Fully Funded British Library Coptic Fellowship
- Organization: Chevening and the British Library
- Type: Fellowship
- Location: Egypt, Palestine, Sudan
- Deadline: October 27, 2026
- Funding: Fully Funded
Chevening, the UK government's international awards programme, and the British Library are funding a year at the Library in London for a mid-career professional from Egypt, Palestine or Sudan. The fellow leads a research project on the Library's Coptic manuscripts, which cover more than 1,500 years of history: surveying the holdings, improving catalogue records, tracing how the manuscripts were acquired and running events with Coptic communities. It suits someone with excellent Coptic, hands-on manuscript cataloguing experience and at least five years in the field. **What you get:** - 12 months of project-based work at the British Library in London, from September 2027 to September 2028 - Living expenses for the whole fellowship, with the amount set out in Chevening's award letter - Return economy airfare - An allowance package for fellowship-related activities - Up to £1,000 for approved project-related expenses - Close work with Dr Michael Erdman, the Library's interim Head of Asian and African Studies - Specialist experience in manuscript cataloguing, provenance research and collections documentation, and a stronger international academic and professional profile **What you'll do:** - Survey the Library's Coptic collections and identify gaps in existing cataloguing and documentation - Create and improve catalogue records from manuscript evidence and existing metadata - Research and document the provenance of manuscripts, to understand how the collections were acquired - Organise and contribute to events with Coptic community members and researchers, including the Library's work with the London Diocese of the Coptic Orthodox Church - Write blogs, reports and other outputs, and take part in public engagement that widens access to Coptic heritage **Key dates:** - Applications close 27 October 2026 at 12:00 UTC (midday in London) - Fellowship runs September 2027 to September 2028 **More information:** - Apply through Chevening's online application system, linked from the fellowship page: choose your country of citizenship and the Coptic Collections fellowship. You must be able to prove the citizenship you select - Chevening's general fellowship eligibility rules apply on top of the programme's own rules - Chevening counts five years of experience as at least 7,200 hours, and part-time work, voluntary work and internships all count towards it - Chevening says the FCDO cannot help arrange travel to the UK, including from Palestine, so successful fellows arrange their own route, possibly through third countries
