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AHRC PhD Studentship

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Ahrc sgsah phd doctoral studentships.

PhD tuition fees and stipend at the UKRI level for 3.5 years

Thursday 23 November 2023

For research interests aligning with, or cutting across, ECA's Schools.

The University of Edinburgh is part of a consortium of ten Higher Education institutions which has been awarded funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) to support postgraduate doctoral studentships and training through the Scottish Graduate School for Arts & Humanities (SGSAH).

Applying for this scholarship? Find out how your personal data will be used.

Studentship application deadline - Thursday 23 November 2023 (23:59 GMT)

The studentships are being awarded as part of the AHRC Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) scheme, which forms part of the wider Scottish Graduate School for Arts & Humanities (SGSAH).

• Further details of the Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) scheme

The award will cover the PhD tuition fee and a stipend at the UKRI level (around £18,600) for up to 3.5 years full-time study (pro-rata for part-time study).

Postgraduate research candidates applying for admission to Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) may be eligible for a studentship from the AHRC. ECA has a vibrant research community reflecting the diverse expertise of its members and the disciplines it brings together. It encourages applications from applicants who have a research interest aligning with, or cutting across, ECA's Schools:  Architecture and Landscape Architecture ,  Art ,  Design ,  History of Art ,  Music .

Are you eligible?

Candidates will normally hold a relevant First Class Honours degree (such as BA, BMus, BSc or LLB) and preferably a similar calibre of Master’s degree.  PhD students within the eligible subject areas who are currently in their first year of study are eligible to apply.

Awards are available to Home fee applicants and limited awards available for International applicants. Please check the full UKRI eligibility criteria  here.

To qualify for Home status an applicant must: be a UK National (meeting residency requirements), or have settled status, or have pre-settled status AND meet residency requirement (3 years residency in the UK/EEA/Gibraltar/Switzerland immediately before the start of the PhD) or have indefinite leave to enter or remain.

In accordance with UKRI and AHRC policy, permissible positive action is being applied to the 2024 SGSAH DTP Open Studentships. For the 2024 competition, SGSAH is making available at least three ring-fenced studentships for applicants from UK Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities. These 3 ring-fenced studentships represent a minimum recruitment, with no maximum. 

For further information on eligibility and residency criteria can be found on How to Apply section on the SGSAH website.  

"Edinburgh College of Art has a vibrant research community reflecting the diverse expertise of its members and the disciplines it brings together. It encourages applications from applicants who have a research interest aligning with, or cutting across, ECA's Schools."

The application process

To apply for the AHRC SGSAH PhD Doctoral Studentship, you  must first  apply for admission for an eligible PhD programme of study at ECA (start date September 2024).  You must make your PhD programme application through the EUCLID online application system to the University in full by  Thursday 16 November 2023 . Please ensure that all supporting documentation (eg research proposal, references, transcripts etc) are uploaded with your application.  Incomplete applications may not be considered .

• How to apply for postgraduate study

AHRC SGSAH PhD Doctoral studentship applications that do not have a matching PhD programme application will not be considered.  You do not need a PhD offer before applying for the AHRC SGSAH PhD Doctoral Studentship but you must have made a PhD application.  If you are currently a first year PhD student at the University, please see Stage 2.

If you’d like to discuss your application with potential supervisors, or have any enquiries you wish to discuss with the Postgraduate Research Team or the School Postgraduate Research Directors, please do so as soon as possible before the deadlines.

Applicants must then complete and submit the SGSAH PhD Doctoral studentship application form by email to the ECA Postgraduate Research Team ( [email protected] ) by no later than Thursday 23 November 2023 (23:59 GMT) . Applications received after this will not be considered. 

Please refer to the SGSAH PhD Doctoral studentship application guidance and complete each section of the application form as instructed. The SGSAH PhD Doctoral Studentship application form for ECA and full guidance are attached here:

• Download the application form (Word)
• Download the guidance document (PDF)  

Please note that the Institutional Statement and Nominating Member of Staff details are not required at this stage.

The ECA Selection Panel will meet in mid-December 2023 to select applications to go forward to the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Science (CAHSS) for nomination to the SGSAH.

The SGSAH marking criteria for SGSAH PhD Doctoral Studentships will be used by the ECA Selection Panel. The Panel will rank the applications in relation to the criteria outlined in the AHRC DTP guidance document (see link above).

