Postgraduate scholarships and bursaries

A range of funding opportunities is available to applicants to postgraduate programmes in the Arts and Humanities Faculty. Inevitably, these schemes are highly competitive and require applicants to demonstrate evidence of outstanding potential and a very strong academic performance to date. The Music Department has an excellent track record of success in securing several scholarships for its students every year, and we will work closely with suitable candidates to support them throughout the application process.

In most cases (including the university’s internal funding schemes and external schemes such as the AHRC Northern Bridge studentships), you will be required to submit a detailed research proposal outlining the project that you intend to undertake. The quality, originality, and significance of your proposed project are key criteria in assessing applications, so it is vitally important to ensure that your proposal is as high-quality as possible if you are to stand a realistic chance of success. We strongly recommend that you seek feedback on your proposal from your prospective supervisor well in advance of applying, allowing sufficient time to revise it in the light of their recommendations.

Funding opportunities for applicants to doctoral programmes

1. AHRC Northern Bridge Doctoral Training Partnership

The Northern Bridge Consortium offers fully funded doctoral studentships to outstanding applicants across the full range of arts and humanities subjects and creative practice disciplines. International students as well as UK students are eligible to apply. Applicants are expected to demonstrate evidence of academic excellence at both undergraduate and postgraduate level, as well as evidence of sufficient research skills to undertake the project.

This generally means a first-class or good upper-second undergraduate degree and performance at or around distinction level in an MA degree. International students as well as UK students are eligible to apply. European Union applicants who have not been resident in the UK for the three years prior to the start of their studentship are eligible for a fees-only award from the AHRC (institutional funds permitting, maintenance awards may be offered to successful EU applicants).

For more information see the Northern Bridge Consortium pages.

The Department's internal deadline for applications is 5pm on Friday 6th December 2024. To maximise the strength of the applications, we always run an internal process to evaluate the candidates and proposal for feedback purposes. This application a close variant of the actual application where the candidate and the supervisor need to fill the four areas (CV, Research Proposal, Supervision, Training & Development & Research Environment). The form is available here.

For queries please contact music.pgadmissions@durham.ac.uk. 

2.  Chinese Scholarship Council 

The China Scholarship Council (CSC) scholarships are available thanks to a partnership with the China Scholarships Council. The scholarships are open to applicants from Mainland China wishing to study for a PhD at Durham. Details of the eligibility criteria along with information specific to applicants applying for this joint scheme can be found here.

3.  Other Doctoral Scholarships

Information about other internal and external funding opportunities (some of which are restricted to applicants of specific nationalities) can be accessed from the Faculty's Scholarships page. Follow the links to Postgraduate Scholarships and (if applicable) International Scholarships.