AHRC Doctoral Focal Awards

AHRC Doctoral Focal Awards is sponsored by Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). Supports world-class doctoral training in areas vital to the UK's creative economy and societal wellbeing, including photography.

Focal awards: art history, visual arts and creative practice – UKRI Funding opportunity: Focal awards: art history, visual arts and creative practice Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) 9 December 2025 9:00am UK time 17 March 2026 4:00pm UK time Last updated: 4 March 2026 - see all updates Apply for funding to recruit and train doctoral students through a doctoral focal award in art history, visual arts and creative practice.

You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) doctoral funding. We will support up to 30 studentships per award over three cohorts and funding will be provided at the usual UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) rates.

Each proposal must outline your approach to: doctoral training and professional development increasing representation of students from underrepresented groups The first cohort of students will start in October 2026. This opportunity is open to organisations with standard eligibility. Check if your organisation is eligible .

Applications are invited from eligible UK higher education institutions (HEIs) that can demonstrate the ability to host a consortium-model doctoral training grant in art history and creative practice research. We are seeking to develop a strong central core of institutions with the expectation of outreach to the wider community.

Your proposal must involve a minimum of one other higher education institution, and a minimum of one partner beyond academia but we would expect it to be broader. It is expected that this AHRC funding opportunity will be in high demand. Therefore, each HEI may submit a maximum of one application as the lead applicant.

HEIs may participate in an unlimited number of applications as a consortium member. Current AHRC training grant award holders, past AHRC training grant award holders, as well as HEIs which have never had AHRC training grant funding are all eligible. We particularly welcome applications from small specialist institutions.

This could be as leads, as co-lead HEIs or as consortia members.

To apply to lead a proposed training grant consortium-based award, you must: be based at a UK HEI which is eligible for UKRI doctoral funding be dedicated to training the next generation of arts and humanities researchers and have the vision to lead a consortium of organisations to deliver innovative doctoral training within art history and creative practice possess the leadership, project management and stakeholder management skills to deliver the proposed training and development strategy and engage partner organisations throughout provide evidence of relevant experience (appropriate to career stage) have the appropriate management skills and the administrative capacity to deliver the proposed doctoral provision demonstrate how you have contributed to developing a positive research culture and wider community to date be able to secure the commitment of at least one additional HEI and one non-HEI partner.

Together, you will co-design and co-deliver a strategy to ensure the consortium’s aims for student skills and career development aligned with sector needs. You will form the consortium, prepare the application, and jointly deliver the training if the grant is awarded A demonstrable track record of involvement in postgraduate provision from the lead HEI or the co-lead is essential.

Project co-leads must be from organisations eligible for UKRI funding . This includes eligible organisations beyond academia, such as independent research organisations.

Who is not eligible to apply The following are not eligible to apply to this funding opportunity: single higher education institutions (proposals must involve a minimum of two higher education institutions, and a minimum of one partner beyond academia) Independent Research Organisations (IROs).

IROs can be included as co-leads and partners researchers and higher education institutions with no capacity in arts and humanities doctoral training within art history and creative practice researchers and higher education institutions based outside the UK higher education institutions seeking AHRC funding for master’s level training Equality, diversity and inclusion We are committed to achieving equality of opportunity for all funding applicants.

We encourage applications from a diverse range of researchers. We support people to work in a way that suits their personal circumstances. This includes: support for people with caring responsibilities alternative working patterns UKRI can offer disability and accessibility support for UKRI applicants and grant holders during the application and assessment process.

AHRC seeks to unlock the potential of art history, visual arts and creative practice by capitalising on wide-ranging opportunities to exploit new technologies and contribute to the cultural and creative sectors. This focal opportunity will develop high-level skills and innovation capacity to contribute to the UK’s growth and prosperity.