Applicants will be notified by mid-late December 2023 if they have been selected to go forward to the SGSAH Selection Panels.

If selected by ECA and CAHSS, you and your potential PhD supervisor will be requested to develop the SGSAH PhD Doctoral studentship application form and draft the Institutional Statement. The SGSAH PhD Doctoral studentship application must be submitted as an online version through the SGSAH Portal, which will be open from 1 February (09:00 GMT) to 13 February 2024 (12:00 noon GMT).

The SGSAH Selection Panels will then consider the applications as per the review process outlined on their website. Final results will be announced by the SGSAH by the end of April 2024.

Any questions?

Please contact the ECA Postgraduate Research Team ( [email protected] ) if you have any questions about the application process.

If you have an academic enquiry please contact the School Postgraduate Research (PGR) Director for the programme you wish to apply for:

• Architecture and Landscape Architecture  - Dr Sepideh Karami -  [email protected]
• Art  - Dr Kristin Mojsiewicz -  [email protected]  
• Design  - Prof Craig Martin - [email protected]
• History of Art  - Dr Chia-Ling Yang -  [email protected]
• Music  - Dr Benedict Taylor - [email protected]   

The SGSAH is holding online Q&A sessions for applicants on 16 October 2023, details can be found here .

The College Dean of Postgraduate Research will be hosting an online information session for prospective SGSAH applicants at  10am-11am BST 18 October 2023 . No registration needed and please click on this link to join the session.

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• AHRC PhD Studentships at the University of Edinburgh

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Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funding opportunities

Primary page content.

Goldsmiths is one of nine leading research institutions that are part of  CHASE , the Consortium for the Humanities and the Arts Southeast England.

CHASE funds up to 56 studentships per year across nine participating universities.

Year of entry

Eligibility criteria.

Research projects by MPhil/PhD applicants for any Goldsmiths Department oriented towards Arts and Humanities Research are eligible to be considered for funding.

International students are eligible for all UKRI-funded postgraduate studentships. The award will cover a stipend to support living costs (£20,622 for 2023/24) and tuition fees at the international rate (with funding provided by both Goldsmiths and the UKRI).

If you have already started doctoral study, you may still be eligible for an AHRC studentship funding providing that, at the start of the AHRC funding awarded, you will have at least 50% of your fundable period of study (which excludes the writing up/completion period) remaining.

A student who has started their doctoral studies (unfunded) on a part-time basis is permitted to convert to full-time status upon receipt of an award.

Application deadlines

The first stage of the application process is that you must apply for a postgraduate place for your intended programme of study via the standard Goldsmiths application method. For the majority of Departments, this should be done as soon as possible and absolutely no later than 5 January 2024 (17:00 GMT). Please note that the following Departments have set earlier deadlines in order to accommodate internal review processes:

· Art - 20 November 2023

· Music - 1 December 2023

· Visual Cultures - 3 November 2023

The second stage of the application process is the CHASE AHRC studentship application, made via the CHASE SMApply system). Any candidate who applies for funding via the CHASE AHRC application process on SMApply who have not already applied for a postgraduate place at Goldsmiths by the relevant admissions application deadline as above will be deemed ineligible. The deadline for this second stage of the process is 26 January 2024 (5pm UK time).

Please note that access to the SMApply system requires the access code, which for Goldsmiths candidates will be provided by your Departmental CHASE contact (normally the PGR Convenor).

If you have already started your studies and eligible to apply as per the note above, you should email your Departmental CHASE contact to indicate you intend to apply and require the access code.

You are strongly advised to contact the department you are interested in joining for details of their selection processes (including any internal deadlines they may have). We would also encourage you to discuss the completion of the separate CHASE SMApply application with the relevant Departmental PGR Convenor. 

Shortlisted applicants will be informed of the outcome of their application in  early May 2024 .

Contact details

If you have any queries, please contact the Goldsmiths Graduate School:  [email protected] .

Events run by CHASE

Separately, CHASE will be hosting several applicant events (3 and 10 November 2023) to give more detail about the general process. If attending these events, please keep in mind the deadlines above internal to Goldsmiths.

Further information and registration link .

