New PhD awards scheme to support the next generation of arts and humanities researchers

Thursday 30 January 2025

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Coventry University is one of six higher education institutions across the Midlands selected by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) to participate in the Doctoral Landscape Awards programme.

Launching in autumn 2026, the scheme will provide scholarships to outstanding PhD candidates, promoting and expanding doctoral research in the arts and humanities.

The five-year programme will replace the Midlands4Cities (M4C) initiative, which is concluding its final round of applications. Coventry University will directly support three full-time PhD students a year, with each studentship covering a stipend, tuition fees and a research training support grant.

To further support the scheme, the university has also committed to funding three additional studentships to expand its cohort of creative postgraduate researchers (PGR).

Current site directors for the M4C scheme, Professor Mel Jordan (Research Centre for Postdigital Cultures) and Dr Victoria Thoms (Centre for Dance Research) will lead the programme working in collaboration with PGR supervisors across the university.

The initiative will be managed in collaboration with the university’s Doctoral and Researcher College, ensuring comprehensive research training and support for funded researchers.

Eligible students must undertake research that primarily contributes to arts and humanities disciplines, though interdisciplinary projects with a strong arts and humanities focus will also be welcome.

All institutions awarded Doctoral Landscape Awards will form part of an AHRC-supported regional hub, building upon the success of the Midlands3Cities and Midlands4Cities programmes. This hub will continue a decade-long tradition of sharing best practices and fostering postgraduate researcher collaborations across the region, strengthening the future of arts and humanities research.

Coventry University is proud to receive the AHRC Doctoral Landscape Awards, which will strengthen our commitment to postgraduate research excellence. These awards enable us to build on our longstanding success in training future researchers while supporting a diverse and talented new generation of scholars. By supporting doctoral candidates across the Arts and Humanities, we are ensuring the vitality of these disciplines and their meaningful contributions to both academia and society.

Professor Richard Dashwood, Vice-Provost (Research and Enterprise) and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Coventry University

This funding underscores Coventry University's excellence in arts and humanities research, as reflected when the arts and humanities received one of institution’s highest outcomes in the Research Excellence Framework 2021 as well as our successful AHRC funding track record over the past four years.

The AHRC Doctoral Landscape Awards will enable us to offer fully funded bursaries, attracting top postgraduate researchers to Coventry and encouraging high-impact scholarship aligned with our creative centres. This initiative also allows us to maintain our collaborations with regional partners, via a hub for best practices in arts and humanities research.

Professor Mel Jordan, Director of the Research Centre for Postdigital Cultures, Coventry University

The AHRC Doctoral Landscape Awards provide flexible funding to allow universities to build on existing excellence in research and opportunities for innovation across the arts and humanities. They will support the development of talented people and, alongside our other doctoral schemes, contribute to a vibrant, diverse and internationally-attractive research and innovation system

Professor Christopher Smith, Executive Chair of the AHRC

Find out more about the DLA.

Explore our postgraduate research opportunities.