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Durham awarded prestigious arts and humanities research grant

11 March 2025
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We are one of 50 UK higher education institutions to receive funding to support PhD students in the arts and humanities.

The funding, granted through the Arts and Humanities Research Council’s (AHRC) new Doctoral Landscape Awards scheme, will fund three full-time PhD students at Durham over the next five years. 

Creating opportunities for all 

The AHRC Doctoral Landscape Awards are a new approach to funding doctoral study.  

Originally launched in 2023, the latest awards focus on student experience and widening participation in higher education.  

At Durham, the awards will be allocated using our Transformative Humanities Framework.  

This will ensure that the students benefit from our world-leading research environment to create interdisciplinary links that open new areas of collaboration.  

Widening access 

The Doctoral Landscape Awards align with our ongoing work to improve access to higher education by encouraging applications from a diverse range of candidates. 

The funding awards will include a living allowance, coverage of tuition fees, a grant for research training and funding for collaborative activities, such as placements with non-university partners. 

Testimonials 

Durham’s project lead for the Doctoral Landscape Award, Professor Jonathan Miles-Watson, said:  

“The Landscape Awards will provide a firm foundation for our exciting Transformative Humanities Doctoral research into the next decade. They are a firm foundation of financial sustainability in difficult times, empowering us to realise our vision of a vibrant, sustainable, and diverse postgraduate research community that is engaged, agile and well-prepared for postdoctoral research in a range of settings, including outside of the academy.”  

AHRC Executive Chair, Professor Christopher Smith, said: 

“The AHRC doctoral landscape awards provide flexible funding to allow universities to build on existing excellence in research and opportunities for innovation across the arts and humanities. 

“They will support the development of talented people and, alongside our other doctoral schemes, contribute to a vibrant, diverse and internationally attractive research and innovation system.” 

Find out more 

  • A total of 50 universities have been allocated AHRC Doctoral Landscape Awards. These institutions will work together to share training and good practice via regional hubs.