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CHASE AHRC studentship scheme for Arts and Humanities Research (2024)

What you get.

PhD studentships cover PhD fees (international or UK level) and a tax free maintenance allowance (currently £18,622) and support funding (for e.g. conferences, placements, research travel, training courses)

Type of award

PhD scholarship

Eligibility

CHASE AHRC studentships are open to UK and Overseas/International students as up to 30% of each cohort of students may be Overseas students . So w e are now also able to offer a limited number of studentship awards to international candidates, including a stipend and full payment of international fees.

Our Admissions team will give a definitive answer of your Fee Status, but you count as a UK student if you are :

• a UK national who has been living in the UK or EU for the three years prior to starting your course;
• an EU national with Settled Status;
• an EU national with Pre-Settled status who has been living in the UK or EU for 3 years prior to starting your course;
• a student will Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK;
• an Irish National (due to a reciprocal agreement with the UK)

All other students (e.g. EU nationals moving to the UK to start their PhD) will count as Overseas students.

If you have already commenced doctoral study, you may still be eligible for an AHRC studentship funding providing that, at the start of the AHRC award on October 1st 2024, you have completed no more than 18 months full-time equivalent of your PhD .  For example a student who commenced in autumn 2023, will have completed 12 months and so could be awarded 2 years of funding, but a student who commenced in autumn 2022 will have completed 24 months by October 2024 and so would not be eligible.

Number of scholarships available

Last year CHASE awarded 57 scholarships across the consortium of 8 institutions. 

Each year, Sussex can nominate 17 candidates to the CHASE consortium selection panels and last year 6 Sussex applicants were awarded scholarships.

How to apply

1. Choose your PhD degree. You must apply for a PhD in the Arts and Humanities to be eligible for the scholarship.  See our PhD degrees .

2. Make contact with your potential supervisor to discuss your research area.  See our guide on finding a supervisor .

3. Apply to Sussex using our  online application system  The deadline for the Sussex PhD application is  December 15th 2023 .    Find out how to apply to Sussex .

4. Indicate on your academic application form IFinance/Funding section) that you intend to apply for a CHASE scholarship.

5. If your application to study at Sussex is approved, we will send you a link to an online application form for the CHASE scholarship.

6. The application must be submitted in full, including your research proposal, supervisor statement and two references (incomplete applications will not be accepted).  T he deadline for the CHASE scholarship application is January 26th  2024 .

Find out more about CHASE

Scholarship success stories

You can hear more from successful applicants and find out how to strengthen your proposal at our workshops:

Masters open day  Saturday 25 November (online), 10.30am-2.30pm

PhD open evening Monday 30 October, 4pm to 8pm, on-campus

Chase applicants webinars will be announced here:  https://www.chase.ac.uk/apply  

[email protected] 

There are several steps to the selection process:

- each of the CHASE partner universities select 17 candidates to go forward to the consortium panels;

- the CHASE consortium panels assess and rank the selected candidates in March/April 20234

- the CHASE management board agrees a final ranked list in April 2024

- successful applicants are informed in late April 2024

The timetable is as follows:

12 midday December 15th  2023 - Deadline to apply for a PhD place to study at Sussex

12 midday January 26th 2024  - Deadline for completing the CHASE application form online

February/March 2024 : Sussex selects its top 17 candidates and informs applicants whether they have been forwarded to the next stage

Mid-April 2024:  Applicants informed of outcome agreed by CHASE consortium panels

Availability

At level(s): PG (research)

Application deadline: 15 December 2023 12:00 (GMT) the deadline has now expired

The award is available to people from these specific countries:

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Next generation of humanities scholars ‘imperilled’ by PhD cuts

Arts and humanities research council funding ‘has been some sort of oasis, but it too is now quickly drying up’.

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Plans by the UK’s Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) to slash its PhD studentships by almost a third have been described as “devastating news” for the future of humanities research by sector leaders, who warned that they had severe concerns about how the next generation of scholars in the field would be supported.

Under major changes to its doctoral provision announced on 20 September , the AHRC said it would cut the number of PhDs it funds from 425 to 300 per year by 2029-30, a 29 per cent reduction.

The cuts follow a substantial decrease in the AHRC’s operating budget this year, caused primarily by the loss of about £9 million related to non-core income streams. The research council will also need to fund a higher PhD stipend, which UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) raised by 5 per cent to £18,622 for 2023-24, having increased it the previous year by 10 per cent.

