SGSAH (AHRC) funding - School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures

PhD studentships funded by the Scottish Graduate School for Arts & Humanities (SGSAH).

The University of Edinburgh is part of a consortium of eight Scottish Universities and two specialist Scottish institutions awarded funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) via the Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities (SGSAH) to support postgraduate studentships and training in the Arts and Humanities in Scotland. 

The award on offer is a fully-funded PhD with stipend, a robust three-and-a-half year training programme, and access to Scotland's resources through SGSAH’s strong links and national networks with our supporter organisations in the education, creative, cultural and heritage sectors.

In order to be considered for this funding, you will first need to secure a nomination from the University. The 2023 call (deadline: 1 December 2022) is for prospective PhD students who plan to begin their studies in September 2023.

PhD programmes in Literatures, Languages and Cultures

The School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures (LLC) is delighted to consider applications from highly qualified candidates for SGSAH doctoral studentship awards in all our subjects.

Explore our range of PhD programmes

Research Themes

Funding applications should be for projects within the AHRC disciplines. While all our PhD programmes are open to proposals on any relevant topic, we particularly encourage proposals that fall within these broad research themes:

Asian Studies

• Literature, film, media and performance
• Politics and governance
• Modern society and ethnography
• Religion, intellectual history and pre-modern culture
• Transnational and colonial history

Celtic and Scottish Studies

• Scottish Gaelic literature, history and culture 
• Linguistics and sociolinguistics of Celtic languages 
• Gaelic and Scots diasporas 
• Celtic languages, literatures and cultures of the Middle Ages 
• All aspects of Scottish ethnology 
• Traditional music and song, especially Scots and Gaelic 
• Scottish folklore 

English Literature

• Environmental humanities
• Scottish literary studies
• Transatlantic/US literary studies
• Digital Humanities, including textual editing and archival studies
• Postcolonial and Global Literatures

European Languages and Cultures

• Comparative Literature
• Intermediality
• Memory Studies
• Literature, Film and Visual Culture

Film Studies

• Film-Philosophy
• Screen Aesthetics
• Film Theory
• Film History

Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies

• Classical and modern Arabic and Persian literature
• History and historiography of early Islam and the Ottoman Empire, of the modern Arab world, especially Egypt, and its ethnic and religious minorities
• Classical Islamic texts (Qur’an and tafsir, hadith, the biography of Muhammad)
• Cultural, media, film and gender studies of the contemporary Middle East and North Africa
• Shi’ism, intra-Muslim relaions, Islamism, social movements and Sufism
• Muslims in Europe

Translation Studies

• Translation and gender
• Audiovisual translation
• Translation and religion
• Translation and music
• Translation, postcolonialism and race
• Literary translation

• Translation and trauma (including gender-based violence)

• Translation and emotions

• Translation and health

• Translation and history

Find out more about the AHRC disciplines on the AHRC website

Eligibility for funding

These studentships have residency requirements set by UK Research Innovation (UKRI). Eligibility extends to PhD researchers from around the world (UK, the EU and International). All funded PhD students, whether UK or International will be eligible for a full award covering fees and a stipend to support living costs. 

Find out all about residential eligibility criteria on the SGSAH website 

Application process and deadlines

Step one

If you are eligible and interested in this funding opportunity, you are encouraged to complete our form to register your interest. This will enable us to track the status of your PhD application. We will also be able to keep you up to date with the scholarship application process and invite you to pre-application briefing sessions.

Complete our form to register your interest

Step two

You must complete the University of Edinburgh online application for the PhD programme you wish to study by Thursday 1 December 2022. Once your application has been submitted, you will receive email confirmation from the system. This will include a User Name (UUN). 

Explore our range of PhD programmes and apply online

Step three

You must then complete the SGSAH nomination application form and return it, by email, to the LLC Postgraduate Research Office by Thursday 1 December 2022. The SGSAH DTP nomination application form will be available to download from the Scottish Graduate School for Arts & Humanities website. When available, please follow the instructions and use the guidelines provided.

Go to the Scottish Graduate School for the Arts & Humanities website

Email the LLC Postgraduate Research Office to submit your nomination form

PLEASE NOTE: BOTH STEPS 2 AND 3 MUST BE COMPLETED FOR YOUR APPLICATION TO BE COMPLETE, SO PLEASE MAKE SURE TO ALLOW YOURSELF TIME BEFORE THE DEADLINES PROVIDED ABOVE.

You will be notified by the end of December 2022 if you have been nominated by the University to go forward to the next round of the funding competition. If you are nominated by the University, you will be asked to submit the SGSAH studentship application via the SGSAH application portal by early February 2023.

Final funding decisions will be made by the SGSAH by the end of April 2023.