Arts and Humanities Research Council - Midlands4Cities Doctoral Training Partnership

What the Midlands4Cities studentship gives you

You get a fully funded PhD place in the arts and humanities. Your UK tuition fees are paid in full, and you receive a monthly living-cost stipend (a regular payment to cover your everyday costs) at the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) rate. That rate is GBP 20,780 per year (about 24,300 EUR) for a 2025 start, rising to GBP 21,805 per year (about 25,500 EUR) from October 2026. Funding runs for 3.5 years full time, or 4 years for a Collaborative Doctoral Award with an outside partner, and roughly twice that part time. You also get a Research Training Support Grant towards fieldwork, conferences and archive visits; the amount depends on your project. The money comes from the AHRC (part of UKRI) through a partnership of eight Midlands universities: Birmingham, Birmingham City, Warwick, Coventry, De Montfort, Leicester, Nottingham Trent and Nottingham. International applicants get the same fee cover and stipend. Note that the AHRC funding does not pay the extra international fees, your visa or the health surcharge.

Who can apply

• Level: You are starting a PhD. You need a Master's degree, a Master's you will finish before the PhD begins, or equivalent professional or creative experience (for example curatorial or creative-industry work).
• Already started a PhD? You can still apply if you have done no more than 21 months full time (or 42 months part time) by the award start.
• Field of study: Arts and humanities, for example history, cultural and museum studies, philosophy, law, theology, archaeology, music, dance, drama, fine art, design, languages and literatures. Interdisciplinary and practice-based research is welcome.
• Where you study: You study in person at one of the eight partner universities in the English Midlands, not by distance learning.
• Nationality: Open to UK and international applicants.
• Limits: You can apply at most twice in total. You cannot apply if you already hold a doctorate, plan to work full time during the PhD, or are permanent full-time academic staff at a partner university staying in that job.

How to apply

First find a supervisor and apply for a study place at one of the eight partner universities. Then submit your funding application through the M4C online portal. You include a project description of up to 500 words and two references. If you are shortlisted, you have an interview at your home university before subject panels make the final decision.

How realistic are your chances?

This is a well-funded scheme with up to 87 open studentships plus 23 collaborative awards in a cycle, so the pool of places is large for an arts and humanities award. What decides it is the strength of your project proposal and your fit with the AHRC's criteria, judged across project, person, preparedness and place. A clear, feasible project with strong supervisor backing has good prospects. The AHRC is moving to a new funding model, so check the partnership's current calls before you build your plans around it.