The cuts will fall mainly within the AHRC’s doctoral training partnerships (DTPs), with extra resources allocated to maintain PhD numbers in collaborative doctoral partnerships (CDPs), in which museums and libraries work with universities to train PhD students.

Jonathan Cross, director of the University of Oxford ’s Ertegun Graduate Scholarship Programme in the Humanities, described the announcement as “devastating news for the future of the humanities”.

“In my university, I see so many applications for doctoral places from outstanding candidates proposing necessary projects that are both intellectually rigorous and engaged with the world – but the funding landscape is so barren that few of them are in a position to take up those places. It’s a desperate situation,” said Professor Cross. “The AHRC has been some sort of oasis, but it too is now quickly drying up.”

The “brutal cuts” had arrived “in a context where the arts and humanities appear to be under threat from many quarters”, continued Professor Cross, who cited “falling numbers of students in UK schools taking performing arts subjects and modern languages, the recent attack by the education secretary on so-called ‘low-value degrees’ and the closure of many university courses predominantly in the arts and humanities”.

“Where will the next generations of scholars in the humanities come from?” asked Professor Cross. “We need to continue training the best minds in the humanities. But if the AHRC won’t fund them, then who will?”

Andrew McCrae, dean of postgraduate research at the University of Exeter , said the “impact on the core business of arts and humanities research in the DTPs is very worrying”.

“Some cohorts are going to be stretched very thin, and gaps in traditional areas of strength are almost inevitable,” said Professor McCrae.

However, he welcomed the council’s efforts to protect PhD training in CDPs and the reintroduction of centres of doctoral training focused on the creative economy and environmental issues, given the “context of constraint”.

Alison Phipps, professor of languages and intercultural studies at the University of Glasgow , was more sceptical about the emphasis on creative economy-linked PhDs.

“The reductions appear to be focused on instrumentalising the arts for economic development,” said Professor Phipps. “This is reductionist and a fundamental negation of the power of the arts and humanities to generate life worth living beyond simple health and economic interests.”

Such cuts are “no longer surprising” in light of the move in March 2021 to cut in-year funding for research projects  supported by the Global Challenges Research Fund, which, she said, had “ruined a vital programme of early career capacity-building globally”.

Announcing the changes, Christopher Smith, the AHRC’s executive chair, acknowledged that the plans would be “a major change for many institutions, and it is not a decision that we have taken lightly”.

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2024 WRoCAH AHRC Open Competition Studentships

Applications for the 2024 WRoCAH AHRC Open Competition Studentships have now closed.

WRoCAH will have approximately 45 AHRC Open Competition Studentships to award across the three institutions (Leeds, Sheffield and York) for October 2024 entry.

Guidance Notes for Applicants

Full guidance notes to help you with the application process can be found here

Am I eligible to apply to WRoCAH?

In order to be eligible

• Your research must fall within the research remit of the Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC). You can check the scope here .
• You must be a new PhD student in October 2024 or be no further than day 1 of your second year (or equivalent if part-time) on 1st October 2024 of your PhD at the University of Leeds, Sheffield or York.
• You must have already applied to your chosen institution (Leeds, Sheffield or York) before you apply to WRoCAH

When to apply

You should apply to your chosen institution as soon as possible. You will need your 9 digit University number in order to apply to WRoCAH.

The application deadline for the 2024 WRoCAH AHRC Open Studentships Competition is 17:00 GMT on Wednesday 24th January 2024 .

What do I get?

If your application is successful and you are awarded a studentship, you will receive the following

If you are a new PhD student:

• 40 months of stipend (36 months to cover the usual PhD funding duration, plus 4 months to cover mandatory WRoCAH activities)
• The stipend for 2023/24 is £18,622 (2024/25 rate is not yet available. This page will be updated as soon as this information is available).
• Fees covered at the Home rate (the difference between the Home and International fee rate may be covered by your institution. Please check the guidance notes to confirm the situation with the instition to which you have applied.)
• Access to funding from the small award, large award and Student Led Forum schemes, to cover activities like conference attendance, fieldwork, or event organsation.
• Funding for language training where necessary for your research (provided it is listed in your application).
• Funding for longer REP projects if you complete one that is longer than 1 month
• WRoCAH training & other cohort activities
• Membership of the WRoCAH cohort, in addition to belonging to your Department or School Community
• The support of the WRoCAH team

If you are already a PhD student in your first year of study (or equivalent if part-time) and you successfully apply to WRoCAH, you will receive all of the above except the duration of funding is different. Your funding will take into account the number of months of your PhD you have already completed. You will receive at least 28 months of funding, plus any months of your first year that are still to be completed by 1st October 2024.

