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Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Studentship Opportunities 2010/11

This page provides information on funding opportunities offered by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), along with details of how prospective AHRC candidates at Cardiff can apply for AHRC postgraduate studentships.

To skip directly to a particular section of this page, please choose a link from the following list:

 AHRC Funding Opportunities - the Block Grant Partnership (BGP)

The AHRC funds the majority of its postgraduate studentships through a Block Grant Partnership (or 'BGP'), which will be held by certain universities for a period of 5 years. Each BGP includes a number of studentship awards and these are advertised and administered by the individual university. Those universities that do not hold a BGP award will be eligible to enter postgraduate students into the Studentship Competition.

Recognition of Excellence for Cardiff Humanities - Cardiff's BGP Award

Cardiff University been successful in its application for a BGP, having provided evidence of "excellent training and supervision" for our students. Cardiff University is thus able to offer AHRC postgraduate studentships via the Block Grant Partnership for five years from October 2009. Read about our BGP award »

Note: the spread of available AHRC postgraduate studentships by subject area will vary from year to year. As Cardiff University holds a Block Grant Partnership, the University cannot support applications to the AHRC Studentship Competition (as this is reserved only for institutions which do not hold a BGP). For a list of available studentships for October 2010, please see the Available Studentships by Subject section below.

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Types of Studentship

Most AHRC awards fall into one of three funding competitions:

  • Doctoral Competition: Provides support for a minimum of one year and up to three years of full-time study, or between two and five years of part-time study, leading to a doctoral degree. A full award includes tuition fees (UK/EU level) and a maintenance grant. The maintenance grant will meet the National Minimum Doctoral Stipend level set by the UK Research Councils – for 2009/10, the full-time stipend level was £13,290 p.a.
  • Research Preparation Master’s Competition: Provides support for students who intend to proceed to doctoral study and are undertaking a Master's course that will prepare them for doctoral study. The course aims must focus on advanced study and research training that is explicitly intended to provide a foundation for further research at doctoral level. The full-time maintenance stipend level for 2009/10 for the Research Preparation Master's Competition was £9,280 p.a.
  • Professional Preparation Master’s Competition: Provides support for students undertaking Master’s or Postgraduate Diploma courses. The course aims must focus on the development of high-level skills and competences as a preparation for professional practice in a field relevant to the content of the course. The full-time maintenance stipend level for for 2009/10 the Professional Preparation Master's Competition was £8,650 p.a.

Other Award Schemes: AHRC also offers a variety of specific and collaborative funding opportunities, which may apply to specific subject areas or projects at specific institutions. Any such funding opportunities available at Cardiff will be listed individually in the Funding and Scholarship Search. To read a full list of possible AHRC funding opportunities, please visit the AHRC website.

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Eligibility

Full awards (fees plus maintenance stipend) are open to UK Nationals, and EU students who can satisfy UK residency requirements. To be eligible for the full award, EU Nationals must have been in the UK for at least 3 years prior to the start of the course for which they are seeking funding, including for the purposes of full-time education.

EU Nationals who do not meet the above residency requirement are eligible for a fees-only award, provided that they have been ordinarily resident in the EU for at least 3 years prior to the start of their proposed programme of study.

Applicants must have gained an undergraduate degree from a recognised university, or be a current undergraduate expecting to graduate before 31 July 2010. Those applying for a doctoral award should normally have, or be studying for a Master's degree.

Full information on AHRC eligibility criteria can be found in the AHRC Guide to Student Eligibility (click to download).

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Available Studentships by Subject

The spread of Cardiff's AHRC awards for 20010/11 across Humanities subjects is as follows. Each award listed below is also listed in our Funding and Scholarship Search database.

Archaeology 

  • Doctoral x 1

Celtic Studies

  • Doctoral x 1

Conservation

  • Professional Preparation Masters x 1

English Language and Literature 

  • Doctoral x 3
  • Research Preparation Masters x 1

History 

  • Doctoral x 2
  • Research Preparation Masters x 1

History of Art, Architecture and Design

  • Doctoral x 1

Journalism and Publishing Studies

  • Professional Preparation Masters x 2

Linguistics 

  • Research Preparation Masters x 1

Music

  • Doctoral x 1
  • Research Preparation Masters x 1

Philosophy

  • Doctoral x 1

Religious Studies 

  • Doctoral x 1
  • Research Preparation Masters x 1

Please note: the above list details studentships for 2010 entry, for which applications are currently being accepted. Available studentships for future years within the BGP award period (2009-2013) will be posted in advance of the relevant admissions cycle (e.g. available studentships for 2011 entry will be listed here from late Autumn 2010). Please note that the University can only nominate candidates for AHRC studentships offered via our Block Grant Partnership (BGP). We are not able to support applications for to the AHRC Studentship Competition, which is reserved for institutions which do not hold a BGP Award. 

