Doctoral Scholarship

This is a three-year academic scholarship, specifically designed to support an individual whilst undertaking and completing a PhD in the area of British art history.

Three payments of £32,000 will be allocated to the successful applicant, in the September of each year they are undertaking their PhD programme.

The Centre’s Public Study Room will be open to the individual to use as a working environment if required. The PMC Doctoral Scholar will also be invited to participate in the PMC’s academic events programme, and in the Centre’s life more generally. Longer term, they will form part of a network of awardees who, both during and after their period of funding, will be affiliated with the PMC and who will be encouraged to use the Centre as a base to meet and exchange ideas.

To apply for the PMC Doctoral Scholarship, applicants must:

• Have applied for, or be in receipt of an offer of, a PhD that engages with the histories of British art
• Expect to begin their PhD studies on 1 October of the year in which the scholarship is awarded (deferrals are not permitted)
• Have completed a masters-level qualification or equivalent prior to commencing the PhD
• Be based in the UK (and thus qualify for Home Student status)

In addition to academic background and demonstrated academic achievement, PMC Doctoral Scholarship awards will take into account such factors as an applicant’s:

• Intent to pursue research, activities or a career pathway that contribute to the reframing of British art history and that challenge the received histories of British art
• Demonstrated interest or involvement in such research and issues in their work, community, academic or educational experience

The subject of the PhD, and the organisation where the PhD is to be taken are open and entirely of the candidate’s choosing. Our only stipulation is that the subject of the thesis must fall within the field of British art history, understood in its most diverse and international contexts. The proposed topic of the doctorate should be clearly detailed in the application form.

The successful applicant is expected to begin their PhD programme in October 2025. Scholarships cannot be deferred to later academic years nor can they run concurrently with an award by another organisation.

Individuals who have already started their PhD programme are not eligible to apply.

To apply for this scholarship applicants must use our online system at grants.paul-mellon-centre.ac.uk. Once registered they will be able to fill out the online application form (example of which can be downloaded below) and provide the details of two referees.

Once the application is submitted we will contact the nominated referees with details on how they submit their references. These must be completed through our online system and must be no more than 500 words.

The Doctoral Scholarship is offered in our Spring round of funding.

If you have any access requirements or experience any issues using our online grants system (or accessing and filling out the application forms) then please do contact the Grants and Fellowships Manager who will be able to assist you.

We advise applicants to read our FAQ & Guidance webpage before starting their application, our Grant Making Policy and Due Diligence Policy can also be found there.

Applications are now open and will close on 31 January 2025.

• The successful applicant must provide a 1000-word report of their progress at the end of each academic year.
• The successful applicant must submit a 2500-word final written report within two months of receiving their PhD.
• The full terms and conditions of grant awards can be read here.

This sholarship is normally expected to be a three-year award. However, should a student be enrolled in a part-time Doctoral programme, the Centre will be prepared to consider the possibility of splitting the award over this longer period