Durham University is inviting applications for up to eleven fully funded PhD studentships in Transformative Humanities, supported by our AHRC Doctoral Landscape Award and the Faculties of Arts & Humanities and Social Sciences. Projects begin in October 2027.

About the scheme

Up to eleven studentships are available: up to nine for home students and up to two for overseas students (covering overseas fees).
Projects must be feasible within 3.5 years (full time) or 7 years (part time).
Projects should engage with the themes of Transformative Humanities and can draw on any discipline across the Arts & Humanities and Social Sciences.
Recently funded projects range from epistemic injustice and legal identity to environmental history, abolitionism, classical literature and AI, and experimental psychology in archaeology, so we welcome ambitious, interdisciplinary proposals.

The Transformative Humanities Studentships are modelled on the particular strengths of the following six overlapping thematic research areas at Durham University’s Faculties of Arts and Humanities and Social Sciences, and they are open to researchers across Modern Languages and Cultures:

Culture, Creativity, and Heritage
Digital Humanities
Environmental Humanities
Medical Humanities
Science-Humanities
Social Justice, Communities, and Policy

Expressions of interest (EOIs)

In the first instance, please send an expression of interest to a potential supervisor. It should include:
A short CV
A one-page project summary, outlining your research question, approach and how it engages with Transformative Humanities
Whether you are applying as a home or overseas student, and full or part time

Each department can put forward only a limited number of applications, so early contact matters.

Key dates
As soon as possible: EOIs: make contact with a prospective supervisor as soon as possible
15 January 2027, 12:00 noon (UK time): deadline for formal applications
October 2027: studentships begin

Further information

Full details, eligibility criteria and the application process are on the studentship information page. A recording of last year’s applicant information session is also available.


For questions about the scheme, please contact [email protected]