Geographical criteria
No restrictions
Domicile for fee status
No restrictions
Level of study
Postgraduate research (doctoral)
Year of entry
2021-2022 academic year; applicants must be able to start their degree in September 2021.
Subjects
Scholarships are available in three disciplines that align with the Wolfson Foundation’s interests – history, literature, and languages. The three areas that the scheme covers are broadly defined and it is recognised that many research projects may cover more than one area.
History
As well as broad-based historical and historiographical studies, this may include such areas as classics, history of art, or architectural history, provided the research is grounded within historical methodology.
Research funded in this area has included work on socio-political change in East Africa; society and ideology in the Milanese region, c. 1000-1200; and laughter in the 18th century.
Literature
As well as literary and textual studies, this may include research that involves critical theory or film and other visual media, provided there is a literary element within the research (e.g. translation of literature to screen). This does not include creative writing.
Research funded in this area has included work on the ocean in mid-19th Century American verse; narratives of needlework in early-modern England; Samuel Johnson and religious thought of the 18th Century; and the evolution of parasitology and how it has shaped the dialogue between science and literature.
Languages
Research should be in applied languages other than English rather than linguistics. It may involve the study of literary or historical texts where these are in languages other than English. Students receiving scholarships under this stream may be based in non-languages departments – for example, history or anthropology departments.
Research funded in this area ranges widely, and often overlaps with the other two disciplines. Research funded in this area has included work on 'Engishiki Norito' in the context of the Old Japanese literary continuum; the influence of Francophone culture in Southern Italy; and the evolution of languages and identities in Yugoslav and post-Yugoslav Croatian cinema.
Schools and departments
Art History; Classics; English; Film Studies; History; Modern Languages; Social Anthropology; Divinity
Additional criteria
Scholarships will be awarded solely on academic merit. Applicants should have an outstanding academic record and hold:
- an undergraduate degree with first class honours from a UK university or an equivalent international qualification; and
- a Masters degree in a field of study relevant to their proposed doctoral research.
Applicants who have not at the date of application completed their Masters degree should be able to show evidence that they are on course to do before the start of the doctoral degree.
Applicants should normally aspire to an academic career and be able to demonstrate that they have the potential to forge an academic career and make an impact on their academic discipline.