Submission within the funded period

The AHRC requires that all newly funded students submit their thesis within their funded period. Therefore you must plan to complete your thesis in the funded period from the very beginning. Please talk to your supervisor about how to scale the project to fit within this timeframe and ensure you are both planning towards this deadline.

International Candidates

The Competition is open to all candidates, whether Home or International. However, please note that if you are awarded a studentship, we are not permitted to cover the costs associated with moving to the UK or to your new University. All such costs (visa, health surcharge, flights, etc.) will need to be covered by you or you will need to find an alternative funding source.

• WRoCAH Small Awards (2019-2023 starters)
• WRoCAH Large Awards (2019-2023 starters)
• Current Students (2019-2025 starters)
• Prospective Students

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Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Studentships

The North West Consortium Doctoral Training Partnership offers postgraduate studentships, supervision, training and skills development across the full range of the AHRC’s disciplines. We are one of eleven Doctoral Training Partnerships (DTPs) and seven Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs) brought about for this purpose.

The consortium includes a wide variety of bodies beyond the university sector that students can engage with to further their experience, from multinational organisations to local museums and galleries.

Details of Award

All funded PhD students, whether UK or International will be eligible for a full award which includes a stipend to support living costs, and fees at the standard UKRI home fee rate. (The University will fund the difference between the Home and Overseas tuition fee for any successful overseas applicants)

In association with the North West Consortium Doctoral Training Partnership (NWCDTP) , each year Lancaster University invites applications from outstanding candidates for AHRC Doctoral Studentships.

A wide range of subjects and pathways are available. Please speak to the PGR Director in the appropriate department about the internal processes and deadlines for working on your application.

The AHRC NWCDTP provides funding opportunities for students to undertake doctoral research and training. We have 15 Pathways broadly organised as Histories, Cultures & Heritage; Creative and Performing Arts; Languages and Literatures. More about pathways...

The NWCDTP is committed to equality of opportunity and working to ensure our student cohort reflects the diverse community we serve. We have introduced a range of positive measures to assist in achieving these commitments, recognising in particular that Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) and disabled students are currently underrepresented on our programmes and across the UK university sector. The introduction of these measures follows a review of our recruitment processes and forms part of a three-year plan we have developed to achieve greater diversity and better equality outcomes.

One of the steps we have taken as part of that plan was to introduce ring-fenced studentships during 2021 and 2022. From 2022, we guaranteed two candidates from BAME backgrounds a studentship. Applicants from these groups will, of course, also be considered as part of our recruitment to all of the available studentships.

Applicants wishing to apply for one of the ring-fenced studentships will have the opportunity to identify themselves on the application form as wishing to be considered for these targeted studentships. Their applications will be considered as part of the standard award competition and will be subject to the same assessment criteria and schedule (see how to apply above).

International Students

The NWCDTP will offer up to 30% of its studentships to international students. Their applications will be considered as part of the standard award competition and will be subject to the same assessment criteria and schedule. All funded PhD students, whether UK or International will be eligible for a full award which includes a stipend to support living costs, and fees at the standard UKRI home fee rate. Lancaster University will fund the difference between the Home and Overseas tuition fee for any successful overseas applicants. Please check our Frequently Asked Questions sections for more information regarding eligibility.

Academic Eligibility

The NWCDTP is committed to working with students from underrepresented communities and those from non-traditional academic backgrounds. Successful students should normally have qualifications equivalent to a good honours degree (first or upper second class level) from an academic higher education institution. Degrees gained outside the UK are recognised. Students should normally possess or be studying for a postgraduate degree. Students can also offer a combination of qualifications and experience.

Further information how our recruitment works can be found at the NWCDTP webpages:

Apply for a place on a programme by Friday 12 January 2024  AND submit a NWCDTP Funding Application by Friday 2 February 2024  (5pm) 

How to Apply

Apply for a programme, send a funding application.

