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.

Funding opportunities for applicants to doctoral programmes

1. PhD Studentships in Transformative Humanities

With the support of our AHRC Doctoral Landscape Award and the Faculties of Arts & Humanities and Social Sciences, this scheme supports outstanding candidates on projects related to the themes of our Transformative Humanities framework. They include Creativity, Culture, and Heritage; Digital Humanities; Environmental Humanities; Medical Humanities; Science-Humanities; Social Justice, Communities, and Policy. Eight full studentships are available for projects beginning in October 2026: seven awards are open to home students (according to the UKRI definition, which includes a range of statuses) and one award is open to overseas students. Each award will offer a tuition fee waiver, a stipend for 3.5 years (full time) or 7 years (part time) at the level set by UKRI, additional funding opportunities, and access to training and placement resources.

To maximise the strength of your application, please get in touch with your potential supervisory team as soon as possible so that you can work on your proposal together. Full guidelines on applying, and all further information on the scheme, can be found here: the final deadline for applications is 23.59 (UK time) on 16 January 2026. 

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.

4.  Global Grand Challenges Studentships 2025 Entry 

The Global Grand Challenges Studentships (Hunt-Raymond GGC Studentships) which are designed to support excellent early career researchers wishing to pursue doctoral research and training in areas aligned to a highlighted Sustainable Development Goal (SDG).  

The call is for research and researchers aligned to SDG13: Climate Action for projects that aim to address issues associated with climate change and building a more resilient global future.  

More information can be found at Global Grand Challenges Studentships