Category: Studentships

King’s College: PhD Studentships in the History of International Development in the Global South (UK)

“Studentships“

PhD Studentships in the History of International Development in the Global South, King’s College London, UK. Deadline: 29 April 2026.

Actually Existing Development: Twentieth Century International Development and the Global South (DEVHIST) is a five-year research project led by Agnieszka Sobocinska and funded by a Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council.

Actually Existing Development systematically examines the encounters between individuals, groups and worldviews that attended and often reshaped international development at points of implementation across the Global South, from the 1950s to the 1990s. Uncovering the complex negotiations that remade international development projects at the point of implementation, this project aims to reveal the viewpoints, agency and impacts of Global South communities and mid-level aid workers on the international system. A more granular understanding of the lived experience of international development, including the coercion, resistance and renegotiation that frequently attended development projects in the Global South, will also facilitate a re-evaluation of historical international development and the broader systems of global governance that emerged in the post-war period. To achieve these outcomes, DEVHIST employs a multiscalar historical methodology that traces international development programmes through every stage of their lifecycle, and draws upon a previously neglected source base including Project Files and Global South-produced accounts. It applies this approach to programmes and projects implemented by a range of development actors, including Western and Eastern bloc state development agencies, multilateral development banks, international organisations, and development NGOs in selected nations within Asia, Africa and Latin America.

They are looking for two PhD scholars to conduct original research applying the ‘Actually Existing Development’ project approach to:

  • Southeast Asian Experiences of International Development, with a focus on Indonesia (preferred), Malaysia, Thailand or Philippines, ca. 1950-2000s
  • African Experiences of International Development, preferably with a focus on Ghana, Nigeria or Ethiopia, ca. 1950-1990s.

    Each PhD project will uncover and assess the perspectives of specific groups, communities and/or individuals targeted for international development projects/interventions, and how they changed over time. They will trace how aid-recipient communities understood, conceptualised and experienced specific international development projects, how they responded (including whether and how they mobilised for/against the interventions), and the impact of their responses on international development agencies, regional and national governments, and others.

U Autònoma de Barcelona: PhD Studentship on Women, Nature, and Early Modernity in Japan (Spain)

“Studentships“PhD Studentship on Consuming Nature: Early Modernity, Popular Culture, and the Natural World in Japan, 1600-1900, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain. Deadline: 20 April 2026.

Applications are invited for a salaried, full-time, 3 year PhD position (with the possibility of extension for a 4th year) as part of the Consuming Nature project at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. The working language of the project is English.

The successful candidate will undertake their PhD as a member of a team of international researchers in the context of an innovative project within the prestigious European Research Council framework. They will be provided with a working space at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona in a shared office with other members of the project, and will be expected to be regularly present in the office to collaborate with other members of the team. This position does not allow for remote working, other than during periods of pre-approved fieldwork.

Topic: The successful candidate will write his or her dissertation on nature, early modernity, and women in Japan and will address the research questions of the “Consuming Nature” project. Examples of the kinds of questions the dissertation could use as a departure point include:

  • In what ways did women consume and participate in nature-related activities within early modern Japanese popular culture?
  • Was women’s experience of the natural world in Japan changed by the developments of the seventeenth through nineteenth centuries that are associated with Tokugawa “early modernity” and/or Meiji “modernity”?
  • Was their experience different to men, and how did experiences differ between women of different status groups?

U Groningen: PhD Studentship in Mapping Older Migrants’ Family Networks (Netherlands)

“Studentships“PhD Studentship in Mapping Older Migrants’ Family Networks, University of Groningen, Netherlands. Deadline: 31 March 2026.

Supervisors: Basak Bilecen (University of Groningen), Vera de Bel (University of Groningen), and Swantje Falcke (Utrecht University)

What do the family networks of older migrants in the Netherlands look like, and how do they relate to strengthening or weakening social cohesion? This project uses microdata from Statistics Netherlands (CBS) to analyse differences in the size, structure and spatial distribution of kinship networks among older migrants and non-migrants. This PhD project will compare patterns across diverse migrant groups and explore how these relate to key outcomes such as health, well-being, and loneliness in later life. This position offers the opportunity to work with rich population-level data and contribute to timely debates on ageing, migration and social inequalities.

