Humanities and Social Sciences Prestigious Fellowship Scheme
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Open for application now! Please refer to call circular.
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What Is It?

Introduced in 2012/13, the Humanities and Social Sciences Prestigious Fellowship Scheme (HSSPFS) aims at granting extended time-off and supporting funds to the outstanding investigators under the disciplines of the Humanities and Social Sciences Panel to enable them to focus on research work and writing.

What Makes It Special?

Under HSSPFS, the maximum amount per award is $1 million. Each awardee will receive support for a period of up to 12 months in the manner of relief from teaching and administrative duties, and research funding support covering salary costs for relief teachers and support for research project including staff, equipment, travel, subsistence and dissemination costs.

Who Is Eligible?

All eight UGC-funded universities are eligible to nominate up to five candidates under the disciplines of the Humanities and Social Sciences Panel. Eligible applicant should be an academic staff member of a UGC-funded university with conditions of employment meeting ALL the following requirements:

  1. having a full-time1 appointment in the university proper2 of UGC-funded universities;
  2. being at Staff Grades from 'A' to 'I'3 (i.e. from 'Professor' to 'Assistant Lecturer');
  3. being primarily engaged in and spending at least 80% of time in degree or higher degree work4 at the university proper; and
  4. salary being wholly funded5 by the university proper.

An academic staff member who is engaged in non-degree programmes wholly funded by the General Funds of the university concerned may also be eligible. Visiting scholars are not eligible for being nominated under the HSSPFS. Awardees of HSSPFS cannot compete again in future exercises.

1
Part-time staff and staff holding honorary appointments are excluded.
2
Excluding schools/arms of continuing education and professional training and other analogous outfits.
3
Polytechnic staff grades are excluded.
4
A Project Investigator who is/will be seconded to work full-time or part-time at the two Innovation and Technology (I&T) clusters (Health@InnoHK and AIR@InnoHK) at the Hong Kong Science Park or to conduct research in a university or a research institute / body / agency in the Mainland / overseas jurisdiction, is still considered eligible to apply for the HSSPFS.
5
Staff who are receiving income from paid appointments outside the university proper do not satisfy this requirement.
Assessment Criteria

The assessment criteria are as follows:

  1. academic quality/merit;
    1. scientific and scholarly merit of the proposal;
    2. qualifications and track record of the investigator;
    3. originality;
    4. feasibility within the time-scale of the proposal.
  2. university’s commitment;
  3. contribution to academic/professional development (where applicable);
  4. potential for social, cultural or economic application; and
  5. availability of, and potential for, non-RGC funding.
Application Procedures

Applications for the HSSPFS 2025/26 should reach the UGC Secretariat through the electronic system by 5 February 2025.

Please click here for the call letter issued by the Secretary, RGC to the Heads of UGC-funded universities inviting applications.

To download the application forms, please click here.

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