The Marshall Sherfield Fellowships

The Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission will be offering up to two post-doctoral Marshall Sherfield Fellowships in 2009. The first such Fellowships were awarded in 1998 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Marshall Plan.

The Fellowships, which are funded by the Marshall Sherfield Fellowship Foundation, and administered by the Marshall Commission, enable American scientists or engineers to undertake post-doctoral research for a period of one to two academic years at a British university or research institute.

The Fellowships are named after Sir Roger Makins FRS, later Lord Sherfield (1904-1996), British Ambassador to the United States from 1953 to 1956 and the architect of the Marshall Scholarships programme. He went on to be the Chairman of the Marshall Commission, and of the UK Atomic Energy Authority, and from 1970-1992 was Chancellor of the University of Reading.

The aim of the Marshall Sherfield Fellowships is to introduce American scientists and engineers to the cutting edge of UK science and engineering. It is intended that this in turn will build longer-term contacts and international links between the United Kingdom and the United States in key scientific areas. The wider objectives are similar to those of the Marshall Scholarships programme:
To enable intellectually distinguished young Americans, their country’s future leaders, to study in the UK.
To help fellows gain an understanding and appreciation of contemporary Britain.
To contribute to the advancement of knowledge in science and technology at Britain’s centres of academic excellence.
To motivate fellows to act as ambassadors from the USA to the UK and vice versa throughout their lives thus strengthening British American understanding.
To promote the personal and academic fulfilment of each fellow.

To qualify candidates should:
Be citizens of the United States of America normally resident in the USA
Hold a doctorate in a science or engineering subject by the time they take up their Fellowship
In appointing Fellows the selectors will look for distinction of intellect and character as evidenced both by their scholastic attainments and by their other activities and achievements. Candidates, who will be expected to pursue high level research during their Fellowship, should demonstrate an outward-looking disposition, good communications skills and the potential to promote British-American understanding. Preference will be given to candidates who combine high academic ability with the capacity to play an active part in the life of the United Kingdom university or research institute to which they go, and to those who display a potential to make a significant contribution to their own society. Selectors will also look for strong motivation and seriousness of purpose, including the presentation of a specific and realistic research programme.

These Fellowships are not available for the study of a higher degree.

The Deadline for the 2010 Marshall Sherfield Fellowship Competition is 9 October 2009. Before applying for a 2010 Marshall Sherfield Fellowship, candidates must read the 2010 Rules for Candidates.

Candidates must submit applications on the forms prescribed.

The forms available on this web site are all in interactive PDF format – they may be filled out online and then printed, or downloaded and filled out later, at your convenience.



Application Form

Letter of Recommendation (Form A )
NB Four such recommendations required

Where and when to send your completed application

Applications must submitted in complete form and be received at the The Marshall Commission, ACU, Woburn House, 20-24 Tavistock Square, London, WC1H 9HF, UK postmarked no later than October 9 2009.

If candidates wish to receive acknowledgement of receipt of their completed application, they should include an e-mail address.

What happens next

Applications will be reviewed by a UK based selection committee in the United Kingdom. Shortlisted candidates will be called for interview in Washington DC in November. The final selection will be announced from Washington DC in early December 2009.