University of Birmingham Scholarships in Arts, Humanities and Law

University of Birmingham Scholarships in Arts, Humanities and Law 

We're investing in the future of doctoral studies in the arts, humanities and law by offering a range of scholarships and bursaries to our doctoral researchers.

College of Arts and Law Doctoral Scholarships

The College of Arts and Law is offering multiple awards to support doctoral study from the 2026/7 academic year. This includes full scholarships and fee-only scholarships. Awards are valid for all programmes of onsite doctoral study across the College.

We seek applicants who will take a leading role in the College’s PGR community, contributing to our research ambitions as part of the Birmingham 2030 Strategic Framework. Applicants will be invited to describe how their planned project fits with the research priorities of the College:

• Environment
• Creative Industries
• Culture and Heritage
• Inequality
• Interdisciplinarity

Full scholarships include a stipend at the UKRI rate and a tuition fee waiver covering the UK tuition fee amount.

Fee-only scholarships will consist of a tuition fee waiver covering the UK tuition fee amount.

International students can also apply and if successful will receive a tuition fee deduction at the UK fee rate and will then be required to pay the remainder. 

Who can apply?

• These awards are open to Home and International students for full- and part-time, campus-based doctoral research commencing study at the start of the 2026/27 academic year on any programme of study in the College of Arts and Law.
• Candidates should have, or be completing, a master’s degree in a relevant subject.
• The scholarships are awarded to outstanding students who demonstrate the potential to make a scholarly impact aligned with the College of Arts and Law strategic research priorities, and to be future academic leaders.
• Award holders will be expected to take an active role in the College of Arts and Law Postgraduate Research community, both in their host department and across the College more widely.

Both Home and International students can apply for these scholarships provided that they intend to pursue doctoral research in the College of Arts and Law commencing in the 2026/27 academic year.

Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Landscape Awards

AHRC Landscape Awards will be available to support doctoral study at the University of Birmingham, commencing at the start of the 2026/7 academic year. These awards are specifically targeted at groups currently underrepresented in the College of Arts and Law Postgraduate Research community. In 2026/7, applications are invited from Home students from minoritised ethnic backgrounds. One of the awards will be ring-fenced for applicants to programmes of doctoral study in the School of Philosophy, Theology and Religion.

Applicants will be invited to describe how their planned project fits with the strategic research focuses of the College:

• Environment
• Creative Industries
• Culture and Heritage
• Inequality
• Interdisciplinarity

AHRC Landscape Awards include a stipend at the UKRI rate plus a tuition fee waiver covering the UK tuition fee amount.

For UK postgraduate research students, the University fee level is set at Research Council rates and as such is subject to change. The final fee for 2026/27 will be announced by Research Councils UK in Spring 2026.

Who can apply?

• These awards are specifically targeted at groups currently underrepresented in the College of Arts and Law Postgraduate Research community. In 2026/7, applications are invited from Home students from minoritised ethnic backgrounds. One of the awards will be ring-fenced for applicants to programmes of doctoral study in the School of Philosophy, Theology and Religion.
• Applicants must be commencing full- or part-time, campus-based doctoral research at the start of the 2026/7 academic year, on any topic that falls within the remit of the Arts and Humanities Research Council.
• Candidates should have, or be completing, a master’s degree in a relevant subject.
• The scholarships are awarded to outstanding students who demonstrate the potential to make a scholarly impact aligned with the CAL strategic research priorities and to be future academic leaders.

Students who are eligible for Home fees and are from a minoritised ethnic background can apply to the scholarship to support their doctoral research in the College of Arts and Law, commencing in the 2026/27 academic year.

Wolfson Postgraduate Scholarships

Since 2012, The Wolfson Foundation has committed some £13 million to support doctoral studies in the humanities through nine carefully selected universities (including the University of Birmingham). The Foundation’s aim is not only to support some of the most exciting students, but also to make a statement about the value of the humanities. The Foundation believes that high-quality academic research in this field is of critical importance to British society.

The scholarships are awarded in three disciplines that align closely to the Wolfson Foundation’s interests: History, Literature and Languages.

Scholarships are available to students who commence their study at the start of the 2026 academic year. These awards are not available to current Doctoral students.

The scholarships are worth £37,250 each year over three years (or 50% pro-rata over six years for part-time students). The award covers tuition fees, a maintenance stipend, and some research and training costs.

*For UK postgraduate research students, the University fee level is set at Research Council rates and as such is subject to change. The final fee for 2026/27 will be announced by Research Councils UK in Spring 2026.

Who can apply?

• These awards are open to Home and International students commencing study at the start of the 2026/7 academic year, for full- and part-time, campus-based doctoral research projects with a focus on Languages, Literature or History.
• Candidates should have, or be completing, a master’s degree in a relevant subject.
• The scholarships are awarded to outstanding students who demonstrate the potential to make an impact on these fields and to be future academic leaders.
• The award is made solely on merit to students aspiring to an academic career.