To apply for an award, candidates must have applied for a place on a programme by Friday 12th January 2024 . Please note that your application for admission onto your chosen programme must be complete (no missing documents) when submitted by this deadline. Please indicate in the 'Source of Funding' section of your programme application that you are applying for AHRC funding. Alternatively, if you have already submitted your programme application, please contact us at [email protected] .

You must also submit an NWCDTP Funding Application by Friday 2 February 2024 (5pm) in order to be considered. Applicants are strongly advised to liaise with prospective supervisors when completing the studentship application form.

Further information about the NWCDTP and the studentships on offer is available via the NWCDTP website , as are the application forms and guidance notes. Please check that you meet the academic and residential eligibility criteria on page 2 of the guidance notes before applying. Applications should be made on the appropriate application form and should be sent to [email protected] , along with the separate Equality and Diversity Form (also available from the NWCDTP website).

Frequently Asked Questions

Eligibility criteria can be found on page 2 of the Studentship Guidance .

Yes; the fact you've been previously turned down is not held against you.

+2 Scheme (Two years Doctoral Study – For current first year students only)

This scheme will provide support for up to two years of full time study, or four years of part-time study for students who are currently registered on the first year of a programme leading to the award of a doctoral degree. Students in their second or third year will not be eligible for funding

No. The AHRC is not offering 1+3 funding (ie a Master's Degree followed by a PhD), it is only offering PhD funding.

From the academic year 2021/22, the NWCDTP is able to offer up to 30% of its awards to international PhD researchers. All funded PhD students, whether UK or International will be eligible for a full award which includes a stipend to support living costs, and fees at the standard UKRI home fee rate. Lancaster University will fund the difference between the Home and Overseas tuition fee for any successful overseas applicants.

Please also be aware that the NWCDTP is only permitted to award a maximum of 30% of its studentships - a maximum of 13 awards - to international (including EU and EEA) students per annum.

It can be downloaded from the NWCDTP website .

Send your completed AHRC application form to [email protected] putting your name and ‘AHRC Application’ in the subject of your e-mail. You will receive a confirmation e-mail once your application has been received. Once we have processed your application we will contact you if we require any further information from you.

References and transcripts supplied with your programme application will be matched to your funding application by the institution through which you are applying.

The references and transcripts submitted in support of your application for a place will suffice, but updated documents may be submitted if appropriate. This is advised if your new documents are able to provide information on your performance on a master’s degree currently in progress. If you are applying for a +2 (that is, you are a current PhD student) new reference letters should be submitted with comments on progress on your PhD to date.

If you decide to submit updated documents these must be received by the relevant admissions office by the deadline.

You will need to provide 2 references, copies of your academic transcripts, and the Equality and Diversity Monitoring form.

Please note ‘AHRC Funding’ in the Source of Funding section of your programme application. If you have already submitted your programme application form please contact us at [email protected] and we will make a note on your behalf.

Yes. If we offer you a place on one of our programmes please accept this. If your funding application is subsequently unsuccessful you may wish to request a deferral to a future cohort of the programme, or withdraw your application without penalty.

This refers to your eight digit programme application number (starting with the number 3)

If you are a current PhD student at Lancaster University applying for a +2 award please provide your student ID number.

If you have been in contact with potential supervisors please include their names in this section of the form. Otherwise, please leave this section blank as it can be completed once supervisors have been selected.

Lancaster NWCDTP Academic Lead

Dr Sam Clark

Centre for War and Diplomacy, CILHR Centre for International Law and Human Rights, FASS Health Hub

Pathway Representatives

Please contact your Pathway Representative in the first instance if you need help completing your AHRC application form. If help is still required contact [email protected] .

Dr George Watson

Creative writing.

Dr Eoghan Walls

Creative Writing, Creative-Critical Writing, Literature, the Arts, Media and Performance

Nigel Stewart

Cultures, Insight, Practices

Professor Simon Bainbridge

Literature, Space and Place, Wordsworth Centre

Heritage (Archaeology, Art History, Museum Studies)

Professor Sandra Kemp

Centre for War and Diplomacy

Dr Mark Hurst

FASS Health Hub, Institute for Social Futures Fellow

Professor Steven Wheatley

CILHR Centre for International Law and Human Rights, Lancaster Intelligent, Robotic and Autonomous Systems Centre, LIRA - Society and Human Behaviour

Linguistics

Dr Gavin Brookes

Media and cultural studies.

