The faculty of Arts and Humanities and that of Social & Historical Sciences together embrace an area of knowledge where science meets the arts and humanities. The joint faculty forms a renowned centre of excellence where research of world-leading quality feeds directly into programmes of study within traditional discipline-based departments as well as those with an area focus (e.g. the Institute of the Americas and the School of Slavonic and East European Studies) or a consciously cross-disciplinary approach (e.g. the Centre for Multidisciplinary & Intercultural Inquiry). The close practical collaboration between the two faculties facilitates agile and effective administration and leadership for staff, promoting the enhancement of the research student experience. Our Joint Faculty Research Students Committee provides a forum for the sharing of good practice and organisation of training for staff (academic and administrative) and for the active participation of research students in shaping the future of doctoral education.

The joint faculty contributes to meeting the Global Challenges that UCL has identified as priorities by enabling the cross-disciplinary interaction that renders our subject-specific expertise greater than the sum of its parts. Our various departments play a major role in UCL's growing network of cross-disciplinary research centres, which bring together varied disciplinary expertise and different theoretical perspectives. Major interdisciplinary projects are run by the UCL China Centre for Health & Humanity, the Centre for Transnational History, the Institute of the Americas and the UCL Centre for Medieval & Renaissance Studies, offering excellent opportunities for innovative and interdisciplinary research training for students.

Based in the heart of London, our students benefit from the immediate accessibility of the internationally significant resources of the British Library and British Museum and the rich collections of the nearby University of London School of Advanced Study, including the Institutes of Classical Studies, of Historical Research, of Philosophy, and the Warburg Institute. Individual departments benefit from the London advantage through strong relationships and special agreements with a range of industry-specific contacts, businesses, governmental and non-governmental organisations, including the House of Lords, Marie Curie Cancer Care, the Wellcome Trust, the Imperial War Museum, the National Gallery, and the Tate, the Institute of Fiscal Studies, along with a number of embassies representing countries from Colombia to China and across the Middle East.

In addition to the regular research seminars organised within our departments and by members of our departments for the institutes of the University of London's School of Advanced Study (IAS), the joint faculty has a direct role in fostering the research culture through sponsorship of the UCL Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities and Social Sciences, with its series of lectures, seminars, workshops, conferences, and public engagement events, and also funds such initiatives proposed by postgraduate students themselves through the Octagon programme. At the joint faculty level, the UCL IAS 'Common Ground' provides an additional enhancement to the work space facilities available to our research student community and the Postdoctoral fellowship scheme established by the IAS offers opportunities for the vital next step after the PhD.

Our two faculties are also part of three major Research Council UK-funded Doctoral Training Centres/Partnerships, all of which involve staff at departmental level in cross-disciplinary and cross-Faculty working to deliver the training and supervisory needs of these cohorts of research students. The joint faculty hosts both the London Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Doctoral Training Partnership, which offers doctoral training in combination with five other London universities (Birkbeck, Brunel, King's, Queen Mary, Royal Holloway) and three London-based research institutes (Institute of Zoology, Kew, Natural History Museum), and the UCL Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Doctoral Training Centre, and is also a partner in the Arts & Humanities Research Council-funded London Arts and Humanities Partnership (LAHP), a Doctoral Training Partnership comprising UCL, King's, and the University of London's School of Advanced Study. In addition the Yale-UCL Collaborative student exchange programme provides our PhD students with the opportunity to study at Yale University for a defined period of research.

Our joint faculty doctoral education strategy and plan confirms our commitment to:

• The facilitation of opportunities for academic leadership
• Ensuring appropriate training and career development, including teaching experience
• The development of practice-based routes for PhD, in response to increased student demand