U Reading: PhD Studentship in Comparative and Intercultural Studies (UK)

“Studentships“PhD Studentship in Comparative and Intercultural Studies, University of Reading, UK. Deadline: 31 March 2026.

Project title: Young Refugees to Britain in the early Twentieth Century

Department/School: Department of Languages and Cultures, School of Humanities

Supervisors: Dr Ellen Pilsworth, Dr Monja Stahlberger

“2026 marks 75 years since the Refugee convention (1951) outlined the definition of a refugee and the minimum legal obligations of the States who receive them. This Convention was a response to the millions of people displaced by European conflicts in the early part of the twentieth century. We are interested in the histories of European refugees who came to Britain in the decades before the Convention, with a specific focus on the experiences of children and young people still engaged in education or training.

Governments have often viewed children as more easily assimilated and less of an economic or administrative burden than adult refugees. Yet, research shows that children’s experiences of exile are far more complex: language acquisition, identity formation, and senses of belonging can follow unpredictable paths. Studying children offers a vital lens onto the assumptions and realities of displacement.

We welcome applications interested in the British reception of Belgian refugees during and after the First World War, as well as Italian, Spanish, Polish, Czecho‑Slovakian and other refugee and displaced groups in Britain in the broader context of the Second World War. Please note, we are not accepting proposals to work on German-speaking refugees, as this group is already represented in our project. We are open to any other relevant national group(s). Projects may take a comparative approach across the period ca. 1910-1950, or choose a narrower temporal focus.

The PhD topic should be based on original historical research, using sources that could include state and personal archives, published or unpublished memoirs, and oral history. The successful student will work alongside the UKRI-funded project ‘Nation of Refuge’.

U London: Studentships in Policy and Global Affairs (UK)

“Studentships“Ph.D. Studentships in Policy and Global Affairs, City St. George’s University of London, UK. Deadline: 11 February 2026.

Four PhD studentships, and three fee waivers are available across the Departments of Sociology and Criminology, International Politics and, Economics.
Each Department will receive ONE studentship and ONE fee waiver, for home and international students. An additional studentship will be offered to a Black and British candidate, who can apply to any of these three Departments.

Södertörn U: Doctoral Studentships (Sweden)

“Studentships“Ph.D. Studentships, Baltic and East European Graduate School, Södertörn University, Stockholm, Sweden. Deadline: 11 February 2026.

Multiple doctoral studentships are available in Sociology, Political Science, Social Work, Journalism, Business Studies, and Public Administration, all relating to the interdisciplinary topic of “Politics, Economy and the Organisation of Society.”

The planned research for these studentships must be relevant to the Baltic Sea region or Eastern Europe because they are affiliated with the Baltic and East European Graduate School (BEEGS), financed by the Foundation for Baltic and East European Studies, and part of the Centre for Baltic and East European Studies (CBEES) at Södertörn University. Eastern Europe comprises post-communist central, south and east Europe. The Baltic Sea Region is the Baltic Sea and the surrounding countries. A specific list of eligible countries is here.

Open U: AHRC Doctoral Landscape Award Studentships (UK)

“Studentships“Ph.D. Studentship: AHRC Doctoral Landscape Award Studentships, Open University, Milton Keynes, UK. Deadline: 13 February 2026.

The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) has introduced two new doctoral funding schemes – the Doctoral Landscape Award (DLA) and the Doctoral Focal Award (DFA) – as part of its Future Doctoral Programme. The new awards aim to provide more flexible, inclusive, and strategically aligned funding across the arts and humanities disciplines. The Open University has successfully secured an AHRC Doctoral Landscape Award for a five-year period, with the first cohort of doctoral students starting in 2026.

In addition to individual studentships, the Doctoral Landscape Award supports regional training hubs. The OU is a member of the South East Hub of nine HE institutions, along with Brighton, Kent, Oxford, Oxford Brookes, Reading, Royal Holloway, Southampton and Sussex. The Open University will work together with the other Hub members to improve training support and offer opportunities for cohort development.

