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 & Humanities and the ESRC-funded Scottish Graduate School of Social Science. Students holding an offer from St Andrews are eligible to apply for studentships administered by either Scottish Graduate School, and the MSc in Economic and Social History is accredited by the ESRC for 1+3 funding.
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’.
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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) 8 December, 2022.
- AHRC Doctoral Studentships
- ESRC Doctoral Studentships Applicants must also upload their ‘stage one’ application to SGSSS Apply by 5pm UK time on 8 December 2022. Applicants should ensure that their two referees submit references to SGSSS Apply by 12 December 2022. See also the University’s information page on ESRC funding
- Carnegie-Caledonian PhD Scholarships. (Applicants should also upload an application to the University Carnegie portal)
- 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 2023-24, 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.
- 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) on 8 December 2022. 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.
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For language training support grants in 2021-22, please see the relevant section on the School's postgraduate student pages. (this page is currently only accessible to current students)
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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 in 2023 is Friday 14 April 2023.
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 application. Details of how to apply may be found at:Postgraduate Application and Admission Save and approve
- Begum Nahid Iskander Mirza Scholarship
- Institute of Legal and Constitutional Research
For further enquiries please contact the Postgraduate Secretary by emailing pghist@st-andrews.ac.uk
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Begum Nahid Iskander Mirza Postgraduate Scholarship 2022
The Institute of Iranian Studies will be awarding one Begum Nahid Iskander Mirza Scholarship in 2022.
This Scholarship is open to outstanding students (Home/EU/International) applying for the MLitt in Iranian Studies at the University of St Andrews in the academic year 2022/23. All students who have been offered a place on this programme by the closing date of the School of History’s MLitt Scholarship Competition (23rd April 2022) will be eligible for this Scholarship which is worth £4000, to offset against fees. It may not be held in conjunction with any other awards made by the School of History offering full fees and maintenance. The award of this Scholarship will be made on the basis of academic merit. There is no separate application form.
How to apply for this MLitt scholarship
The Begum Nahid Iskander Mirza Scholarship competition is administered by the School of History.
The application deadline for the School of History MLitt Scholarship competition is 23rd April 2022.
Note that full details on applying for MLitt scholarships via the School of History will be sent once you have been offered a place to study here by the Admissions team.
How to apply for a place on the MLitt in Iranian Studies
To find out how to apply for 2022 entry to the MLitt Iranian Studies at the University of St Andrews, please visit the School of History prospective student page.
Further enquiries can be sent to the MLitt in Iranian Studies Convenor, Dr Tim Greenwood, email twg3@st-andrews.ac.uk
General details about postgraduate life and study at St Andrews can be found on the University of St Andrews prospective postgraduate student pages.
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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 2023 competition are invited to submit their applications by 30 November 2022 by completing the 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. If circumstances change after the trip has been booked but before departure, the Fund will not be liable for reimbursing any losses incurred. 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 theses.
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General information on sources of funding can be found on the Postgraduate Studentships website.
In addition, the following links may be useful.- Burnwynd History and Art Limited
- Carnegie Trust
- Leverhulme Trust
- Russell Trust Awards
- Wellcome Trust
- Society for the Study of French History
- German Academic Exchange Service
- German History Society
- Royal Historical Society
- German Historical Institute London
- Max Planck Institute for European Legal History
- Economic History Society
- The Bibliographical Society
- The Printing Historical Society
- The Association for Computers and the Humanities
- Institute of Historical Research
- Scottish Historical Review Trust
- Society for the Social History of Medicine
- British Federation of Women Graduates
- Funds for Women Graduates
- Society for Army Historical Research
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The University offers a 10% discount in postgraduate research tuition fees to certain groups of former students starting a postgraduate research programme with the University of St Andrews.
Further details about this scheme can be found on the Postgraduate Research Discount page