University Of Exeter Funding And Scholarships for Students

Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.

This programme offering 4-year fully-funded PhD studentships to support Black British researchers has been established by philanthropic donations from University of Exeter alumni – you can read more about the donors here.

About the scholarship scheme

The aim of these scholarships is to help improve access and participation in PhD study for talented Black British students.  Each studentship offers a comprehensive funding and support package designed to enable students to succeed in their PhD programme and beyond, including:

• 4 years of stipend funding at the UKRI rate (currently £18,622 for 2023/24)
• Funding for tuition fees the Home fee rate
• A research training support grant (to cover project costs; ranging from £2,000 minimum up to maximum of £10,000 for higher cost projects)
• The opportunity to undertake a placement of up to 6 months (in total) during the 4-year PhD programme (with access to additional funding of up to £2,500 to support placement costs).
• Access to mentoring support (specific to this studentship scheme)

Studentships can be held on a full-time or a part-time basis (part-time awards will be made on a pro-rate basis).  Students on this scheme are expected to register on campus-based PhD programmes (i.e. distance learning is not supported).

Studentships for September 2024 entry

This scheme will fund at least eight students in total, with three studentships now open for applications to start a PhD in September 2024 – one in each of our three Faculties.   The information provided here is for applicants to the Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.

Applications are invited for PhD study in any research area within this Faculty (subject to the availability of suitable supervision).

Please note: other research degree programmes (such as professional doctorates or Masters by Research) are not open for application under the University of Exeter PhD Scholarships for Black British Researchers scheme.

Eligibility

The aim of this scholarship scheme is to improve participation by Black British students in PhD study at the University of Exeter. Applicants must meet the following entry criteria:

• Have UK nationality and have ‘Home’ tuition fee status (your fee status will be assessed when you apply)
• Identify as belonging to any Black ethnic group:

o Black African
o Black Caribbean
o Black Other
o Mixed – White and Black Caribbean
o Mixed – White and Black African
o Other mixed background which includes Black African, Black Caribbean or Black Other

• Applicants should not be already enrolled on a PhD programme at the University of Exeter.

Entry requirements

You will need to meet the academic entry requirements for the particular PhD programme on which you would be registered if successful in your studentship application (please note, you do not need to make a programme application at this stage; just follow the studentship application process outlined below).

How to apply

1. Find a supervisor: you can find out about research areas and supervisors within the Faculty:

• Arab and Islamic Studies
• Archaeology and History
• Classics, Ancient History, Religion and Theology
• Communications, Drama and Film
• English and Creative Writing
• Humanities and Social Sciences, Penryn (Cornwall)
• Languages, Cultures and Visual Studies
• Law School
• School of Education
• Social and Political Sciences, Philosophy, and Anthropology

If you need support in identifying a suitable supervisor in your area of interest, please contact: Prof Stacey Hynd, Faculty Director of PGR.

Once you have identified a potential supervisor, you should contact them to confirm that they are able to supervise you, and to agree the scope of your proposed PhD project.

2. Complete your application form: click on the ‘Apply now’ button.  In addition to completing the application form, you will need to upload the following documents:

a. Your research proposal (1500-2000 words): for guidance on how to write a good
research proposal, see our webpages.
Your proposal should include:

i. details of your proposed supervisory team and confirmation that they support
your application;
ii. the title of the PhD programme you wish to apply for;
iii. an outline budget for your proposed project (your prospective supervisor will be
able to advise you on this).

b. A personal statement (200-500 words) – this should cover: why you are interested in
doing a PhD and how it will support your career aspirations; how your experience has
prepared you for doing a PhD; the fit of your project/experience/aspirations with the
Department/Faculty research culture and with your prospective supervision team.
c. Your CV (no more than 2 pages)
d. Evidence of prior qualifications: transcripts or degree certificate

3. Organise your references: you must arrange for two referees to provide references for you, one of whom must be from your current/most recent higher education institution.  Please ask your referees to email their references to pgrapplicants@exeter.ac.uk from their institutional email accounts by the application deadline. We cannot accept references from personal/private email accounts, unless it is a scanned document on institutional headed paper and signed by the referee).

Application deadline and timelines for next steps

The closing date for submission of applications is midnight (UK time) on Friday 16th February 2024.

A Faculty panel will review all applications and we hope to communicate outcomes to candidates by 25th March 2024.

If you have any questions please contact pgrapplicants@exeter.ac.uk.

Summary