AHRC Doctoral Landscape Awards in the Arts and Humanities

Open to International (including EU), International (non-EU) and UK (home) students.

Open to students in the following departments: Centre for Eighteenth Century Studies, Centre for Medieval Studies, Centre for Renaissance and Early Modern Studies, Department of Archaeology, Department of English and Related Literature, Department of History, Department of History of Art, Department of Language and Linguistic Science, Department of Philosophy, School of Arts and Creative Technologies and York School of Architecture.

AHRC Landscape awards at the University of York will be open to applicants whose research falls within the remit of the AHRC (as defined by UKRI) and who is either supervised or co-supervised by at least one member of staff from the Faculty of the Arts and Humanities.

To be eligible for an AHRC Landscape Award, a student must

• Have received an offer of a place on a PhD programme at York in a relevant department, centre or school within the Faculty of the Arts and Humanities, or in the Faculties of Sciences and Social Sciences if one of their supervisors is a member of staff from the Faculty of the Arts and Humanities and their project falls within the remit of the AHRC.
• Expect to begin their studies PhD studies in September 2026 (deferrals are not permitted).
• Have an outstanding academic record, usually a first-class honours degrees at undergraduate level and a Distinction at Masters degree from a recognised university in a field of study relevant to their proposed doctoral research, or experience of working at an outstanding level in a relevant domain in an HEI or non-HEI which will have led to published papers or reports of national significance, or experience in the creative and heritage sectors with sector-relevant evidence of creative or applied practice such as footfall (audience, listener figures), number of reviews, awards.
• Be resident within the UK for the duration of their studies and live within a reasonable distance of their host university (except for periods of fieldwork or when attending conferences). The AHRC does not fund those who wish to study under a Distance Learning programme.

Successful students may undertake their study full-time or part-time. No distinction is made during the selection process.

AHRC Doctoral Landscape Awards are open to International students (EU and non-EU students who do not have residency), but the AHRC will only cover the UK (Home) fee rate for International students, so the difference between the Home fee rate and the International fee rate will have to be met from other sources. Also, UKRI policy places a cap of 30% on the proportion of international students that can be recruited. Therefore, the University of York will only be permitted to offer a maximum of two AHRC Doctoral Landscape Awards per annum to international students.

Students who have already commenced their doctoral study (i.e. current doctoral students) are not eligible for studentship awards through either Focal or Landscape Awards.

Application deadline: Wednesday 21 January 2026, 5pm GMT

Students should state their wish to be entered for the award when they apply, but will only be eligible once they have received an offer of a place on a PhD programme at York.

Candidates must apply for a place to study for their doctoral research in a department or academic unit at the University of York and have secured on offer in order to be eligible for the AHRC Landscape Awards. Each department or unit will rank their candidates and nominate the best applicants to a scholarship panel organised by the Faculty of the Arts and Humanities that will then rank the complete group of candidates. Successful candidates will be informed at the end of February 2026.

Read full terms and conditions on the UKRI website.