Dr Debra Ferreday

Centre for Gender Studies

Modern Languages and Translation Studies

Professor Charlotte Baker

African Studies Group, Centre for Transcultural Writing and Research, FASS Health Hub, Multilingual Creativities, Performing Identities, Poetics of Resistance

Professor Christopher Partridge

Richardson Institute for Peace Studies

Visual Arts and Design

Professor Sarah Casey

Insight, Practices

AHRC-funded Studentships

The University has offered AHRC-funded PhD studentships in Arts and Design since 2004, as part of AHRC Research Grants and Collaborative Doctoral Awards. 

Connecting diverse communities to the North-East Coast and Countryside through socially engaged media arts-based practices.

Dr Suzy O’Hara, University of Sunderland, with National Trust

This project will explore how media arts-based practices can enhance engagement between socio-economic and culturally diverse communities and natural coastal and green spaces managed and protected by National Trust (NT). This collaborative, practice-based project will be based at the NT trust site, Souter Lighthouse and the Leas, providing an embedded perspective to co-create inclusive narratives of place at the intersection of arts, natural heritage and technology. The aim is to challenge physical and perceptual barriers to engagement, empower more equitable access to our natural heritage, and ignite a sense of stewardship for its continued protection.

View the project proposal application .

Please contact [email protected] for more information. Deadline for expression of interest: 30 January 2024.

AHRC-funded Studentships 2019-2024

Northern Bridge Doctoral Training Partnership (NBDTP) brings together the cutting-edge expertise of Durham University, Newcastle University, Northumbria University, Queen’s University Belfast, Sunderland University, Teesside University, and Ulster University. It offers up to 67 fully funded studentships per year to outstanding postgraduate researchers across the full range of Arts and Humanities subjects, including Creative Practice disciplines.

Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) is the UK funding body for the arts and humanities.

Each year the AHRC provides funding from the Government to support research and postgraduate study in the arts and humanities. Only applications of the highest quality and excellence are funded. Research supported by this investment provides social and cultural benefits and also contributes to the economic success of the UK.

For further information, visit the AHRC website .

Current opportunities 

Clay (co)Construction – using creative practice to improve health and wellbeing and social isolation within the veteran community in Sunderland.

A partnership between University of Sunderland and Veterans in Crisis Sunderland (VICS), this creative practice project will explore clay as a creative medium for reducing social exclusion and increasing individual and mutual health and wellbeing within the veteran community. This project provides the student with a unique embedded perspective from which to shape new knowledge, advance research and develop best models of practice within the arts and health. The project will develop approaches and resources that will contribute towards co-production of creative capital and sustainable future development for veterans and their community. Deadline for expression of interest 29/01/2023.

Towards an Inclusive Re/visualisation of Women’s Work  

The Faculty of Arts and Creative Industries of the University of Sunderland are pleased to advertise a funded PhD studentship for a practice-based photography project through the Northern Bridge Consortium Collaborative Doctoral Awards Competition.

This collaborative practice-based project between the Faculty of Arts and Creative Industries and the Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens will use the Museum’s rich collections of industrial photographs and related material in local/regional/national collections to map, reframe, and create innovative visual interpretations that capture the changing socio-economic characteristics and conditions of women’s work in Sunderland. In doing so, it seeks to produce novel inclusive narratives for the Museum by juxtaposing historical and new photographic imagery depicting women’s work and enhance public engagement by empowering local women, those identifying as women and non-binary to share their stories and photographs.  Deadline for expression of interest: 28 January 2023.

Past Studentship Examples

2008 to 2019, PhD Studentships in Art and Design were offered as part of the Block Grant Partnership, then the Northumbria-Sunderland AHRC Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Art and Design. Seventeen researchers in the areas of Glass and Ceramics, Digital Art / Curation, and Design gained bursaries and fees to research subjects including:

Erin Dickson  - Looking through glass: The manipulation of light through digital design and manufacture in studio glass practice . Dawn Bothwell - Intermedia Curating – North-East Self-Sustaining Strategies.

