence (viva). These grants offer an ideal opportunity to get to know Bonn and expand your network.
The University of Tübingen in Germany is a partner for student exchange, summer opportunities and the First Abroad programme. Located in an idyllic student town in South-West Germany, Tübingen offers its Teach@Tübingen postdoctoral fellowship programme, which usually opens on 1 May and 1 October each year. It funds a stay of one or two semesters, during which postdoctoral fellows teach on courses taught in English and are supported by a hosting professor at Tübingen. St Andrews students have previously been successful in the programme, which rewards those who have teaching experience and a desire to explore a research career in Germany. Given that the applications are usually only open for 5-6 weeks, it is a good idea to get in touch with your potential hosting professor before applications open. Tübingen also offers Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Intercultural Studies, which are open to people who have just completed their PhD. These are usually advertised twice per year. Tübingen also advertises opportunities on its vacancies page.
Unlike many other countries, a substantial amount of research in Germany is undertaken by independent research institutes, such as the Max Planck Society, Fraunhofer Society, Helmholtz Association and others. The Max Planck Society has 86 institutes, the Fraunhofer has 76 institutes and the Helmholtz has 16 centres. They are substantial employers of research talent. For example, the Forschungszentrum Jülich, which has links to Bonn and is part of the Helmholtz Association, employs 2,931 academic staff, about the same number of researchers as the universities of St Andrews, Dundee and Abertay combined. You can find research opportunities by browsing the individual institute pages, following LinkedIN groups or signing up for the Research in Germany newsletters. As well as postdoctoral placements, some institutes also offer visiting possibilities, such as at the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in Bonn, which offers a Guest Program for periods ranging from a few weeks to several months. During your PhD, the RISE Professional programme offers paid placements in research institutes and research institutes with strong industry links. The RISE Professional programme is open to students in biology, chemistry, computer science, physics, earth science, engineering and closely related fields, with applications usually closing towards the end of November.
The University of Padua is a strategic partner of St Andrews, and one of Italy’s leading public universities. It offers its STARS funding programme every two years, which funds individual reseearch projects of up to 30 months. The next STARS grant application opens in 2027. Padua also offers a range of fellowship opportunities funded by internal, national and European programmes. In common with other universities in the European Union, Padua’s opportunities are also advertised on the EURAXESS website.
Founded in 1693, William & Mary is the USA’s second-oldest higher education institution, located 150 miles South of Washington DC. It is also one of St Andrews strategic partners, and offers the BA International Honours programme. William & Mary advertise a variety of Visiting Assistant Teaching Professor positions. As of May 2025, these include vacancies in Biology, English, German, Judaic Studies, Music and Physics. These usually last 1-3 years. They often have a relatively short open application window, so it is a good idea to set a job alert. Applications that arrive after the initial review date are considered if there is need. Other exchange partners, such as the University of Richmond, advertises post-doctoral fellowships when they become available, such as the Trawick Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Psychology (November 2025). So, you will just need to regularly check their careers pages. Also in the USA, our exchange partners University of Pennsylvania offer 5 Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowships in the Humanities, and the University of California offer around 30 President’s Postdoctoral Fellowships in all disciplines and postdoctoral opportunities at each campus. Both the Pennsylvania and California programmes usually have deadlines at the start of November, and last for one year. Given the size of the US research system, it is worth researching and building a list of interesting opportunities, such as the Rice University Academy of Fellows postdoctoral opportunities (usually close in early January).
The Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT Madras) is one of India’s leading public technical universities, and has partnered with St Andrews to research low-carbon energy storage and renewable energy. It offers a one-year post-doctoral fellowship, which can be extended. On-campus accommodation or a house rent allowance are usually offered. Mathematics and Bioinformatics consider applications year-round. Other departments provide further information on their own pages.
In Japan, St Andrews has an exchange with Keio University, and a network partnership with Waseda University. The Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) plays a key role in supporting researchers to connect with Japanese universities and research institutes. It offers both a two-month summer programme for pre/post doctoral scholars, and a short-term programme, which funds fellowships of 1-12 months. The current deadline for the Short-Term programme is 26 May 2025, and the usual deadline for the summer programme is mid-October. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Japan (MEXT) also plays an important role in advertising research collaboration opportunities and is also a good starting point if you are looking for opportunities in Japan’s universities and research institutes.
Please let the Global Office know if you are selected for any of these opportunities, or have any comments.