AHRC PhD Funding

The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) is the main source of UK Government funding for doctoral students in Arts and Humanities subjects. An AHRC PhD studentship will cover fees and / or maintenance as well as providing additional training and development opportunities during your doctorate.

In this guide we've explained exactly how AHRC PhD funding works, who is eligible and how to apply.

The AHRC is one of the seven Research Councils that make up UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). These organisations manage UK budgets for funding research and training future researchers (like you!).

Which PhD subjects does the AHRC fund?

The AHRC funds PhDs in all Arts and Humanities subjects, including:

• Archaeology
• Classics
• English Literature
• History
• Languages & Linguistics
• Music
• Philosophy
• Theology

What PhD funding does the AHRC provide?

AHRC funding comes in the form of PhD studentships. There are two components to a PhD studentship from the AHRC:

• A fee payment covering your tuition
• A doctoral stipend of £18,622 per year (you will receive slightly more if you are based in London)

It's also worth bearing in mind that the value of both amounts rises annually with inflation, which means you'll get the increased amount in each subsequent year of your PhD. The above figures represent the amounts for 2023/24.

The fee payment is kept by your university who must use it to cover your PhD fees (they cannot charge you any more than is provided or require additional fee payments from you whilst you are AHRC funded).

The doctoral stipend is paid to you, tax-free, to cover accommodation and living costs. You don't need to pay any of it back at the end of your PhD.

Depending on your eligibility, you may get a full studentship (including the fee payment and doctoral stipend) or a partial studentship (which only covers your PhD fees).

How is AHRC PhD funding allocated?

Funding for a certain number of studentships each year is already allocated to universities and other organisations.

These form part of special networks called Doctoral Training Partnerships (DTPs) and Collaborative Doctoral Partnerships (CDPs). Students apply to them for PhD funding.

Doctoral Training Partnerships (DTPs) are the main way the AHRC allocates PhD studentships. Each DTP consists of a network of universities from the same region, along with non-academic partners such as museums, art galleries, theatres and other cultural organisations.

Studentships offered by DTPs are usually known as Open Doctoral Awards, because they can be allocated to any suitable project a student proposes.

AHRC DTPs for 2024

The AHRC currently funds 10 Doctoral Training Partnerships across the UK:

• Consortium for Humanities and the Arts South-East England (CHASE)

  Led by the University of Sussex, along with the Birkbeck College, the Courtauld Institute of Art, Goldsmith's College, the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), the University of East Anglia, the University of Essex and the University of Kent.

  External partners include Bloomsbury Publishing, Canterbury Cathedral, the British Library, the Victoria & Albert Museum and Shakespeare's Globe.

  Find out more about the CHASE DTP or browse PhD projects.

• London Arts & Humanities Partnership (LAHP)

  Led by University College London, along with King's College London, Queen Mary University of London, the Royal College of Music, the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, the Royal College of Art, the London School of Economics & Political Science, and the University of London.

  External partners include the Metropolitan Police, Google, the Wellcome Trust, the Museum of London, the National Archives and the Victoria & Albert Museum.

  Find out more about the LAHP DTP or browse PhD projects.

• Midlands4Cities (M4C)

  Led by the University of Nottingham, along with the University of Birmingham, Birmingham City University, Coventry University, De Montfort University, the University of Leicester, Nottingham Trent University and the University of Warwick.

  External partners include the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre, the British Museum, the National Trust, Boots Archives, the Birmingham Museums Trust, the National Holocaust Centre and Museum, the Warwick Arts Centre and the National Videogame Museum.

  Find out more about the M4C DTP or browse PhD projects.

• Northern Bridge Consortium

  Led by Newcastle University, along with Durham University, Northumbria University, Queen's University Belfast, the University of Sunderland, Teesside University and the University of Ulster.

  External partners include the BBC, TATE Liverpool, the British Library, the National Trust, Opera North and the Science and Industry Museum.

  Find out more about the Northern Bridge DTP or browse PhD projects.

• North West Consortium

  Led by the University of Manchester, along with Keele University, Lancaster University, the University of Liverpool, Manchester Metropolitan University, the Royal Northern College of Music and the University of Salford.

  External partners include Historic England, BBC Northern Ireland and the British School at Rome.

  Find out more about the North West DTP.

• Open-Oxford-Cambridge

  Led by the University of Oxford, along with the University of Cambridge and the Open University.

  External partners include the BBC World Service, British Telecom and the National Trust.

  Find out more about the Open-Oxford-Cambridge DTP.

• Scottish Graduate School for Arts & Humanities (SGSAH) DTP

  Led by the University of Glasgow, along with the University of Aberdeen, the University of Dundee, the University of Edinburgh, the Glasgow School of Art, the University of St Andrews, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, the University of Stirling, the University of Strathclyde and the University of the Highlands and Islands.

  External partners include BBC Scotland, British Council Scotland and the Scottish Parliament.

  Find out more about the SGSAH DTP or browse PhD projects.