2017 and 2018  Northern Bridge Doctoral Training Partnership (NBDTP) and Northumbria-Sunderland Consortium in Art and Design (N-SC) jointly secured 16 awards, funded by the National Productivity Investment Fund (NPIF) with AHRC, including studentships with a specific in interest in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Data-Driven research, in relation to the Creative Industries. Researchers and their industry partners include: Georgia Smithson New Models for Collecting and Distributing Media Art (with  Northern Gallery of Contemporary Art ) Simeon Soden  Blockchain, Audiences and Music Distribution (with Sage Gateshead )

For further information on the AHRC, please see  www.ahrc.ac.uk .

New website!

Find out more

• About research at the RCM
• Research projects
• Knowledge Exchange
• RCM Research Online
• Research degrees
• Funded doctoral studentships
• Research enquiries

The Royal College of Music is the only music conservatoire in London to be part of the London Arts and Humanities Partnership (LAHP). This AHRC-funded doctoral training partnership offers exceptional opportunities for preparing the brightest and best doctoral students from the UK and the EU for successful careers.

Open competition.

The LAHP offers up to 90 fully-funded doctoral studentships annually across all member institutions, awarded on a competitive basis to new doctoral students. Member HE institutions are:

Royal College of Music

• Royal College of Art
• The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London
• King’s College London
• London School of Economics and Political Science
• Queen Mary University of London
• School of Advanced Study, University of London
• University College London

Successful doctoral applicants will have the opportunity to apply for the fully-funded studentships. The studentships will offer cross-partnership training courses, interdisciplinary collaborations between students across institutions, placements and opportunities for research with six core non-HE industry sector partners, who include:

• Museum of London
• National Archives
• Victoria & Albert Museum
• Wellcome Trust

The studentships

For all students (including EU and overseas) the studentships comprise:

• Full fees waiver
• Access to additional funding opportunities
• A training events programme (for up to three and a half years full time or the equivalent part time)

How to apply

Successful RCM doctoral applicants who have applied before 30 November are eligible to apply to LAHP for a funded studentship. The College will run an internal competition to decide upon the strongest applicants for this scheme. You will receive full information on this process once you have been offered a place at the College.

Further details on the LAHP consortium and the application process are available on the LAHP website .

Visit LAHP website

Get in touch

If you would like to speak to us about the possibility of applying for an AHRC-funded doctoral place at the RCM, please contact our Head of Research.

Professor Robert Adlington

Head of Research

[email protected]

Prince Consort Road

London SW7 2BS

United Kingdom

Registered charity No. 309268

+44 (0)20 7591 4300

Contact the RCM

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AHRC studentships: requirements for research organisations and award holders

Terms and conditions.

Read the following for postgraduate studentships that Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funds:

• UKRI training grant guidance, and terms and conditions
• AHRC training grant funding guide

You can also read about Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) terms and conditions .

Doctoral awards: what we expect from students and research organisations

• AHRC’s research training framework for doctoral students, designed to help students and research organisations understand how we expect skills to be developed.
• UKRI’s statement of expectations for postgraduate training Statement of expectations for postgraduate training

Dealing with changes to studentships

It is the responsibility of the research organisation to make sure student details are:

• entered in the Joint Electronic Submission (Je-S) system studentship details section of the relevant training grant record
• kept up to date during the studentship period

Contact the Je-S helpdesk if you need help with using the system.

This responsibility includes:

• processing any changes (such as full-time to part-time) or suspensions to funded studentships
• approving any applications for study and conference visits

Read the training grant terms and conditions when considering suspensions and other changes to studentships.

If you’re a student

If you’re a student and you’re changing your studentship project description or personal data such as your surname or address, you must arrange for your research organisation to update your details in the Joint Electronic Submission (Je-S) system .

For students

Students with questions about their studentship funding should contact the relevant training grant consortium or research organisation, not AHRC.

For university staff

University staff with queries about training grant payments from AHRC should first contact the relevant university finance department.

If they cannot help, contact UKRI’s post-award operations team.

Email: [email protected]

For grant-holding organisations and consortia

Grant-holding organisations and consortia that have queries that the terms and conditions don’t address should email AHRC.

Email: [email protected]

Last updated: 27 January 2022

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