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Studentships

  • Overview
  • AHRC Doctoral Award in Art and Design
  • AHRC Professional Preparation Masters Award in Design
  • AHRC Research Preparation Masters Award in Fine Art
  • AHRC Professional Preparation Masters Award in Fine Art

Studentships documents

  • AHRC Doctoral Referee Form
  • AHRC Masters Referee Form
  • AHRC Doctoral Application Form
  • AHRC Research Preparation Masters Application Form
  • AHRC Professional Preparation Masters Application Form

AHRC DOCTORAL AWARD IN DESIGN 2011/12

We have one doctoral studentship in Design available for an October 2011 start.

Design includes fashion design, printed textiles, woven textiles, constructed textiles, knit, three-dimensional design, art and design in the landscape, interior and environmental design, theatre design, exhibition and events design, product design, furniture, pedagogy in art and design.

Doctoral awards provide support for a minimum of one year and up to three years of full-time study, or between two and five years of part-time study, leading to a doctoral degree. A full award includes tuition fees and a maintenance grant. The maintenance grant will meet the National Minimum Doctoral Stipend level set by the UK Research Councils. The full-time maintenance stipend level for 2010/11 for Doctoral Awards was £13,590 p.a.

ELIGIBILITY

AHRC Studentships are available only to UK and EU students.

To be eligible for a full studentship award (fees plus maintenance stipend) a student must have been ordinarily resident in the UK for at least 3 years prior to the start of the course. British citizenship or holding a British passport in itself does not satisfy the residential eligibility requirement. To be eligible for the full award, EU Nationals must satisfy the UK residency requirement.

EU Nationals who do not meet the residency requirement are eligible for a fees-only award, provided that they have been ordinarily resident in the EU for at least 3 years prior to the start of their proposed programme of study.

Applicants must have gained an undergraduate degree from a recognised university, or be a current undergraduate expecting to graduate before 31 July 2011. Those applying for a doctoral award should normally have, or be studying for a Master's degree.

Full information on AHRC eligibility criteria can be found here

If you are unsure about eligibility please contact us prior to submitting your application.

HOW TO APPLY

Students are strongly advised to contact the potential supervisor before submitting an application. This is particularly important for doctoral applications. If you do not know who this is, please email your enquiry to the address below and you will be put in touch with the appropriate person.

Doctoral applications will need to contain the following:

  • A completed application form. These can be downloaded here (AHRC Doctoral Application Form). The form requires you to compose an outline proposal, the content of which is described below. (Please note there is a strict limit of 1000 words. The number of words used must be provided. Please use a font size no smaller than 10 point.) Please append any supporting documents to the application (e.g. transcripts of degree results).
  • Supporting visual material. Where appropriate you may supply additional visual material (up to 1-2 pages scanned and captioned images).
  • Two letters of support from academic referees. These should be from individuals who are in a position to assess your potential to undertake higher degree research and offer a provisional view of the promise of your outline proposal. You should provide your referees with copies of your application form, including the outline proposal and any supporting documents, and ask them to complete the following reference form (AHRC Doctoral Reference Form) and return it by email or post to the BIAD Research Office at the address below by 11 April 2011.

Outline Proposal

This is a key document in assessing your application. In preparing this statement you should consider the following (you may wish to use these as subheadings):

1. Your reasons and purposes for undertaking this project

1.1. Key areas/issues of the project, and why you wish to pursue this research;

1.2. How the proposed work relates to what you have studied already;

1.3. How the doctoral research relates to your eventual career aims.

2. Your research project

2.1. A working title

2.2. The research problems or questions you intend to address;

2.3. The research context in which those problems or questions are located;

2.4. The particular contribution to knowledge and understanding in this area that you hope to make, explaining why the work is important;

2.5. The methods and critical approaches that you plan to use;

2.6. Any ethical issues relating to the research project;

2.7. How the project will develop or how you will structure the work over the period of the award.

3. Preparation and previous experience

3.1. A brief indication of any previous experience or preparation that is relevant to your proposed research project (e.g. aspects of your Master’s study, additional degrees, qualifications, training or relevant skills);

3.2. For practice-led subjects, you should include details of relevant professional experience.

Students wishing to be considered for an AHRC studentship must submit their application as an email attachment (word or PDF) or by post to the BIAD Research Office at the email/address given below no later than 4.00pm on Monday 11 April 2011.

THE SELECTION PROCESS

All applications will be assessed by a BGP Panel consisting of Research Supervisors in the relevant subject areas, chaired by the BGP Co-ordinator. The panel will evaluate the applications against the following criteria:

  • Quality and preparedness of the applicant – taking into account prior academic performance, and, if relevant, professional experience, and the extent to which the applicant’s academic studies and/or professional experience prepare the applicant for the proposed project or programme.
  • The proposed project or programme of study – taking into account the intrinsic quality, coherence and feasibility of the project or programme, the merits of the applicant’s intellectual and/or professional goals, and, in the case of doctoral applicants, the potential contribution to knowledge.
  • The alignment with our strengths and priorities – taking into account: a) how well the applicant’s research/professional goals fit with our course and/or research training provision and strategic priorities; and b) the specific support available to the applicant, in terms of supervision and teaching, subject-specific training opportunities, and library and other appropriate resources.

Following the application deadline, the BGP Panel will shortlist applicants to be invited for interview. The date for this has been set as follows:

Week beginning 30th May 2011

All applicants should ensure they are available to be invited for interview. We regret that we will unable to consider applications where the candidate is not able to attend for interview. A final list of successful applicants for nomination will be identified following the interviews.

Timetable:

11 April 2011 (4.00pm) – Deadline for Applications
Late April – Short-listing
w.b. 30 May 2011 – Interviews for Short-listed Applicants
Early June – Applicants informed of outcomes and Nominations forwarded to AHRC

The final offer of an AHRC Studentship is subject to confirmation by AHRC.

ENQUIRIES

Please direct all enquiries in the first instance to the BIAD Research Office.

Research Office
Birmingham Institute of Art and Design
Birmingham City University
Gosta Green
Birmingham
B4 7DX
Tel. 0121 331 7824/7850
Fax. 0121 331 7824
Email: biadresearch@bcu.ac.uk
This information and downloadable application and referee forms can be found online at: http://www.biad.bcu.ac.uk/research/studentships/

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Research: BIADResearch@bcu.ac.uk

BIAD, Birmingham City University, Gosta Green, Birmingham B4 7DX