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Humanities at Cardiff - Academic Schools and Postgraduate Programmes

Postgraduate research and study opportunities across the breadth of Humanities at Cardiff are supported by a wealth of research activity and teaching provision undertaken in the following Schools. Please select a link from the following list to view the postgraduate programmes offered by these Schools:

In addition, research and postgraduate activity at Cardiff is strongly supported by the Researcher and Graduate School in Humanities and the Cardiff Humanities Research Institute.

Read our Spotlight Profile on Humanities at Cardiff »

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How to Apply for an AHRC Postgraduate Studentship

1) Make contact with the relevant School and programme staff: 

Students who wish to apply for an AHRC Postgraduate Studentship are strongly advised to contact the relevant academic school at Cardiff University regarding their application. Applicants for Doctoral Awards should liaise with their proposed supervisor regarding their application. Applicants for Professional Preparation Master's and Research Preparation Master's Awards should liaise with their programme leader or supervisor, if known, regarding their application.

2) Apply for admission to your chosen postgraduate programme at Cardiff (if you have not already done so):

In order to be nominated for an AHRC Postgraduate Studentship by Cardiff University, candidates must already have secured an offer of admission (conditional or unconditional) to a relevant postgraduate programme at the University. If you have not yet submitted an application, you are advised to discuss your interest with the relevant academic school as detailed above. You can submit your application online using our Online Application Service - for details, please see the Apply Section of the postgraduate website.

Please note: we can only nominate candidates for AHRC studentships offered via our Block Grant Partnership (BGP), and are not able to support applications for to the AHRC Studentship Competition, which is reserved for institutions which do not hold a BGP Award.

3) Complete a Cardiff AHRC Postgraduate Funding Application Form:

Applications for AHRC Postgraduate Studentships offered via Cardiff's Block Grant Partnership must be submitted via Cardiff University, and applicants are required to work on a Cardiff AHRC Postgraduate Funding Application Form along with their chosen academic school.

Application forms are available for all three types of studentship offered by the AHRC. To access the relevant forms for the relevant studentship, please choose one of the following links:

Guidance Notes for each application are available to download along with each set of application forms. In addition, you may find the following resources useful:

AHRC Awards 2010 - General Information [34.7 Kb]
AHRC Awards 2010 - General Information - Welsh Language Version [36.2 Kb]
AHRC School Contacts (Bilingual) [33.0 Kb]

AHRC Postgraduate Opportunities webpages (AHRC website)

4) Submit your completed application

Application deadlines vary according to the course you are applying for and these are detailed below. You will have identified the AHRC contact at your School during your initial discussions with the School on your application.  The Supporting documents referred to include references and certificates/transcripts.

A) For Doctoral and Research Preparation Masters

  • The full application (Parts I and II, completed by the applicant and the referees, respectively), along with supporting documents, must be submitted to the School AHRC contact by the 5th March 2010. 
  • The full application with supporting documents and School endorsement must be submitted to the Graduate Schools Office by the 19th March 2010

B) For Professional Preparation Masters

  • Parts I and II of the application (completed by the applicant and the referees, respectively), along with supporting documents, must be submitted to the School AHRC contact by the 16th March 2010
  • The full application with supporting documents and School endorsement must be submitted to the Graduate Schools Office by the 20th April 2010.

 

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Further information/queries

Cardiff University has established a dedicated email address for enquiries about AHRC Postgraduate Studentship applications. Please direct all queries to AHRCQueries@cardiff.ac.uk. These enquiries will be answered by the Graduate Schools Office.

For information on alternative postgraduate funding opportunities, please see our Funding and Scholarship Search facility at www.cardiff.ac.uk/searchforfunding

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Related Links: Humanities at Cardiff

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