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Funding for PhD research

  1. AHRC: London Arts & Humanities Partnership
  2. UCL Graduate School Awards
  3. Wolfson Studentships
  4. Departmental Studentships
  5. UK Government loans (MA degrees)
  6. Other Sources

Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)

UK and international students are eligible to apply for an award funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

The London Arts and Humanities Partnership (LAHP)

The LAHP is a consortium of leading research universities in London, funded by the AHRC and the partner universities. It funds up to 90 research studentships per year across the Arts and Humanities in the partner institutions; under the scheme it is possible for research students to have their two supervisors in different LAHP institutions. Doctoral studentships provide support for up to three years of full-time study, or up to five years of part-time study.

To be eligible to apply for an award under the Doctoral Awards Scheme, you should normally have gained a first degree from a recognised HEI and it is normally expected of you to have, or be studying for, a Master's degree or similar postgraduate qualification.

  • Arrangements for 2023-24 (for a start date in September 2025)

Applicants: please look at the LAHP website for details. You may also subscribe to the LAHP Twitter account for news updates.

How to apply

For applicants in

  • Greek and Latin literature, language, ancient philosophy, reception
  • Ancient Middle Eastern language and literature (Hittite, Luwian, Sumerian, Akkadian)
  • Ancient History (the Greco-Roman and Near Eastern worlds)
  1. You should be in the process of applying for doctoral research at your chosen institution and have established your supervisor(s) before applying to LAHP for funding. It is important to contact potential supervisors as early as possible.
  2. The application system for LAHP funding will open in late November 2023 and close in late January 2024. Applications are made via the LAHP website.
  3. Applicants for LAHP funding must submit their PhD application to UCL Admissions by mid-January 2024 at the latest. Applications will only be considered if the applicant has been in contact with the Department in the normal way to discuss the research proposal and potential supervisors. This is part of the PhD admission process, and you need to allow enough time for this prior to submitting your application. Last-minute applications that have not been discussed will not be considered for funding.
  4. Applicants in Greek and Latin literature, language, ancient philosophy, reception: please contact the Department of Greek and Latin to discuss your research proposal.
  5. Applicants in Ancient Middle Eastern language and literature: please contact the Department of Greek and Latin to discuss your research proposal.
  6. Applicants in Ancient History (Greco-Roman and ancient Near East): please contact the Department of History to discuss your research proposal.

The LAHP will contact successful applicants in early April 2024.

UCL Graduate School Awards

Research Excellence Scholarship (RES)

UCL offers scholarships to UK/EU students and for overseas students. Up to 40 Research Excellence Scholarships are available annually to students from any country.

Application procedure for RES awards:

  1. You must have submitted an application to UCL for full-or part-time MPhil/PhD research before you can apply. Your application to UCL will be used as the basis of your application for a scholarship.
  2. The scholarships consist of fees equivalent to the standard postgraduate UK/EU rate plus a maintenance stipend of £19,668 (2022/23 rate) per annum for full-time study. (Benefits are pro-rated for part-time students.) Scholarships are tenable during years 1, 2 and 3 of the MPhil/PhD programme, subject to annual review and renewal.
  3. Awards are highly competitive. Applications will only be considered if the applicant has been in contact with the Department in the normal way to discuss the research proposal and potential supervisors. This is part of the PhD admission process, and you need to allow enough time for this prior to submitting your application. Last-minute applications that have not been discussed will not be considered for funding.
  4. Deadline: Friday 12 January 2024. Please send application materials to Ms Wendy Leung in the Department of Greek and Latin.

UCL Research Opportunity Scholarship (UCL ROS)

UCL's Research Opportunity Scholarship is intended to support BAME postgraduate research degree students. The applications procedure is the same as for the RES/RXD awards above. Candidates should discuss their application with potential supervisors and then submit a single page cover sheet to the Departmental Office by 12 January 2024.

Wolfson Scholarships

Thanks to the Wolfson Foundation, UCL will have six Wolfson Scholarships for doctoral research in history, literature and languages available for 2024/25 entrants. Each student starting in 2024-25 will receive a total of £105,000, which equates to £35,000 per annum.

  • Home and overseas students are eligible.
  • The Department is responsible for nominating students (applicant do not apply directly).
  • Please read the details on the Faculty website.