The studentships are open to all PhD applicants who meet the entry criteria at the OU. Any PhD project under the AHRC subject areas – including those based outside of Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences – are eligible. At the OU, disciplines under the AHRC include Art History, Classical Studies, English and Creative Writing, History, Languages and Linguistics, Law, Music, Philosophy, and Religious Studies.

They especially welcome interdisciplinary project proposals, and prospective supervisors may be drawn from more than one discipline.

Applications may be made for full-time or part-time study, but distance learning is not permissible under this scheme.

UNHCR: UNIV’R Programme Studentships at Sciences Po (France)

“Studentships“MA Studentship: UNHCR UNIV’R Programme, Sciences Po, Paris, France. Deadline: 1 February 2026.

The call for applications for the 5th cohort of the UNIV’R Programme (Sciences Po Paris) is now open . The programme offers fully funded scholarships for refugees to pursue a two-year master’s degree (in English or French) at Sciences Po Paris, beginning August/September 2026.

The eligibility criteria for this cohort remain unchanged from last year. Applicants must:

  • Be refugees individually recognized by UNHCR or by a State authority;
  • Be currently residing in a first country of asylum outside the European Union (resettled refugees are not eligible);
  • Hold at least a Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field of study;
  • Have a minimum B2 level in English and/or French;
  • Be no older than 35 years.

    In addition, Sciences Po Paris has specific academic requirements. Candidates must provide:

  • Academic transcripts;
  • Academic recommendation letters;
  • Evidence of a good GPA.

U Warwick: PhD Scholarship: The Wheeler History of Travel Writing (UK)

“Studentships“PhD Scholarship: The Wheeler History of Travel Writing, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK. Deadline: 15 January 2026.

The programme seeks to attract talented researchers whose projects may focus on any period or region of the world. Applicants are expected to show that their project is primarily historical in nature, engaging with travel and travel writing as a historical practice and/or source for historical research. Preference may be given to candidates who adopt a global historical perspective and have the ability to work with sources in more than one language.

Successful applicants will benefit from the wide-ranging expertise represented by Warwick’s Department of History and its Global History and Culture Centre as well as the range of training and development opportunities offered by the Department and Doctoral College. Candidates are encouraged to explain how their proposal fits within the department’s existing research profile.

They welcome projects that engage with the history of travel and travel writing from a variety of perspectives and disciplinary approaches, including global history, the history of science and technology, environmental history, histories of race and empire, gender history, the history of material culture, and postcolonial studies. Candidates interested in co-supervision across departments (e.g. with English and Comparative Literary Studies, School of Modern Languages and Cultures, Politics and International Studies) are invited to indicate their preference on their application. Potential areas of focus include, but are not limited to:

  • Travel advice literature, from merchant manuals to commercial guidebooks
  • Travel, gender, and intersectionality
  • Travel and travel writing from the Global South
  • Vicarious travel, from armchair geography to VR
  • Underrepresented histories of travel and global inequalities
  • Travel, sustainability, and the environment

King’s College: Arts & Humanities Studentships (UK)

“Studentships“

Arts and Humanities Studentships, King’s College London, UK. Deadline: 13 February 2026.

The Doctoral School for Arts & Humanities is the home of the new Arts & Humanities Doctoral Studentships, offering a range of full and partially funded PhD scholarships. Starting October 2026, the programme offers 13 fully funded studentships, including 2 AHRC Doctoral Landscape Awards, plus four fees-only studentships.

Studentships cover all PhD programmes offered by the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, namely:

  • Byzantine & Modern Greek Studies
  • Classics
  • Comparative Literature
  • Creative Writing
  • Culture, Media & Creative Industries
  • Digital Humanities
  • English
  • Film Studies
  • French
  • German
  • History
  • Interdisciplinary Humanities
  • Music
  • Palaeography & Manuscript Studies
  • Philosophy
  • Spanish, Portuguese & Latin American Studies
  • Theology & Religious Studies

Funding will be for 3.5 years (full-time) or 7 years (part-time). Full tuition fees covered, including international fees.