PhD Studentship: AHRC Doctoral Landscape Award Studentships

The Open University is pleased to offer doctoral funding to three outstanding PhD applicants through its Doctoral Landscape Awards. 

About the Open University

The Open University (OU), the UK’s largest university, is a global leader in flexible and supported distance learning, with a community of over 2 million learners. As a research-intensive institution, the OU addresses major global challenges through world-class research that informs policy, practice, and innovation. Our doctoral training reflects a deep commitment to inclusion, social justice, and equity, offering a collaborative and interdisciplinary research culture with expert supervision, skills training, and global networks. In the latest Research Excellence Framework, 72% of our research was rated world-leading or internationally excellent, placing us in the top third of UK universities for research excellence.

About the Doctoral Landscape Award

The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) has introduced two new doctoral funding schemes – the Doctoral Landscape Award (DLA) and the Doctoral Focal Award (DFA) – as part of its Future Doctoral Programme. The new awards aim to provide more flexible, inclusive, and strategically aligned funding across the arts and humanities disciplines. The Open University has successfully secured an AHRC Doctoral Landscape Award for a five-year period, with the first cohort of doctoral students starting in 2026. 

In addition to individual studentships, the Doctoral Landscape Award supports regional training hubs. The OU is a member of the South East Hub of nine HE institutions, along with Brighton, Kent, Oxford, Oxford Brookes, Reading, Royal Holloway, Southampton and Sussex. The OU will work together with the other Hub members to improve training support and offer opportunities for cohort development.

Eligibility

The studentships are open to all PhD applicants who meet the entry criteria at the OU. Any PhD project under the AHRC subject areas – including those based outside of Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences – are eligible. At the OU, disciplines under the AHRC include Art History, Classical Studies, English and Creative Writing, History, Languages and Linguistics, Law, Music, Philosophy, and Religious Studies. More information of what research is supported by the AHRC can be found at: Remit, programmes and priorities – AHRC – UKRI. 

We especially welcome interdisciplinary project proposals, and prospective supervisors may be drawn from more than one discipline.

Applications may be made for full-time or part-time study, but distance learning is not permissible under this scheme.

We welcome applications from all backgrounds, in keeping with the Open University's mission to broaden access to higher education.

Applications are also welcomed from candidates with lived experience of marginalisation and/or who face structural barriers to doctoral study. Professional and lived experience will be considered in addition to formal qualifications.

The full eligibility requirements can be found at: AHRC PhD Landscape Awards | Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Value of award 

Successful doctoral students are eligible for a full award (3.5 years), which includes a stipend to support living costs, research costs and coverage of tuition fees. 

Funding is adjusted on a pro-rata basis for part-time students. Please note part-time students should not be employed more than 0.5 FTE during the studies. 

Those in receipt of studentships will be eligible for the same benefits as other UKRI-funded students, including additional support for research expenses and individual skills training, funded sick leave (up to 28 weeks in any 12-month period), funded maternity leave, and Disability Support Allowance (DSA).

How to apply 

Prospective applicants are strongly encouraged to contact potential supervisors in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) and/or other OU Faculties to discuss their project ideas and how these may fit with existing research in the OU and with the AHRC’s remit. You can find more about OU postgraduate research in the Arts and Social Sciences at: MPhil/PhD in FASS | Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and about the OU research areas more broadly at: Research Degree Areas | Research Degrees | Open University

Prospective applicants are also encouraged to consider their proposed project’s potential for addressing societal challenges in line with the Open University’s research strategy (see here for the OU’s Open Societal Challenges programme).

To apply for a studentship, please complete the following :

• OU application form – please indicate on the OU application form that you are applying for this award by completing section C1, providing ‘Landscape Award - Discipline’ as the Advert Reference.
• HESA form (mandatory for all applicants) – To help us identify your file easily, please make sure to include your name in the file name.
• Research Proposal (no more than 1500 words)

Applications and supporting documents should be submitted via email to FASS-PhD-Applications@open.ac.uk via the above ‘Apply’ button by midday Friday 13 February 2026.

Further information on the application process can be found at AHRC PhD Landscape Awards | Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

We recommend that you make contact/apply at the earliest stage so that we can work with you to maximise your potential for a successful application. Please note you are responsible for making sure that all required documents, including references, are submitted in time for your chosen deadline and meet the University’s requirements. If your application is submitted late, and/or it is incomplete, it will not normally be assessed.

Closing date: midday 13^th February 2026

Further information

For general enquiries relating to doctoral study at The Open University, please contact FASS-PhD-Applications@open.ac.uk.

For questions about the Doctoral Landscape Awards, please contact Dr Luc-André Brunet, AHRC Doctoral Programme Lead: luc-andre.brunet@open.ac.uk

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