To be nominated by the Department, applicants need 1) to apply to the PhD programme at UCL by 5 January 2023 at the latest, and 2) discuss the nomination with their potential supervisor in the Department, and provide the supervisor with an expanded version of their research project.

Department of Greek and Latin Studentships

Owing the generosity of alumni and former colleagues, the Department of Greek and Latin is pleased to be able to support a number of MA and PhD students by contributions to their fees.

Application procedure:

  1. You must have applied for a place on the MA or PhD programme.
  2. MA students: please download a copy of the MA Greek and Latin Studentships application form and it by 30 June to the department MA Administrator.
  3. PhD students: please contact the PhD tutor by 30 June to indicate that you would like to be considered for an awards. Your application to UCL will be used as the basis of your application for an award. Students with full funding from another source are not eligible for these awards.
Stephen Instone Studentships in Classics
  1. Two annual awards of up to £4,000 may be granted to graduate students studying Greek or Latin literature.
  2. To be considered, students must have submitted centrally a completed application for admission to postgraduate study in the Department of Greek and Latin and (for PGT students only) a separate department studentship application both by 30 June each year.
  3. Applicants will be notified of the departmental decision in July each year.
  4. Payment is made in October to offset fees.

Stephen Instone (1954-2009) was educated at Balliol College Oxford, and then Bedford College, University of London, where he completed a PhD on Pindar supervised by Martin West. His research interests varied widely over Greek religion, athletics, Homer and Pindar. He was a member of the department of Greek and Latin at University College London. Some of his publications included Greek Personal Religion: a reader (Aris & Phillips: Oxford 2009), Pindar: Selected Odes, ed. (Warminster, 1996), Some Divine Interventions in the Iliad', Eranos 99 (2003), 103-113, Essays for Theo Zinn, co.ed. (Leominster, 2006), 'Humour in Virgil', in Essays for Theo Zinn, co.ed. (Leominster, 2006),  'Origins of the Olympics', in Pindar's Poetry, Patrons and Festivals, edd. Hornblower and Morgan (Oxford, 2006), Pindar: The Complete Odes, co-ed. (Oxford, 2007), and Darkness my Light: Enigmatic Ajax', in Studies in Ancient Greek Poetry Presented to M.L.West on his Seventieth Birthday, ed. P.Finglass (Oxford, 2007).

Stephen’s obituary in The Times Higher is accessible online. He was a much-loved colleague and teacher at UCL.

Bob Sharples Studentships in Classics
  1. Two annual awards of up tp £4,000 may be granted to graduate students studying Greek or Latin philosophy, language, or literature and its reception.
  2. To be considered, students must have submitted centrally a completed application for admission to postgraduate study in the Department of Greek and Latin and (for PGT students only) a separate department studentship application both by 30 June each year.
  3. Applicants will be notified of the departmental decision in July each year.
  4. Payment is made in October to offset fees.

Professor Robert William (Bob) Sharples (28 May 1949 - 11 August 2010) was a British educator and authority on ancient Greek philosophy. He was a member of the department of Greek and Latin at University College London for over 30 years, and won international distinction for his work in ancient philosophy, especially physics (or "natural philosophy") and in the Peripatetic tradition after Aristotle. His pioneering interest in previously under-studied figures such as Alexander of Aphrodisias led the way in the field. He was involved in the Theophrastus project directed by William Fortenbaugh and in running the series of Keeling Lectures and Colloquia in cooperation with the Department of Philosophy.

