Other Sources of PHD funding

Arts and Humanities Research grants Council (AHRC)

These studentships are not awarded directly to individuals by the AHRC but are awarded to institutions or consortia, which then invite competitive applications for them. They can be for full studentships or only for the payment of fees.

Block Grant Partnership 

A number of research organisations are allocated five cohorts of research studentships under this scheme. Applicants should apply to research organisations, which will shortlist candidates based on open competition.

Block Grant Partnerships 2 

awards will be given to Research Organisations (ROs) or consortia of ROs to provide funding for postgraduate studentships from 2014. The BGP2 scheme will be the AHRC’s main route for providing postgraduate research and training during this period.

Block Grant Partnerships – Capacity Building

This scheme is similar to the block grant partnerships but only allocates three cohorts of research studentships to research organisations. Applicants should apply to research organisations, which will shortlist candidates based on open competition.

Collaborative Doctoral Awards

Collaborative Doctoral Awards are designed to offer studentships for study at a higher education institution but also experience at a non-academic organization or business. Again, the awards are made to institutions, not directly to individuals. 

For the full list of AHRC funding opportunities see here: www.ukri.org/opportunity/

British Federation of Women Graduates Awards

This organisation offers a variety of grants of up to £6000 to women graduates, usually for the last year of doctoral study.  For more information, see http://www.bfwg.org.uk; www.ffwg.org.uk

Carnegie and Caledonian Scholarships from the Carnegie Trust

These awards of £15,200 (2012-13) are available to any graduates with a first-class degree from a Scottish university. Applicants will need to be put forward for this award by the university at which they will study for their PhD. See:  www.carnegie-trust.org/award-schemes/

Deutsche Akademische Austausch Dienst/German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)

The DAAD offers a wide range of grants to students, researchers, and academics from UK and Irish universities, most of which are open to all subject areas. For further information, see: www.daad.org.uk/en/find-funding/

One-Year Grant for PhD Students, Postdocs, and Junior Academics

This scholarship provides funds for doctoral, post-doctoral students, or junior academics to study and/or conduct research at any German university, research institute, music academy or art college for a total duration of seven to ten months (1 academic year). In exceptional cases, applicants wishing to complete a doctoral degree program in Germany may receive up to three one-year extensions.

1-6-Month Research Grant for PhD Students, Postdocs, and Junior Academics

A limited number of short-term research grants are available to academics in Britain and Ireland to carry out research at universities, research institutes, libraries and archives in Germany. Applicants are expected to establish contact with and secure access to the respective institution(s) prior to their DAAD application and make their own travel and accommodation arrangements. 

German History Society/DAAD Summer Language Course Grant

See GHS funding section above.

Economic and Social Research grants Council Studentships

These studentships are available for those history projects that can be defined as within social sciences topic groups. Like those awarded by the AHRC, the studentships are awarded through research organisations (or Doctoral Training Centres (DTC) as the ESRC calls them) and (in future consortia) and so students should apply directly to the DTCs and/on consortia. A variety of schemes are available, including for interdisciplinary ventures that would be co-funded by the National Environmental Research grants Council. For further information, see: www.ukri.org/apply-for-funding/
The value of an ESRC award in 2012-13 was £13,590 per annum for maintenance, and up to £3,732 per annum for university fees.

German Historical Institute London (GHIL) 

Each year the GHIL awards a number of research scholarships to post-graduate students and Habilitanden at German universities to enable them to carry out research in Britain, and in some cases to post-graduates at British universities for research visits to Germany. The scholarships are generally awarded for a period of up to six months, depending on the requirements of the research project. Applicants from British universities will normally be expected to have completed one year’s post-graduate research, and be studying German history or Anglo-German relations. Deadlines for applications are usually 31 March and 30 September each year. Applications, which should include educational background, qualifications, list of publications (where appropriate), and an outline of the project, together with a supervisor’s reference confirming the relevance of the proposed archival research, should be addressed to the Administrative Director Wolfgang Haack, German Historical Institute London, 17 Bloomsbury Square, London WC1A 2NJ. For further information, see: www.ghil.ac.uk/scholarships

Institute of Historical Research

The IHR offers a variety of doctoral scholarships (of various values up to £13,200) and up to seven one–year Junior Research Fellowships to help doctoral students in the advanced stages of their studies to complete their PhD. Postgraduate Bursaries are also available to enable students to undertake research at the IHR. See: www.history.ac.uk
For another excellent source of funding options, see:  www.history.ac.uk/history-online/grants/source?sid=80

Sir Richard Stapley Educational Trust Grants

Grants of between £300 and £1000 are available to graduates with First Class or 2:1 degrees who are over the age of 24 on 1 October of the first year of study. See: www.stapleytrust.org

Wellcome Trust Awards, Fellowships and Studentships in the History of Medicine

The Wellcome Trust makes a large number of grants available for those studying topics within the field of the history of medicine. The amounts awarded vary, as do the application deadlines. For more information see: www.wellcome.ac.uk/Funding/index.htm