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AHRC Doctoral Landscape Award

The University of Westminster is delighted to be part of the AHRC Doctoral Landscape Award, a new funding scheme from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), launching in 2026. The Award’s goal is to boost the UK’s capacity for doctoral research in the arts and humanities.

In alignment with the University of Westminster’s own goals and ethos, the Award puts a strong focus on equality, diversity, and inclusion, and all participating universities are committed to attracting students from a wide range of backgrounds and supporting them throughout their doctoral journey.

Regional training hub

Beyond individual funding - covering tuition fees, a stipend and research costs - the Award supports the creation of regional training hubs. These hubs allow universities to share resources, offer joint training, and exchange best practices. As a result, doctoral researchers funded through the scheme will benefit from a collaborative, interdisciplinary research environment.

The University of Westminster (UoW) is part of an AHRC Doctoral Landscape Hub along with:

  • King's College London – Hub lead 
  • Birkbeck College 
  • Queen Mary University of London 
  • SOAS University of London 
  • University of the Arts, London
  • University of Cambridge
  • University College London 
  • University of East Anglia 
  • University of Essex 
  • University of Hertfordshire 

In addition to the comprehensive training offered to all UoW doctoral researchers through the Doctoral Researcher Development Programme, run by the Graduate School, doctoral researchers funded through the Landscape Award will receive subject-specific and advanced training through the hub.

Three Landscape Award studentships are being offered by the UoW, beginning in autumn 2026. These are all Collaborative Doctoral Awards. Successful candidates will work with a partner organisation, gaining additional networks, skills and training that will be invaluable for their future careers. 

Award overview

  • Level: Postgraduate research
  • Mode of study: Full-time, part-time
  • Tuition fee status: Home, International
  • Type of award: Tuition fees, stipend and access to research training support grant
  • Number of awards: Up to three each academic year. All our AHRC DLA studentships will be advertised as defined projects that form a Collaborative Doctoral Award.
  • Deadline: TBA for 2027–28. Each CDA Studentship will be advertised individually following the conclusion of the internal selection process for CDA projects.

Eligibility criteria

  • AHRC DLA Awards are made on the basis of UKRI terms and conditions.  
  • The AHRC DLA scheme is open to new applicants only. This programme will not be considering applications from current students.
  • Eligible doctoral applicants can apply for AHRC DLA studentship funding. A limited number of awards, up to 30%, are available for international students each year. 
  • Only applications where the research focus falls within one of the AHRC’s primary research areas will be considered.

What does a Landscape Award include?

Landscape Awards include: 

  • Home fee tuition fee waiver calculated based on the annual UKRI rate. (International students will be responsible for the difference between the Home fee waiver and the International fee).
  • A 3.5 year tax-free stipend at the UKRI minimum rate, plus London weighting Calculated based on the annual UKRI rate (£23,805 per annum for 2026–27) (for CDA projects the duration is four years). 
  • Access to a research training support grant – funding to support research activity that is specific to an individual student’s research needs. This source of funding will be managed to support students within the AHRC-funded student cohort.
  • Access to professional development opportunities, placements, additional funding and the London and the East of England Hub.

Participating departments

The University of Westminster has chosen for our AHRC DLA studentships to take the form of Collaborative Doctoral Awards (CDAs) each year. 

The participating schools at our University are:

Colleagues in all Schools are invited to submit proposals for Collaborative Doctoral Award Projects to be reviewed through an internal selection process. The proposed projects must investigate a topic within the AHRC subject coverage areas. 

The proposals will be reviewed internally and the successful three projects advertised as Studentships.

Applicants must apply to one of the three advertised projects to be considered for a AHRC DLA studentship at the University of Westminster.