It has been designed to meet the following objectives: deliver world-class doctoral training and development including cohort experience provide opportunities for students, preparing them to follow a diversity of career paths within and beyond academia support research capacity in specific strategic areas, addressing national and global challenges and delivering UKRI’s mission to drive UK growth and improve lives, doing so through arts and humanities doctoral research and by fostering interdisciplinary approaches advance current understanding, generate new knowledge, and develop the breadth of expertise for the future of the research and innovation workforce address underrepresentation in the AHRC-funded doctoral community enable opportunities for students across art history and the visual arts to employ state of the art techniques and innovative new technologies to advance knowledge in the field and contribute to the UK economy enable innovation by enhancing collaboration between art history and creative practice enhance knowledge exchange within academia and between academia and the cultural and creative sectors for the benefit of the economy and wider society In a world defined by rapid technology change, complex global challenges and the urgent need to create a sustainable future, there is an opportunity to reimagine the systems we live within and shape a future that is more sustainable, equitable and imaginative.

Across art history, the visual arts, creative practice and allied areas such as design there are untapped opportunities to build research expertise that connects deep scholarly inquiry with curatorial, conservation-led, creative and professional practice. This creates the opportunity to shape the future of the UK’s cultural and creative industries in ways that improve lives and drive growth.

Disciplines that combine critical and historical enquiry with creative and practice-led problem solving are well placed to take advantage of new digital, material and interpretative technologies. They can develop the advanced skills and interdisciplinary approaches needed to address fundamental and applied challenges at the point where culture, creativity and professional practice intersect.

This opens up routes to innovation, cultural entrepreneurship and new forms of value creation. This focal award will speak directly to our aim to position arts and humanities research as a driver of both commercial growth and civic value, fuelling the UK’s internationally competitive creative sector and generating prosperity, public good and global competitiveness.

Through this focal opportunity we are seeking future-facing doctoral research and training combining disciplinary depth with forward-looking professional relevance which builds on our growing portfolio in the creative industries, creative economy and infrastructure.

It will be explicitly creative and cultural sector-facing and attuned to emerging skills needs in museums, galleries, heritage, creative industries, digital collections, and cultural leadership. It will enable students to apply innovative techniques in their research and to develop the knowledge and skills to open career opportunities in cultural and creative sectors and wider professions, as well as academia.

They may develop skills for cultural management, curation, digital innovation, and policy engagement, relevant to the sector. Students will be equipped to engage confidently with practice-led, policy-facing, and entrepreneurial contexts where visual and material cultures shape public understanding, innovation, and economic growth.

This focal award will contribute to The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy: Creative Industries Sector Plan to deliver a high quality workforce that is responsive to the needs of the Creative Industries and increase the productivity, resilience and diversity of the workforce, including creative freelancers.

Co-design and co-delivery with sector partners will be critical to ensuring that the investment addresses cultural and creative sector needs. We welcome a broad range of approaches.

The theme will foster researchers who can deploy historical understanding, engage with contemporary practice, advance digital and sustainable innovation in the interpretation and stewardship of visual culture, and lead future collaboration across academic, cultural and creative institutions. You will need to demonstrate innovation through novel approaches, by being explicitly problem-focused, or both.

There are potential avenues to explore around provenance research, cultural diplomacy, place-making, art markets, cultural capital, and the visitor economy. This is not an exhaustive list and novel ideas for commercial, social and cultural impacts are welcomed.

The theme’s ambition is to create opportunities for innovation in and across art history, visual arts, and creative practice, drawing where appropriate on allied areas such as design.

This will produce a cohort of students who are equipped to contribute to UK growth, including: addressing known and anticipated skills gaps and shortages in interdisciplinary, sector-focused approaches diversifying and growing the research talent pool within and beyond academia embedding interdisciplinary working which draws on advanced techniques and technologies fostering deep connectivity with creative industries, museums, galleries and heritage organisations and other forms of professional practice.

