The Royal Historical Society’s Jinty Nelson Teaching Fellowships are awarded annually to support innovative practice in UK higher education. The Society is pleased to open the call for Fellowships for the academic year 2026-27 and now invites applications before the closing date of Friday 10 July 2026.
Fellowships support historians in higher education who wish to introduce new approaches and initiatives to their teaching — and for which funding, at one of three levels (£500, £1,000 and £1,250 per award), is required to make this possible.
Fellowships may also support those seeking to undertake a short study of an aspect of history teaching in UK higher education: for example, within a department or more widely. Recipients for the current round are expected to undertake their project within the academic year 2026-27, with the Fellowship lasting for the duration of the project or period of study.
Fellows also meet with members of the Society’s Council, including the Secretary for Education, during the year to discuss and develop their projects, and to share insights on history teaching.
The 2026-27 Fellowships are open to current Fellows, Associate Fellows and Members of the Society who teach in higher education — either in the UK or internationally. The 2026-27 Fellowships are supported by the Scouloudi Foundation, to which the Society is very grateful, and are — as ever — named for Dame Jinty Nelson FBA (1942-2024), President of the Society between 2000 and 2004.
For more on this year’s call, eligibility, and how to submit an application, please see here.
Applications for the Fellowship should be made, before the closing date of Friday 10 July, via the Society’s applications portal.
Established in 2023, recent recipients of Teaching Fellowships include:
- Natalya Chernyshova (Queen Mary, University of London), ‘Teaching Soviet History from the Borderlands: A Case Study of Belarus and Ukraine’
- David Clayton and Henrice Altink (York), ‘Piloting Responsible and Effective Use of Generative AI in Undergraduate History Teaching’
- Jody Crutchley (Liverpool Hope), ‘Using Interactive LED Wall Technology and VR to Teach the History of Settler Colonialism’
- Laura Harrison (University of the West of England), ‘History and Sustainability: Learning together with ICT Students’
- Linsey Hunter (University of the Highlands and Islands), ‘Student-led Co-design of Undergraduate History Modules at the University of the Highlands and Islands’
- Jason Lee (De Montfort), ‘Teaching Tool to address the Historical Dimension of Conspiracy Theories, using MOOCS’
- Lowri Ann Rees (Bangor), ‘Innovative Approaches in Teaching Welsh History’
- Karen Smyth (UEA), ‘Teaching Medieval Heritage Trails as a Creative Health Intervention’
- David Stack (Reading), ‘Promoting Wellbeing Through History Teaching’