Lloyd and Hollier Studentships in Greek
  1. One annual award known as the Hollier Graduate Scholarship in Greek ( up to £4,000) may be granted to a graduate student studying ancient Greek; and one annual award (up to £4,000) known as the Lloyd Graduate Scholarship in Greek may be granted to a graduate student who is a citizen of Greece or Cyprus, and who is studying ancient Greek.  
  2. To be considered, students must have submitted centrally a completed application for admission to postgraduate study in the Department of Greek and Latin and (for PGT students only) a separate departmental studentship application by 30 June each year.
  3. Applicants will be notified of the departmental decision in July each year.
  4. Payment is made in October to offset fees.
Bunnell Lewis Graduate Scholarship in Latin
  1. Two annual awards of up to £4,000 may be granted to an MA student studying Latin literature, language or philosophy and its reception.
  2. To be considered, students must have submitted centrally a completed application for admission to postgraduate study in the Department of Greek and Latin and (for PGT students only) a separate departmental studentship application by 30 June each year.
  3. Applicants will be notified of the departmental decision in July each year.
  4. Payment is made in October to offset fees.
Goldsmiths Graduate Scholarship in Greek
  1. Two annual awards of up to £4,000 may be granted to an MA student studying Greek or Latin literature, language or philosophy and its reception.
  2. To be considered, students must have submitted centrally a completed application for admission to postgraduate study in the Department of Greek and Latin and (for PGT students only) a separate departmental studentship application by 30 June each year.
  3. Applicants will be notified of the departmental decision in July each year.
  4. Payment is made in October to offset fees.
Malden Graduate Bursary in Greek
  1. One annual award of up to £4,000 may be granted to an MA student studying Greek literature, language or philosophy and its reception.
  2. To be considered, students must have submitted centrally a completed application for admission to postgraduate study in the Department of Greek and Latin and (for PGT students only) a separate departmental studentship application by 30 June each year.
  3. Applicants will be notified of the departmental decision in July each year.
  4. Payment is made in October to offset fees.
Otto Skutsch
  1. One annual award of up to £4,000 or two awards of up to £2,000 may be granted to an MA student studying any aspect of Latin.
  2. To be considered, students must have submitted centrally a completed application for admission to postgraduate study in the Department of Greek and Latin and (for PGT students only) a separate departmental studentship application by 30 June each year.
  3. Applicants will be notified of the departmental decision in July each year.
  4. Payment is made in October to offset fees.

Otto Skutsch (1906-1990) was an eminent Latinist and son of the classical scholar Franz Skutsch. Otto Skutsch has described himself as a 'specialist in the metre and language of Latin comedy, the fragments of early Latin epic, and the formal aspects of classical poetry'. Indeed he has published mainly on early Roman drama and epic as well as on metrical and linguistic questions. He is best known today for his edition of the fragments of the Annals of Ennius, Rome's first historical epic; this edition was published after many decades' work in 1985 and is still highly regarded. Otto Skutsch was born and educated in Germany, where he completed his PhD in Göttingen in 1932 (thesis published in 1934). Due to the difficult political landscape he left Germany for the British Isles around 1933. He worked at the University of St Andrews, Queen's University Belfast and the University of Manchester before coming to UCL as Professor of Latin in 1951, a position he held until his retirement in 1972. Even after his retirement he continued to be an active researcher and held Visiting Professorships in the US. He became a British citizen in 1946 and was elected an Honorary Fellow of the British Academy in 1987.

Summer School in Homer Scholarship in Classics
  • One annual award of £1,000 may be granted to an MA student studying Greek or Latin literature, language and its reception. The student's final dissertation must be on a topic related to the study of Homeric epics. 
  • To be considered, students must have submitted centrally a completed application for admission to postgraduate study in the Department of Greek and Latin and (for PGT students only) a separate departmental studentship application by 30 June each year.
  • Applicants will be notified of the departmental decision in July each year.
  • Payment is made in October to offset fees.

UK Government loans

You may be able to get a Postgraduate Masters Loan of up to £10,906. (Students who take a loan are also eligible for any of the studentships listed below.)

  • Loans are generally available to UK nationals and residents only
  • Details are available here

Other sources

  1. British Federation of Women Graduates

The British Federation of Women Graduates gives awards annually to women in their third year of doctoral studies. The awards are given on the basis of evidence of academic excellence and are not expected to provide for financial need. The amounts offered range upwards from £1000 with the average award being around £3000.

  1. Funds for Women Graduates

FfWG offers Foundation Grants to help women graduates with their living expenses (not fees) while registered for study or research at an approved institution of higher education in Great Britain. The criteria are the proven needs of the applicant and her academic calibre.

FfWG offers Emergency Grants to graduate women who face an unforeseen financial crisis (not with their fees) whilst engaged in study or research at an approved institution of higher education in Great Britain. These grants will be offered twice a year, in May and November.

  1. Postgraduate Studentships UK

A list of all MA funding in the Arts and Humanities.

  1. UCL Hardship Fund

For current students experiencing difficulties.

  1. UCL Postgraduate Studentships

A list of studentships offered by the College.