Applying for AdvanceHE/HEA Fellowship

Getting a category of AdvanceHE (HEA) Fellowship allows you to evidence your professional practice in higher education and demonstrate your commitment to teaching, learning and the student experience. It is increasingly listed as a desirable or essential criterion by employers across the higher education sector.

You do not need to do a taught module to achieve Fellowship; the only route currently available at St Andrews is a direct application to AdvanceHE, the support for which is explained below.

On 31st January 2023 AdvanceHE launched a new version of the Professional Standards Framework. They will continue to accept direct applications using the previous framework until 31 December 2023.

Support for writing your application

CEED's Head of Educational Development, Dr Heather McKiggan-Fee, has put together a self-enrol Moodle course on Applying for HEA Fellowship which will take you step-by-step through the process of deciding which category of Fellowship you should apply for, and how to write an effective application. It includes detailed guidance from Advance HE as well as suggested readings and example applications. To access the course follow the link and then click the rectangular blue button marked "Enrol", and you will automatically be entered into the Moodle course. (If you are not logged into Moodle you will be asked to login before you see the "Enrol" button.)

Please note that no workshops or Fellowship Bites are currently scheduled for this semester; they will resume in May/June. Review of individual applications is also on pause until May.

There are also two-hour workshops each semester on applying for Associate, Fellow or Senior Fellow. These are open to any member of the University that teaches or supports student learning who is interested in applying for a category of HEA Fellowship. Here is the list of workshop dates for this semester. (If there is nothing in the list, either the dates have not yet been posted, or the workshops have all finished.) You should complete the Getting Started section of the Moodle course before signing up for one of the live workshops.

Once you start writing your application, you may wish to attend one or more of the short, informal Fellowship Bites sessions - this are one-hour, informal sessions to discuss a particular area of activity or criterion in-depth. Here is the list of Fellowship Bites for this semester. You should have reviewed the UKPSF and the criteria for the category you are aiming for before signing up for one of the Bites.

Dr McKiggan-Fee will read through and offer feedback on one final draft of an application before submission.  Please note, however, that this may take up to 10 weeks in busy periods. If you have any questions about Fellowship applications, contact Dr Heather McKiggan-Fee at hcm@st-andrews.ac.uk. 

Funding

CEED has a fund to cover the cost of individual route applications, allocated on a first-come, first-served basis as completed applications are reviewed and approved, until such time as the fund is fully disbursed.

Individual route applications must be reviewed by the Head of Educational Development before they will be considered for funding. Staff can only access this fund once during their time at St Andrews (ie we cannot support multiple applications from the same individual).

In order to be eligible for funding you must be a current PGR student or member of staff (including flexible/bank contracts) at the time of your application, and you must have done some teaching and/or supporting learning at St Andrews.