Both Home and International students can apply for the scholarship for doctoral research projects focusing on Languages, Literature or History commencing in the 2026/27 academic year.

Music Doctoral Scholarships

A number of Music scholarships of varying values are on offer to students on the Music PhD (specialising in Composition, Musicology or Performance).

Full details of all Music programmes are available on our postgraduate study page.

Who can apply?

These awards are open to all Home and International students, studying campus-based Doctoral programmes in the Department of Music. Applications for funding can only be considered alongside an application to study.

Current PhD students are eligible to apply, providing that at the start of the award they have at least 50% (excluding writing-up) of their period of study remaining.

These scholarships are open to both Home and International students.

Sir Henry Thomas Scholarship for postgraduate Hispanic Studies

We're seeking applications from outstanding candidates for a postgraduate scholarship for research in the fields of Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan or Latin American Studies. 

The Sir Henry Thomas Scholarship provides Home fees and a stipend of £15,000 for three years, subject to satisfactory progress. International students can apply and if successful the Home fee will be a contribution to the Overseas fee. The successful candidate would commence study in September 2026. 

Who can apply?

This award is open to new doctoral applicants and current internal year 1 doctoral students. Candidates should have a first class or upper second-class degree (or equivalent) in a relevant subject. To apply for the Doctoral award candidates should also have completed, or be completing, a Masters degree in a relevant subject. The candidate must have a project whose principal supervisor is a staff member in the Spanish, Catalan and Portuguese areas of the Department.

We're seeking applications from outstanding research candidates in the fields of Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan or Latin American Studies. Special consideration will be given to applications relating to the research areas listed below.

Fields of study:

• Film, Media and Video Studies (Catalan-speaking territories)
• Cultural and Literary Studies (20th and 21st century Spain, Catalan-speaking territories)
• Interdisciplinary Approaches to Literature (20th and 21st century, Catalan-speaking territories)
• World Literature (20th and 21st century Latin America; literatures of the Portuguese-speaking world)
• Literary Cultures (19th, 20th and 21st century Spain, 20th and 21st century Latin America, cultures of the Portuguese-speaking world)
• Cultural History (20th century Mexico)
• Visual and Material Cultures (16th - 21st century Spain, Latin America, US Latinx)
• Cultural Studies (Spain, 20th and 21st century Latin America)
• Exile, Displacement and Migration (Spain, Latin America)
• Censorship, Power and Literature (19th, 20th and 21st centuries, Latin America)
• Postcolonial Approaches to Literature and Culture (Portuguese-speaking world)
• Decolonial Approaches to Contemporary Thought and Culture (Portuguese-speaking world)
• Digital Textual Editing (Medieval Iberia)
• History (Medieval Iberia)
• Manuscript Culture (Medieval Iberia)
• Literature, Theatre and Visual Culture (Early Modern Spain)
• Military and Maritime Life (Early Modern Spain)
• Translation and Cross-Cultural Adaptation of Literary and Theatrical Works
• Ibero-Romance Linguistics
• Comparative Morphosyntax, Grammatical Variation, Contact and Change
• Judeo-Spanish/Ladino

Students living in (domiciled in) any country and of any nationality can apply to the scholarship. This means that all students can apply to the scholarship whether they're classed as Home or International for tuition fee purposes.

Stanley Ray Scholarship

The Stanley Ray scholarships were established thanks to the generosity of the late Stanley Ray. These awards are open to all Home and International applicants who are studying a full- or part-time research programme. This includes current doctoral researchers in the College of Arts and Law. The funding will be available from September 2026.

One scholarship is available offering £10,000 per annum for full-time students or £5,000 for part-time students. For Home students, this award would cover tuition fees and a small monthly maintenance. For International students, this would be awarded as a tuition fee discount.

Who can apply?

The scholarship is open to all Home and International students studying a campus-based postgraduate research degree in one of the below Schools in the College of Arts and Law:

• English, Drama and Creative Studies
• History and Cultures
• Languages, Cultures, Art History and Music
• Philosophy, Theology and Religion

Preference is given to applicants studying English Literature, French, Music or Shakespeare Studies.

Students living in (domiciled in) any country and of any nationality can apply for the scholarship. This means that all students can apply whether they're classed as Home or International for tuition fee purposes.

Further information 

If you have a question, please send an email to the College of Arts and Law at calpg-research@contacts.bham.ac.uk

There is a single application process covering all College of Arts and Law doctoral scholarships. Please submit an application to your programme of study, and complete the scholarship application form available via the ‘Apply’ button above, indicating which opportunities you wish to be considered for.

Application deadline: 27 February 2026