AHRC Doctoral Landscape Award

Level: Postgraduate research
Value: Full tuition fees, a maintenance stipend (UKRI rates) and research training support grant. UKRI rates are estimated values and are confirmed annually, usually in the Spring by UKRI and UCL. 
Tuition fee status: Home, International.
Number of awards: Three studentships available for October 2026 entry.
Duration: 3.5 years, up to 7 years part-time.
Available to: Prospective students applying to one of the eligible departments in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities and the Faculty of Social and Historical Sciences listed below.
Mode of study: Full-time or part-time (minimum 50% of full-time equivalent).
Selection criteria: Academic excellence and research potential. Consideration will also be given to applicants’ personal and educational circumstances, where relevant to widening participation in doctoral study. 
Application process: Applications for the AHRC Doctoral Landscape Award are submitted via the department of the chosen doctoral programme. 
Applicant Deadline: Check departmental websites for details of local processes and deadlines.
Departmental Nominations to Faculty: 30 January 2026.

Beyond individual funding - covering tuition fees, maintenance stipend and a research training support grant - the award supports the creation of regional training hubs. 

These hubs enable participating universities to share resources, deliver joint training, and exchange best practices. Through this collaboration, students can benefit from a collaborative, interdisciplinary research environment.

UCL is part of the London and the East of England AHRC Doctoral Landscape Hub:

• King's College London – Hub lead
• Birkbeck College
• Queen Mary University of London
• Royal College of Art
• SOAS University of London
• The University of Cambridge
• The University of East Anglia
• The University of Essex
• The University of Westminster
• University of Hertfordshire
• University of the Arts, London
   

AHRC Doctoral Landscape Awards are made on the basis of UKRI terms and conditions. 

Due to funder restrictions, most AHRC Doctoral Landscape Awards will be made to Home candidates. 

We are able to offer up to one third of the available awards to International candidates. 

Fee status is determined when you submit your PhD programme application. 

Both Home and International students must be resident in the UK for the majority of their studies. Any time spent overseas should be for the purposes of fieldwork/long-term attachment.

We welcome applicants who have applied to a doctoral programme and are being considered for an offer of admission in the following departments:

• Arts and Sciences
• English Language and Literature
• Greek and Latin (Classics)
• Hebrew and Jewish Studies
• History
• History of Art
• Information Studies
• Institute of Archaeology
• Institute of the Americas
• Philosophy
• School of European Languages, Culture and Society (SELCS-CMII)
• School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES)
• Slade School of Fine Art

You can apply to study on a full-time or part-time basis (minimum 50% full time equivalent or FTE).

We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong. 

We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented at PhD level. These include people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds and people with disabilities, lower-income families and mature students.  We welcome applicants who wish to study part-time.

Disabled students in receipt of UKRI-funding can apply for reasonable adjustments and may be eligible for UKRI Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA).

Read more about our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.

Due to AHRC conditions, students who have already commenced their doctoral study (i.e. current doctoral students) are not eligible for a Doctoral Landscape Award studentship. 

Students in full-time employment are not eligible for the award. Part-time employment may be compatible with a part-time award.

AHRC Doctoral Landscape Awards may not normally be held alongside other studentships unless jointly funded.

Academic merit will be assessed using a structured scoring framework. Applicants will be required to submit:

• an application form
• a CV
• academic transcripts
• references

For highly ranked applicants, departments will also supply a supervisor’s statement evaluating the research proposal. These submissions will be evaluated across the key areas outlined below. 

Check the full details on what to include in each section of your application in the 'How to apply' section below.

The following scoring framework will be used:

• Research Proposal (worth 60%): including as appropriate, the central research question your project aims to respond to, context (background of current scholarship), research design, methodology and/or sources, consideration of research ethics
• Preparedness of the student (worth 20%): previous academic achievements in relevant subject areas and/or relevant professional / practitioner experience (particularly for applicants with non-standard academic trajectories); relevant knowledge, skills and/or training – and identification of training needs for proposed research.
• Fit with proposed supervisor (worth 20%): synergy with proposed supervisors’ research interests and expertise; synergy with wider department and faculty, if any. 

As part of UCL’s commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion, the AHRC Doctoral Landscape Award includes a supplementary widening participation (WP) consideration. 

Academic excellence remains the primary criterion for selection, and applicants will be assessed using a structured scoring framework (see above). Applicants may choose to provide brief contextual information about circumstances that have shaped their academic journey. 

These may include, but are not limited to: 

• Socioeconomic disadvantage
• Ethnicity
• State-school educated
• First generation HE
• Forced migration
• Care experience
• Caring responsibilities
• Disability
• Age
• Gender identity
• Sex
• Sexual orientation

This section is optional and will be considered by panels to provide context, but will not influence formal scoring or ranking. 

WP information will be reviewed by departmental and faculty panels, and the impact and relevance will be considered against a rubric. 

This section will be seen by reviewers (which may include people you will work with in the future if your application is successful) so be brief and do not include sensitive personal details that you don’t want them to see.

Information provided will be treated as confidential and used only for the purposes of assessing scholarship applications, in line with UKRI and UCL data protection standards. For full details, please refer to the data protection statement on the application form. 

To be eligible for an AHRC Doctoral Landscape Award, applicants must apply to a PhD programme in one of the following departments:

• Arts and Sciences
• English Language and Literature
• Greek and Latin (Classics)
• Hebrew and Jewish Studies
• History
• History of Art
• Information Studies
• Institute of Archaeology
• Institute of the Americas
• Philosophy
• School of European Languages, Culture and Society (SELCS-CMII)
• School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES)
• Slade School of Fine Art

Important notes:

• You do not need to hold a formal offer at the time of applying for the studentship, but you must be under consideration for an offer of admission.
• Departments will only nominate candidates they intend to offer a place to.
• You can apply for your degree and the studentship at the same time. 

Applicants should submit the following materials to the department of the chosen doctoral research degree programme by email:

• AHRC Doctoral Landscape Award Application form (Word document)
• Personal Information Monitoring Form. The data collected is for monitoring purposes only. It will not form part of the assessment process and will not affect the outcome of your application.
• Research Scholarships cover sheet (Word document)
• CV
• Academic transcript
• References (submitted as part of your degree application)

Plan your scholarship application: Read all the information on this page carefully and the frequently asked questions. Check the relevant departments for deadlines. Make sure you meet the eligibility criteria.

Applicant deadline: Check departmental websites for details of local processes and deadlines.

Queries: Contact the department for any queries about the scholarship.

Departments review applications and submit a small number of top-ranked candidates for consideration by the faculty panel.

Department to submit to faculty: Friday 30 January 2026.

• Faculty panel assesses nominated candidates using the academic scoring framework (PDF 57KB).
• Widening participation contextual information will be taken into consideration to provide context during discussions, but will not influence formal scoring or rankings. This information will be assessed using the faculty rubric (PDF 89KB).

Outcome notification: From early to mid-March.