Embedding co-design of research and training to ensure direct engagement with the sector and responsiveness to sector needs training which is inclusive and sector-wide, ensuring modules, workshops, and professional development opportunities are accessible to doctoral students across the wider UK art history, visual arts and creative practice communities connecting bespoke disciplinary training to broader AHRC and institutional offers in research methods, digital skills and leadership training programmes that include creative entrepreneurship, innovation pathways and routes to impact to enable students to develop their research or careers in a commercial setting Our ambition is to create a strong central core of institutions with the expectation of outreach to the wider community and increased impact, for example through shared training, networking and collaboration.

We particularly encourage applications which: bring art historians and visual art specialists into collaborations with technologists (including critical technologies and digital humanities), industry and the creative economy to address skills gaps and societal challenges and unlock new opportunities enhance innovation and contribute to the wider impacts of art history, visual arts and creative practice to support real-life applications demonstrate benefit for the wider discipline, through open training, co-supervision, or shared access to collections, archives, and digital platforms include practice-led approaches and linkages with business, management, or MBA programmes as indicators of innovation, leadership, and economic relevance Applications will need to demonstrate strong partnerships with stakeholders across the cultural economy (for example, museums, galleries, heritage organisations, creative businesses, and other professional practitioners), and the proposals will need to be co-designed and co-delivered with non-academic partners.

This will ensure that the opportunity will speak directly to sector needs and deliver sector benefit. In addition, there must be at least two universities involved but, greater engagement is expected as the programmes need to be inclusive and diverse. Students will need access to specialist collections, archives and facilities that enable research and professional practice.

They will be part of a vibrant culture that develops candidates as disciplinary leaders and cross-sector innovators. Applications should explore links with existing and previous investments such as Future Observatory: Design a Green Transition , the Creative Industries Clusters Programme, RICHeS, CoStar . Engagement with AHRC-supported infrastructure is particularly encouraged.

RICHeS is an £80 million commitment , which aims to unlock heritage and conservation science facilities through distributed infrastructure. The focal awards are well-placed to capitalise on these facilities giving art historians access to a new, interdisciplinary approach to their research.

Engagement between these awards would provide doctoral researchers with access to state of the art facilities, enable them to undertake innovative research, and to gain future-facing skills in demand within academic, creative and cultural sectors.

Possible areas that students might pursue through the theme include the following, noting that this is not an exhaustive list: applying new techniques and technologies to the exploration and application of art history explore how visual and creative arts practices and art history perspectives can drive environmentally sustainable and socially responsible innovation, supporting the UK’s transition to a green and circular economy investigate how creative practice and visual arts can inform and promote inclusion, accessibility, and representation for diverse and underrepresented communities across the creative and cultural sectors examine the role of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), immersive media, and digital fabrication, in transforming design and visual arts practice apply interdisciplinary, practice-led and policy-facing methodologies to understand how visual culture and art historical discourse might shape public engagement, heritage interpretation, and sustainable growth in the creative economy critically interrogate the relationship between creative practice and art historical discourse to reveal how historical frameworks inform contemporary creativity and innovation deepen our understanding of the role of design as a catalyst for social and ecological transformation, combining creative practice with critical theory Students will be able to draw on the UK’s recognised strengths in object-based, curatorial and conservation-led approaches, while applying these methods to contemporary challenges and new contexts.

The consortia will train three cohorts of students undertaking a three and a half to four year doctorate on a full-time basis, or equivalent part-time. The first cohort will start in the 2026 to 2027 academic year and the final cohort will start in 2028 to 2029. The duration of this award is a minimum of six academic years.

You can apply for between 25 and 30 studentships over the lifetime of the award. Our funding profile means that slightly more studentships will be available for the last cohort, for example if you were applying for 25 studentships, the ratio would be 8:8:9. We are seeking to support two awards.

Given the level of investment, these need to be heavily collaborative. For example, a strong core of partner universities with outreach to a wide range of non-HEIs and other university partners. We are providing funding based on up to four years per student (stipend and fees).

This includes: individual training and development activity for the student cohort-based training and development activity additional stipend for Collaborative Doctoral Awards (CDAs) and London weighting where applicable We will provide funding for studentships at UKRI indicative fee levels and UKRI minimum stipend rates. These are updated annually. See Support for UKRI-funded students for further information.

