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  1. Queen Mary University of London
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  5. Postgraduate Research Student Funding Opportunities
  6. AHRC Doctoral Landscape Awards in the Arts and Humanities

AHRC Doctoral Landscape Awards in the Arts and Humanities

The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funds outstanding original research across the arts and humanities. Queen Mary is pleased to have been awarded the AHRC Doctoral Landscape Award Funding for doctoral studentships, including Collaborative Doctoral Awards. 

Queen Mary will award five AHRC Doctoral Landscape awards per year for five years. The first cohort will begin their doctoral research in October 2026, and the final cohort will start their studies in October 2030.

Each studentship will provide the following for students to submit their thesis within the funded period: 

  • A maintenance stipend and tuition fees based on UKRI (home) rates. 
  • Support for research related costs 
  • Opportunities for full-time or part-time doctoral research.  
  • Full-time awards will be 3.5 years in duration, with flexibility to extend up to 4 years to support individual student development opportunities such as placements, training, or additional skills development.  
  • Part-time awards will be offered on a pro-rata basis. 

The studentships will be awarded through a competitive selection process.

Applications open in October 2025 and will close on 01 December 2025.

Before submitting an application, we encourage you to contact a potential supervisor via email. When you write to them, they will be looking for certain things to ensure you are a suitable PhD candidate and will consider the following: 

  • Is the proposed project suitable for PhD study? 
  • Do you have the academic strength to complete your project? 
  • Can the project be completed within the required time? 
  • Do they have the relevant knowledge to supervise your project? 
  • Can the School/Institute support your project and do they have the facilities and resources? 

If you cannot find the research area you are looking for, or have any queries about the application process, you can contact the School using the links and contact addresses below.

Eligibility and academic entry criteria 

  • Please check the minimum entry requirement on the Schools page that you are applying to using the links at the bottom of the page.
  • A limited (30%) number of awards are available for international students. 
  • Research must fall within the AHRC remit: https://www.ukri.org/councils/ahrc/remit-programmes-and-priorities/ 
  • We specifically welcome applications in interdisciplinary research and from typically under-represented groups including those from black and asian ethnic-minority backgrounds. 

Information Sessions – register now!

An online information session will be held on Wednesday 29 October from 12-1pm. Please register at the link below.  The session will provide an overview of the funding followed by a Q&A. The second part of the session will be subject specific and provide an opportunity to gain insights into how to strengthen your application and proposal and seek guidance from successful studentship awardees. 

Register here:  https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/c7aa203d-250c-4e9a-b96d-62f198094ee2@569df091-b013-40e3-86ee-bd9cb9e25814

Application process 

Application documents 

Applicants must submit pro forma education history, personal statement, research proposal and proposed supervisor (minimum 1st supervisor) and two referees, at least one of which should be an academic referee. 

Application form 

Applications are to be made on the admissions portal. To apply follow this link and select the relevant research area: https://www.qmul.ac.uk/postgraduate/research/applying-for-a-phd/ 

You must make clear in your application that you wish to be considered for an AHRC Doctoral Landscape award studentship. To do this add “AHRC Doctoral Landscape Award” when prompted to complete the funding source question of the application form. Failure to do this may result in your application not being considered for this scheme.  

Proposal 

Tips for writing a strong research proposal include: 

  • Formulate a precise, interesting research question; this may take the form of a hypothesis to be tested, or a more open-ended inquiry. 
  • Establish the relevance and value of the proposed research question in the context of current academic thinking. Is there a knowledge gap? 
  • Outline a clear and practical methodology which enables you to answer the research question, and to describe and evaluate any data or source material you will draw upon. 
  • Suggest what you hope to discover at the end of your research and what new areas it might open up. 
  • Demonstrate that your research will not take longer than 3.5 years. 

Check the specific requirements (e.g. word count) on the School/Institute webpages. 

Deadline for applications 

Monday 1 December 2025, 5pm GMT. 

Collaborative Doctoral Awards 

A proportion of the available studentships will be awarded as collaborative doctoral awards. If your proposal involved external partners please clearly indicate this in your application.  

Application timeline 

October 2025 - Applications open 

Monday 1 December 2025 - Application deadline 

Early February 2026 - Interviews to be held by relevant school 

End - February 2026-Notification to candidates of outcomes 

 Assessment Criteria 

This will be a weighted consideration of: 

  • quality of the research proposal;  
  • the preparedness/research potential of the student and  
  • the feasibility of the research.  

All applications will be ranked by an expert panel to include senior academic staff across relevant subject disciplines.  

Schools in Humanities and Social Sciences

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