Durham University PhD Studentships in Transformative Humanities

The Faculty of Arts and Humanities at Durham University in the United Kingdom (UK) is delighted to announce the competition for up to eleven PhD Studentships in Transformative Humanities, supported by our AHRC Doctoral Landscape Award and the Faculties of Arts & Humanities and Social Sciences.

The Faculty of Arts and Humanities consists of six departments and one school: the Department of Classics and Ancient History, English Studies, History, Music, Philosophy, Theology and Religion, and the School of Modern Languages and Cultures.

This scheme will support outstanding candidates beginning a PhD programme in October 2027 on projects related to the themes of our Transformative Humanities framework.

• Only PhD students accepted to Durham University with a supervisory team led by Arts & Humanities or Social Sciences will be considered for this scheme.

• The competition is open to both home and overseas students: up to nine awards are open to home students and will cover tuition fees at the home level; up to two awards are open to overseas students and will cover tuition fees at the overseas level.

• In line with the cross-disciplinary nature of the scheme, supervision must include collaboration across at least two departments.

Each award will offer a tuition fee waiver, a GBP 21,805 stipend for 3.5 years (full-time) or 7 years (part-time) at the level set by UKRI, additional funding opportunities, and access to training and placement resources.

As part of the application, applicants are asked to submit:

• a research proposal (max. 1,000 words including footnotes, but excluding bibliography, if any) that clearly defines research questions and context, the intended approach and methods, the relevance of the project to transformative humanities, and the fit with Durham University.

• a CV (max. two pages)

• an equal opportunities monitoring form, which can be accessed via this link

Application Process. It is recommended that applicants contact potential supervisor(s) to discuss their project before applying. Applications can be submitted via the application link, which will be available on this page in October.

• 1

  Applications should be submitted to the PhD programme of the lead supervisor's department through our online application system.

• 2

  In the funding section, under 'Scholarship details,'  please indicate that you intend to be considered for this scheme by typing 'Transformative Humanities' ; if you intend to be considered for other schemes, please list any other schemes too.

• 3

  The application deadline for this scheme is noon (UK time) on 15 January 2027.

Click the button below to submit your application.