• South, West & Wales Doctoral Training Consortium 2 (SWW2)

  Led by the University of Bristol, along with Aberystwyth University, Bath Spa University, Cardiff University, Cranfield University, the University of Exeter, the University of Reading, the University of Southampton, the University of the West of England and the National Museum Wales.

  External partners include the Arts Council South West, Historic England, the Bristol Old Vic, Cotswold Archaeology, the French National Archives, the Czech National Archives and the British Library.

  Find out more about the SWW2 DTP or browse PhD projects.

• techne

  Led by Royal Holloway University of London, along with University of the Arts London, the University of Brighton, Brunel University London, Loughborough University, Roehampton University, the University of Surrey, the University of Westminster and Kingston University.

  External partners include Kew Gardens, the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum, the National Archives, UNICEF, the Institute of Contemporary Arts and Historic Royal Palaces.

  Find out more about the techne DTP or browse PhD projects.

• White Rose College of the Arts & Humanities (WRoCAH)

  Led by the University of York, along with the University of Leeds and the University of Sheffield.

  External partners include Opera North, Revolution Games, Sheffield Doc Fest, Royal Armouries, the Marks and Spencer Archive, the National Railway Museum, Historic England, the Arts Council England and Leeds Museum and Galleries.

  Find out more about the WRoCAH DTP or browse PhD projects.

Each of these DTPs currently has funding for five cohorts of PhD students, with intakes running from October 2019 to October 2023. The next and final set of AHRC DTP studentships will begin in October 2023.

Studying your PhD at an AHRC DTP

You will still study your PhD at a specific host university within your DTP (this is the university you should apply to with your initial research proposal).

However, during your doctorate you will benefit from access to resources and expertise across the DTP network. This might include the chance to work with rare manuscript collections or historical archives, to draw on the expertise of academics at other universities, or simply to explore a much larger range of library resources and digital collections.

You'll also be part of a wider cohort of other Arts and Humanities PhD students across your DTP. You'll still have your own specific research project to complete, with support from your own supervisor(s), but studying alongside other students will help you form a scholarly and social network to help support your PhD.

Finally, you may receive additional DTP benefits alongside your AHRC studentship. These could include funding for additional research travel or skills training as well as unique internship opportunities and careers support.

The aim is for your experience at an AHRC DTP to help you become an exceptional Arts and Humanities researcher, well prepared for a range of academic and non-academic jobs.

Collaborative Doctoral Partnerships (CDPs) are another way the AHRC funds PhD students. They are led by non-university cultural organisations such as museums, archives, art galleries and heritage organisations who receive funding to host Arts and Humanities researchers on specific topics.

AHRC CDPs for 2024

AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Partnerships usually have two intakes of students per year, in January and October. This means you may be able to choose when you start your PhD.

The deadline to apply for studentships starting in October 2024 has already passed, but new CDP opportunities for October 2025 are expected to be advertised in early 2024. These studentships will be advertised on the AHRC CDP website.

Previous cultural organisations offering CDP funding have included: Historic England and English Heritage, the V&A, TATE and the Imperial War Museum.

Studying your PhD at an AHRC CDP

Studentships offered by CDPs are known as Collaborative Doctoral Awards. They offer the same fee and stipend payments as a studentship at an AHRC DTP, but it is common for CDAs to also offer extended funding for practical training and professional projects alongside your PhD.

Cultural organisations collaborate with universities to offer CDAs (hence the name). You'll be based at the cultural organisation for a large part of your PhD, but will also be registered as a student at the university it is partnered with. You'll also have a supervisor from both partners: an academic mentor from your university and a representative of the cultural organisation you are working with.

CDPs vs DTPs

Some DTPs will also offer specific CDAs lead by one of their external partners. This means you could apply for a CDA offered by a CDP set up by an AHRC DTP(!).

Don't worry if that all sounds like alphabet soup. The main differences between the two systems are:

• CDP projects are pre-determined – you apply for a Collaborative Doctoral Award to complete an advertised project with a CDP, rather than seeking an Open Doctoral Award for a project that you have proposed
• There are usually fewer CDPs – CDPs run for a shorter period of time and their projects are 'refreshed' more regularly; DTPs are set up to accept new PhD students every year for five years
• CDPs may be more vocational – you'll still gain a full doctoral degree at the end of your project, but working closely with an external cultural organisation may help you if you plan to pursue a non-academic career after your PhD

AHRC studentships are available to all prospective PhD students, regardless of nationality or residency.

Only 30% of the total number of awards available at a university may go to international students. International students are also only eligible to have their tuition fees paid at the lower domestic rate, which means they may have to pay the difference between this amount and the higher international rate. Please note that you aren’t allowed to use the living stipend to pay this difference. Some DTPs / institutions will fund the shortfall in costs, but this is at their discretion and you may need to find an alternative source of funding.

There are some other restrictions on combining AHRC studentships with other PhD funding, such as PhD loans from the UK government.

