Postgraduate funding

The School of History is pleased to be able to offer a number of scholarships which contribute to the fees or maintenance for postgraduate study.

The School of History is a member of the AHRC-funded Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities. Students wishing to be considered for funding should note in particular the importance of submitting an application for a place to study well in advance of any funding deadline (further scheme-specific information is available under the drop-down menus and links below).

Funding catalogue

If you are a new applicant to the University of St Andrews, you will receive an email with instructions on how to access the funding catalogue.

Applicants to postgraduate taught courses will be provided with login details for the ‘My Application’ portal with access to 'My Scholarships and Funding'.
Applicants to foundation and postgraduate research courses will receive a link directly to scholarships and funding.

If you are a current student at St Andrews, you can access scholarships and funding through MySaint, located under ‘My Applications’.

Students interested in applying for any of the following funding schemes (except for students solely applying for ESRC Doctoral Studentships) must apply through the School of History Postgraduate Research Scholarship Gateway (accessed through the University’s Scholarships and Funding Catalogue) by 5 pm (UK time) 9 December, 2024.
- AHRC Doctoral Studentships - See below for more information
- School of History PhD Scholarship: Full (Home or Overseas) tuition fees and annual stipend at Research Council rates (£19,237in 2024/5).
- School of History-University of St Andrews tuition fee scholarships (handsels): the School offers a limited number of these scholarships, which cover the fees of any student who is selected, regardless of their nationality.
Applicants must have received an offer for a place to undertake doctoral research at the School of History at St Andrews by the deadline. It is, therefore, strongly recommended to apply for a place to study by early- to mid-November; this will also give referees sufficient time to submit their references. Applicants should make sure their referees understand that they are to write their references with the scholarship competition in mind, and not simply admission. Applications for a place submitted close to the funding deadline may not be processed in time for an application for funding to be feasible.

Applicants should then submit a separate funding application to the School of History Postgraduate Research Scholarship Gateway. Please note that:
- You must complete the PhD Scholarship proposal form (Word) for entry in 2025-26, taking note of the PhD scholarship proposal form help sheet (Word). Remember that it will be read by a committee of historians of different specialisms, not all of whom will be familiar with the relevant subject area. You must also complete the AHRC template form at https://www.sgsah.ac.uk/prospective/dtp/howtoapply/#/ and upload to your application now.
- Your uploaded qualification documents should include transcripts of completed and ongoing degrees (rather than final degree certificates). If you are currently a Masters student, please also provide a list of all coursework marks gained so far.
- To facilitate the uploading of references for the scholarship application, please upload a Word document with the referee details as a placeholder (otherwise you will not be able to submit the scholarship application). References will either be uploaded by the School if referees already provided the requested reference when applicants applied for a place to study, or referees need to send their reference to pghist@st-andrews.ac.uk. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that all references are submitted by the deadline.
The deadline for funding applications is 5pm (UK time) 9 December 2024. Late applications will not be accepted.

We encourage all applicants to explore the other sources of funding, administered by the University, described on the University’s Scholarships page.
The School offers one-year awards to students pursuing MLitt and MSc programmes in the School of History. These awards will offer the cash equivalent of one year's home fees, cannot be held in conjunction with other awards offering full fees and maintenance, and will normally be open to candidates without a previous postgraduate degree in a related field.

The deadline for M Litt/MSc Award applications is Friday 19th April 2024.

Current information on scholarships can be found on the University of St Andrews scholarships page.

Full details will be sent, with log-in instructions to the new funding application system, once you have been offered a place to study here by the Admissions team.

There is a separate procedure for study applications.
The Berenike Walburg Travel Scholarship competition is open to doctoral students studying either Mediaeval or Middle Eastern History at the University of St Andrews. Scholarships are funded by the Berenike Walburg Memorial Fund and are administered through the School of History.

Berenike Walburg (1984-2012) graduated from the University of St Andrews with an MA Honours degree in Medieval History and Archaeology in 2007. The following year, she was awarded her MLitt in Mediaeval History and embarked upon doctoral research at St Andrews. Her doctoral thesis ‘The Persian Gateway: International Trade between the Seventh and Ninth Centuries’, supervised by Tim Greenwood, was just months away from completion when she was tragically killed in a road traffic accident on 1 December 2012. The Berenike Walburg Memorial Fund was established in her memory to assist postgraduate students of Mediaeval and Middle Eastern History at the University of St Andrews.

In her memory, up to two Scholarships will normally be awarded each year to cover the anticipated travel costs of a doctoral student incurred in the course of a research trip. This is defined as including, but not limited to, visits to archives, archaeological sites and other repositories, participation and attendance at conferences and workshops. The Scholarship will not cover or contribute to accommodation costs, registration fees or living expenses. Applications must be made in advance of the trip; retrospective applications will not be considered.

Only postgraduate students formally admitted to the University of St Andrews to pursue PhD research in Mediaeval or Middle Eastern History, either full-time or part-time, will be eligible to apply for a Berenike Walburg Travel Scholarship. Successful applicants may not reapply for a second award.

All those wishing to enter the 2024 competition are invited to submit their applications by 30 November 2023 by completing the 2024 Berenike Walburg Scholarship Application Form (Word). Applicants will be invited to outline their doctoral research and how the proposed trip will advance that research. They will also be asked to demonstrate financial need. The applicant’s supervisor will be required to give their consent and support for the proposed trip in writing.

Scholarships will be awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need by an Award Committee chaired by the School of History’s Director of Postgraduates and at least two other members of staff in the School of History with expertise in Mediaeval and Middle Eastern History. The decision of the Award Committee is final.

All awards are subject to the advice on travel issued by the University of St Andrews, including the completion of any required risk assessment. Travel may only be undertaken in accordance with current Government guidelines at the time of the proposed trip. Once an award has been made, it may be claimed up to 18 months from the date of the award without resubmission of an application.

Not later than one month after returning to St Andrews from the research trip, recipients of a Scholarship will be required to submit a report to the Director of Postgraduates, outlining their activities on the research trip and how this trip has benefitted their research project. This will be publicized through the School of History as well as being distributed to all the donors to the Fund. Recipients are also required to acknowledge receipt of a Berenike Walburg Travel Scholarship in their PhD thesis.
Students with an interest in the study of Japanese history may be nominated by St Andrews for the GBSF studentship. The Sasakawa Japanese Studies Postgraduate Studentship Programme supports the development of Japanese Studies in the UK. Launched and administered by the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation and fully funded by The Nippon Foundation, the Programme provides up to 30 postgraduate studentships annually, each worth £15,000.

Individuals may not apply directly to the Foundation as the application procedure is only through nomination by institutions e.g. UK universities and institutes of higher education. Nominees will be current students or applicants accepted to a St Andrews PhD programme with a thesis that has a major focus on Japan. Japanese language is not a condition for nomination but strongly encouraged. For more information about nomination for a studentship, please contact Dr. Konrad Lawson (kml8@st-andrews.ac.uk). Confirmation of each year’s funding call is generally available in the late fall, and the internal deadline for nominations is the end of February.
General information on sources of funding can be found on the Postgraduate Studentships website. In addition, the following links may be useful:

PhD study

Apply now

Postgraduate funding

Funding catalogue

PhD studentships

Language bursaries

School of History MLitt/MSc Awards

Berenike Walburg Travel Scholarship

Postgraduate Research Discount for former students

Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation Postgraduate Studentship

Other funding