Visiting Research Fellow in the Creative Arts

Merton College Oxford Visiting Research Fellow in the Creative Arts Further Particulars 1. The Purpose of the Scheme The principal goal of this scheme is to create synergies between the creative arts and academia and to increase the profile of the College as a centre for innovation within the Creative Arts. The holders of the Fellowship will be expected both to undertake a sustained period of intensive work in their field and also to enrich College life. They will be encouraged to explore ways to communicate their work with all members of the College: fellows, staff, students and alumni. 2. Merton College Merton College was founded in 1264 by Walter de Merton, and is one of the oldest colleges within the University of Oxford. It was the first fully self-governing college in the University and was originally founded for twenty fellows, with undergraduates being formally admitted in the early 1380s. Over the centuries, many eminent scholars and cultural leaders have called Merton home including four Nobel Prize winners and an Abel Prize winner (Professor Sir Andrew Wiles). Merton College has a strong commitment to excellence in research and teaching across a range of subjects in the Sciences, Humanities and Social Sciences. The College community currently comprises around 600 students (320 undergraduates and 280 postgraduates), some 70 Fellows, 50 other academic staff and over 100 members of support staff. The College strives to create a diverse, welcoming, inclusive and supportive community in which its students can thrive. 3. How the Scheme Works The Fellowship is open to creative artists of all ages, and might be awarded either to emerging or established figures. For 2026-27, applications are invited from practitioners in the field of Textiles.

• Tenure: The Fellowship can be held for any period between two months and one year – with the period of tenure offered being determined by the needs of the proposed project. The starting date is negotiable, the earliest being 1 October 2026.
• Stipends: there will be a stipend of up to £2480.08 per month. The Stipend will be subject to Tax and National Insurance and will be pensionable.
• Expenses for qualifying research, travel, and materials up to £317 per month may be claimed subject to the College’s rules for Fellows’ Research Allowance. The College cannot, however, fund additional support personnel.
• Accommodation (which is assessable as a taxable benefit) and meals will be provided for the Fellow when the Kitchen is open. If available the College will endeavour to provide partnered accommodation when required. It is expected that the Fellow will reside in the College accommodation during the tenure of the Fellowship. The College will endeavour to provide a suitable studio or office where required.
• Fellows will retain the copyright for work carried out during the tenure of the Fellowship. They are, however, expected to acknowledge, where possible, the support provided by the College and, where practicable, to deposit copies of work produced in an appropriate media, in the College archives. The College intends to create an archive of the scheme within the College archives.
• Fellows will be expected to submit to the Governing Body a brief account of their work during the Fellowship.

4. Right to Work in the UK The appointment will be conditional on satisfactory provision of proof of the right to work in the UK. 5. Application Process Those wishing to apply for this post should complete the online application at AND email the following as a single PDF document (in this exact order) to [email protected] by the deadline of noon on Friday 30 January 2026:

• A curriculum vitae;
• A plan of the work that they intend to carry out during the fellowship;
• A description of how they intend to engage the College community with their work. This might include details of master-classes, workshops, public lectures, etc.; and
• Details of any pre-existing contractual agreements for performances, exhibitions, productions or publications;

The PDF should be named in the format ‘Last Name First Name Application’. Please put your last name and ‘VRF in the Creative Arts’ in the subject of the email. Applicants should also send to [email protected] a selective portfolio illustrative of their work (which might include photographs and descriptions of key aspects of their creative practice, and links to any relevant websites they wished to bring to the committee’s attention). The document should be named in the format ‘Last Name First Name Portfolio’. Please note that email attachments are limited to a maximum of 20MB per email, so you may need to e mail your portfolio separately to your application and also consider compressing the documents as a zip file. If you encounter any issues with the size of your portfolio, please contact us prior to the closing date at [email protected] for assistance. Applicants should arrange for two referees to write by the closing date to the HR Team at [email protected] Candidates are responsible for requesting references from their referees and for ensuring that references arrive on time; they should therefore give referees enough time towrite in their support. The College will not request references directly from the referees. Applicants are requested to inform their referees that, under the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 and the Data Protection Act 2018, the references they provide will be regarded as disclosable to the subject of the reference unless it is clear that the reference has been given in confidence. The College asks that a reference given in confidence should be marked “strictly confidential” on the letter of reference itself. Referees should also be asked to note that even where a reference is marked “strictly confidential” it could still be disclosed to the subject of the reference if that subject so requested and the College’s Data Protection Officer deemed it appropriate. Applicants are encouraged to complete the Equal Opportunities Recruitment Monitoring form at the end of the Application form. The information collected on the Equal Opportunities Recruitment Monitoring form does not form part of the selection process and will not be circulated to the selection panel. It will be used solely to monitor the effectiveness of the College’s equality policy which is published at The deadline for candidates to submit any queries in relation to these Further Particulars is 9.00am on Friday 23 January 2026. Any enquiries should be directed in the first instance to the HR Team at [email protected] Interviews for short-listed candidates are likely to be held in March 2026. To view our Privacy notice please see here 6. Selection In electing the successful candidate the Appointments Committee will consider the following criteria:

• The creative quality, feasibility, and promise of the project proposed and the advantages of carrying it out at Oxford.
• The candidate’s potential for engagement with, and contribution to, College life.
• The candidate’s potential to increase the profile of the College as a centre for innovative work in the Arts.

7. Equal Opportunities This appointment will be determined only by personal merit and the application of criteria related to the duties of the post. No applicant will be treated less favourably than another because of their sex, gender re-assignment, sexual orientation, marital status or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, racial group, disability, age, or religion and beliefs. Merton College is an equal opportunities employer