Residency

If you want to be able to apply for a PhD studentship as a home student, you’ll need to satisfy one of the following criteria:

• UK students who have been ordinarily resident in the UK for at least three years will be eligible for a full studentship (covering fees and including the doctoral stipend).
• EU students may be eligible for UKRI funding on the same terms as UK students if they have settled status in the UK or applied to the EU Settlement Scheme prior to 30 June 2021. EU students who arrive in the UK for a PhD from 2021-22 onwards may apply as international students.
• Irish students are eligible for UKRI finding on the same terms as UK students as part of the Common Travel Area.

Academic qualifications

All AHRC studentships are competitively awarded to the best applicants in each year. As a minimum, you will normally be expected to hold a Bachelors degree with a 2.1 or higher.

Most AHRC DTPs will also expect applicants to have a Masters degree in a relevant subject. This is particularly important for Arts and Humanities students as a Masters provides the training in independent research techniques and methodologies you will need to complete a PhD.

Combining an AHRC studentship with work or other funding

You can't work full-time during a full-time PhD that you are receiving AHRC funding for. However, you can work part-time, provided you are also studying part-time.

In addition, you cannot have a UK PhD loan at the same time as an AHRC studentships (or any other form of UKRI funding).

AHRC Studentships are allocated to DTPs and CDPs, so students never apply directly to the AHRC.

How you apply for AHRC funding depends on the type of studentship you are seeking:

Applying for Collaborative Doctoral Awards (at CDPs)

Collaborative Doctoral Award studentships will be allocated to a specific PhD project, as host organisations pre-define the work they want PhD students to do with them. Those projects will then be advertised and the students who apply successfully will get the funding.

Applying for Open Doctoral Awards (at DTPs)

The majority of AHRC studentships are awarded to fund projects that students have proposed themselves. These studentships are usually referred to as Open Doctoral Awards (as they are open to any project idea).

To apply for one of them you'll first need to have your PhD accepted by a university within a DTP. You can then be considered for one of its AHRC studentships. This may be an automatic part of the admissions process for eligible students, or you may need to submit a separate funding application.

Applications for an AHRC studentship will normally need to provide a new statement or proposal that makes the case for why your PhD should be funded (there are some tips for doing this below).

The ultimate decision about which projects to fund will be made collectively by all of the universities within the DTP.

Application deadlines

Each DTP (and CDP) will set its own application window for AHRC studentships. These are usually open between November and January for PhDs that begin in the following autumn.

Here are the upcoming application deadlines at AHRC DTPs for Open Doctoral Award studentships beginning in the 2023-24 academic year:

• LAHP– 26 January 2024
• M4C – 10 January 2024
• Northern Bridge – 9 January 2024
• North West – 2 February 2024
• Open-Oxford-Cambridge – 4 / 5 / 9 January 2024, depending on institution
• SGSAH – 13 February 2024
• Techne – Check with your university
• WRoCAH – 24 January 2024
• SWWDTP – 22 January 2024
• CHASE – 26 January 2024

Bear in mind that you'll need to complete your main PhD application and be accepted by your university before you can apply for an AHRC studentship.

Always check advice from your university and DTP and follow their directions when applying.

AHRC funding is very generous and, unlike a PhD loan, you don't need to pay it back. With that in mind, it's no surprise that selection for studentships is very competitive and not all students are successful.

There are a few things you can do to increase your chances of success though:

1. Give yourself enough time – There's a good chance you'll have two applications to make: one for your PhD itself, and one for the funding you want to win for it. Give yourself time to do both well. Even if your university automatically considers you for funding you should still allow enough time to make sure your PhD application has the best chance of winning it.
2. Focus on what makes your project worth funding – The harsh truth is that a PhD can be worth doing and still not be worth funding (a project can be academically worthwhile, but still not be a priority for the limited financial resources that are currently available). You need to explain why yours is both. Why is your project important right now?
3. Think about impact – All PhD projects should make an original and worthwhile contribution to academic knowledge (otherwise they wouldn't be a PhD). But what else is your project going to achieve beyond the university? Is it going to help support important heritage work? Could it improve public understanding of important issues? Will the results be of interest to cultural and creative industries? All of these things are possible in the Arts and Humanities and they represent value for money to funders like the AHRC.
4. Tailor the application – All CDPs and DTPs are different, just as all universities are different. Applying for an advertised CDA studentship is a lot like applying for a job: the role and expectations are already set out for you, you just need to prove that you fit them (by reading the project specification carefully and addressing it in your application). You should also tailor your application for Open Doctoral Awards at DTPs: what is it about this DTP, its resources, staff and research objectives, that make it the right fit for you and your research (and vice versa)?

Finally, remember that not getting AHRC funding doesn't necessarily mean there's anything wrong with your project or that you yourself aren't capable of completing a PhD. The reality is that there are more fundable projects than there are studentships to fund them.

Other types of PhD funding are available. Most DTPs will also let you make a second AHRC funding application provided you will have at least 50% of your PhD left to complete when the studentship starts.

As well as checking individual DTPs and CDPs, you can search for some AHRC-funded PhD opportunities here on FindAPhD.com.

Our free weekly newsletter will also keep you informed of application deadlines and new funding opportunities.

Further information

Check the AHRC and UKRI websites for additional funding details.

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