AHRC Studentship Funding
The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) supports world-class research that furthers our understanding of human culture and creativity.
With an annual budget of £100 million, the AHRC funds research on a very wide range of subjects, from traditional humanities such as history, English, linguistics, French and other modern languages, philosophy and classics, area and interdisciplinary studies to creative and performing arts such as drama, dance, music, art and design.
Research into these subjects helps us to interpret our experiences, probe our identities, interrogate our cultural assumptions and understand our historical, social, economic and political context. It adds to the economic success of the UK, through its contributions to the knowledge economy and innovation agenda. The research we fund can lead to improvements in social and intellectual capital, community identity, learning skills, technological evolution and the quality of life of the nation.
Established in April 2005, the AHRC evolved from the Arts and Humanities Research Board, which was founded in 1998.
AHRC Block Grant Partnership (BGP) Scheme
AHRC funding for graduate students is available through two routes: Block Grant Partnerships with Universities, and a new annual Studentship Competition for candidates at universities not participating in the Block Grant Partnership (BGP) Scheme.
The University of St Andrews has been successful in obtaining a BGP therefore students intending to study here are not eligible to apply to the AHRC annual Studentship competition but can apply internally to the BGP.
AHRC BGP Studentships available at the University of St Andrews
The University of St Andrews has secured 40 doctoral studentships and 4 Master’s studentships from October 2009 – 2014 under the new AHRC Block Grant Partnership scheme. The doctoral studentships are available in English, History and Philosophy with the Masters available in Museum Studies.
Eligibility for AHRC BGP Studentships
To be eligible to apply for an award you must meet certain academic criteria and be ordinarily resident in the UK or in another European Union country. You must check that you meet the eligibility criteria as set out in the AHRC Guide to Student Eligibility.
How to Apply:
Applications for the Masters or Doctorate studentships should be made via the relevant department. The AHRC deadline for applications is in July each year. However departments will normally set an earlier deadline to allow time for an internal selection process and checking the applications. Jan/Feb is a good time to contact the school for details and to note your interest.
Before submitting an application to the AHRC, you must read the AHRC Guidelines for BGP Applicants and have been issued a unique reference number by the department.
AHRC BGP Students funded at the University of St Andrews
As you may be aware, from 1st October 2010, the AHRC will be providing studentship funding to Research Organisations (ROs) in the form of one or more Studentship Grants. The RO will then transfer funding to individual students. The Studentship Grants for each RO will include funding for any existing students whose AHRC funding continues beyond 1st October 2010, and any new students for the 2010/11 academic year whose AHRC funding commences on or after 1st October 2010.
Conference, Overseas Study Visit and interruptions to Study
An allowance for overseas or UK study and conference visits has been included in the block grant, the AHRC SVC Form (DOC, 63 KB) for this must be submitted at least one month in advance of the trip to the DTG Co-ordinator (rfoffice@st-andrews.ac.uk) for a decision on funding to be made. It is the responsibility of the student to notify the University as soon as possible of any interruption to study and return to study thereafter, a request can be made using AHRC Int Form (DOC, 69 KB) to put an award into ABEYANCE/ SUSPENSION/ MATERNITY/ ADOPTION LEAVE. Please refer to the AHRC terms and conditions regarding additional funding and interruptions.
Current holders of a Research Council funded doctorate studentships can contact Angela Johnston in the Research Funding Office (rfoffice@st-andrews.ac.uk) for any additional information.