Wolfson Postgraduate Scholarships in the Humanities PhD Studentship – University of Exeter Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences Ref: 5726

Supervisors

Prospective supervisors to be named as part of application 

Exeter’s Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences is offering up to three fully funded Wolfson Postgraduate Scholarships in the Humanities, open to Home and International fee-paying candidates for study commencing in September 2026.

The research must be in the area(s) of history, literature or languages. The Wolfson Postgraduate Scholarships defines these fields broadly and accepts inter-/multi-disciplinary studies. These fields are outlined as including:

·       History: As well as broad-based historical and historiographical studies, this may include such areas as classics, history of art, visual culture, or architectural history, provided the research is grounded within historical methodology.

·       Literature: As well as literary and textual studies, this may include research that involves critical theory, theatre, film and other visual media, provided there is a literary element within the research (e.g. translation of literature to screen). It excludes creative writing.

·       Languages: Research should be in applied languages other than English. It may involve the study of literary or historical texts, theatre, film or other visual media, translation, or the philosophy of language, provided that the research is focused primarily on a language other than English. It excludes linguistics.

Exeter is a centre for world-leading research across the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences. Our departments are consistently placed at the top of national and international rankings. These Wolfson Postgraduate Scholarships could be located in the following departments:

• Arab and Islamic Studies
• Archaeology and History
• Classics, Ancient History, Religion and Theology
• Communications, Drama and Film
• English and Creative Writing
• Humanities and Social Sciences, Penryn (Cornwall)
• Languages, Cultures and Visual Studies
• Social and Political Sciences, Philosophy, and Anthropology

Exeter is a portal to a rich variety of research resources offering unique archives in medieval and modern history, modern and contemporary literature and film. Dynamic partnerships with arts, culture and heritage organisations – British Museum, Historic England, London Film School, National Trust, Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Tate Britain among many others – give our researchers access to a remarkable range of research collections and facilities.

Exeter offers PhD students exceptional support:

• A teamed approach to supervision combining research expertise from across our disciplines and access to a pastoral tutor
• A dedicated Doctoral College, a single point-of-contact for all programme and practical needs
• Access to a Digital Humanities Lab
• Research and career development opportunities within the Faculty and across the University
• Dedicated study space for HASS postgraduates
• A well-established postgraduate research culture including conferences, seminars and journals
• Funding opportunities for individual research needs

Awards will be granted to the strongest applicants based on an assessment of the applicant’s

• Academic excellence
• Research potential
• Research proposal
• Fit with research environment and supervision team

Applications will be assessed in line with the university’s commitment to supporting equality, diversity and inclusivity in postgraduate research. Please see our 2026 studentship assessment criteria for further details.

The Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences strives to foster a diverse and collaborative student community where everyone feels supported by us and by their peers to contribute to and engage with the opportunities available. We therefore encourage applications from individuals who respond to any of the nine protected characteristics defined in the Equality Act 2010.

Duration and value of award

The studentship will be for a period of up to 3 years (36 months), dependent on satisfactory progress, and provides funding of £37,250 per year. This funding will cover full tuition fees in the first instance and the remaining balance of funding will be provided to support maintenance, research, travel and training costs incurred during the student’s studies. The allocation of this funding is at the discretion of the student.

For international fee-paying students, as tuition fee costs are higher and will take up a greater portion of the funding award, the Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences will provide a top-up for the maintenance element to bring this up to the UKRI minimum stipend level of £20,780 (2025/26 rate).

The Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences will also provide, as part of this studentship, additional funds for international fee-paying students to help with visa fees and health surcharge costs. Successful applicants will need to initially pay the costs of these fees themselves and top-up funding to cover these costs will be provided upon registration with the University.

Please note that this studentship does not include funding for travel to the UK to take up this studentship, successful applicants must be prepared to cover these costs themselves.  

We will be holding a Studentship Application Webinar to give advice about making an application for the studentship funding we have available, and to answer any questions that applicants may have. The webinar will run twice:

On Wednesday 12 November 2025, 9:30am – 10:30am GMT. Please use this link to Join the meeting at the appropriate time; and On Thursday 13 November 2025, 15:00 – 16:00 GMT. Please use this link to  Join the meeting at the appropriate time.

Entry requirements

Project description

Applicants should have at a minimum a good first degree (at least 2.1, or international equivalent) in a relevant field of humanities, and have obtained, or be currently working towards a Master's degree at Merit level, or international equivalent, in a relevant discipline. Evidence of relevant professional expertise can also be taken into consideration.

If English is not your first language you will need to meet the English language requirements and provide proof of proficiency. Click here for more information.

Applicants must have identified and approached a potential supervisor and have supervision agreed in principle. To help find an appropriate supervisor please look at the staff pages of departmental websites or use the Research Expertise search function on our Postgraduate Study pages: http://www.exeter.ac.uk/pg-research.

• Applicants would be expected to start their studies in September 2026.
• Recipients are expected to commit to engagement with the research environment of their discipline and the Faculty by participating in research activities, accessing skills development training and opportunities and career development etc. Continued funding would be dependent on satisfactory evidence of this engagement having taken place.

Please note that these studentships are only open to applicants who will start their study in September 2026, not those who have already started.

Applications for full-time or part-time study are welcome however applications will only be supported for campus-based programmes as this studentship is not open to Distance-Learning programmes.

Residency Entry Requirements

1)       UK and international

This studentship, including full tuition fees and maintenance allowance, is available to UK and International candidates.

How to apply

Apply now

To apply, please click the ‘Apply Now’ button above. You will be asked to submit the following by 12:00 (Noon) GMT on Monday 23 February 2026:  

• A research proposal of 1,500-2,000 words (exclusive of bibliography), with supervisors agreed in principle. Guidance about how to write a research proposal is available here.
• We encourage you to include in your research proposal a 250-word (max) statement outlining how your background will enrich our diverse and inclusive research community. You are encouraged to reflect on your own experience, interests and/or proposed research for the statement. Please note this is optional.
• A 200-500 word statement on your fit with the department/Faculty research culture and your prospective supervision team. You should also name which programme of study you are applying for
• A CV
• Proof of academic track record (transcripts/certificates)
• Two references, at least one to be an academic reference
• Proof of your English language proficiency, if relevant

Please submit all documents, apart from your references and degree transcripts, as one combined file and submit this against the research proposal section of the application form.

All application documents must be submitted in English. Certified translated copies of academic qualifications must also be provided.

Please note that we will seek a supporting statement from named prospective supervisors for all shortlisted candidates as part of the final assessment process.

Please quote reference 5726 on your application and in any correspondence about this studentship.

Reference information
It is your responsibility to ensure that your referees email their references to PGRApplicants@exeter.ac.uk, as we will not make requests for references directly; you must arrange for them to be submitted by 23 February 2026.  Please note that applications with missing documentation will not progress to shortlisting.

References should be in the form of a letter. Referees must email their references to us from their institutional email accounts. We cannot accept references from personal/private email accounts, unless it is a scanned document on institutional headed paper and signed by the referee.

No interviews will be held for these studentships. We expect to be able to communicate outcomes to all applicants by the end of April 2026.

Summary