We strongly encourage CDAs as part of the offer. These are doctoral research projects which are collaboratively and equitably developed and delivered by a HEI and non-HEI partner, align with the non-HEI partner’s area of activity, and have impacts beyond academia, including the not for profit third sector.

They are student career focused, with the student spending up to half their time in the non-HEI organisation and benefitting from the support of two supervisors, one in a HEI and one in a non-HEI. We will provide additional stipend of £600 per year for these students and funding is available to support up to six CDA awards per lead HEI (subject to demand). Funding for cohort-based training and development will also be provided.

We will calculate this as a set cost of £1,200 per student per year, based on the number of studentship awards. We would not expect this funding to be used to support any existing infrastructure, to reimburse the costs of university or partner staff resources such as travel and subsistence, or to be used to support activities that would normally be supported by universities.

Further, these costs cannot be used to support costs of administration, for example staff costs to run the cohort programme. We do not provide funding for administrative costs of setting up and delivering the training grant. Supporting skills and talent We encourage you to follow the principles of the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers and the Technician Commitment .

We expect applications to refer to UKRI’s statement of expectations for its students and outline an innovative, unique, and specific training and development approach to address identified skills shortages within the research theme.

Your application must describe how the proposed consortium will: create a unique and innovative training and development offer which will attract students seeking to employ innovative techniques and technologies in art history, visual arts and creative practice and to inform future careers in, or related to, the cultural and creative sectors.

This must include training on creative entrepreneurship deliver a cohort development package, appropriate to the research theme and the needs of the cohort, creating a group identity and opportunities for peer networking.

Open training to students beyond AHRC-funded students to maximise benefits within the scope of the thematic area and in an inclusive way work with HEI and non-HEI partners to provide appropriate research environments for students in terms of location, facilities, equipment, supervisory expertise, partnerships, student services and work culture.

Co-design of research and training should be embedded to foster deep connectivity with creative industries, museums, galleries and heritage organisations and other forms of professional practice embed interdisciplinary working which draws on advanced techniques and technologies Supervisor support and development Each application must indicate how the consortium will prepare, support, engage and value staff supervising doctoral students for the benefit of students, supervisors, and the wider research and innovation community.

work with supervisors to ensure students are enabled to engage with the specific opportunities offered by the focal award create a positive and inclusive culture of research supervision Equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in your application As part of your application, you are asked to explain how you will provide a positive culture and environment, and how your approach to recruitment recognises issues of underrepresentation and widening participation.

You should refer to UKRI’s good practice principles in recruitment and training at a doctoral level when developing your approach. Each application must set out how it will support students to focus on developing research capacity in the thematic area while preparing students to follow a diversity of career paths.

At the student recruitment stage, each training grant consortium must: enable doctoral research projects which are student-driven, where students have agency to develop their doctoral proposal support candidates with a range of backgrounds and experience. For example, mature students who may have already had a career in any sector, including those from technical backgrounds.

For the latter, we encourage you to follow the principles of the Technician Commitment enable practice-based studentships While not all doctoral projects need to be interdisciplinary, we encourage interdisciplinary projects, as long as a minimum of 50% of the doctoral proposal is based on arts and humanities disciplines, methodologies, and approaches.

Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) UKRI is committed in ensuring that effective international collaboration in research and innovation takes place with integrity and within strong ethical frameworks.

Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) is a UKRI work programme designed to help protect all those working in our thriving and collaborative international sector by enabling partnerships to be as open as possible, and as secure as necessary. Our TR&I Principles set out UKRI’s expectations of organisations funded by UKRI in relation to due diligence for international collaboration.

As such, applicants for UKRI funding may be asked to demonstrate how their proposed projects will comply with our approach and expectation towards TR&I, identifying potential risks and the relevant controls you will put in place to help proportionately reduce these risks. See further guidance and information about TR&I , including where you can find additional support.

We are running this funding opportunity on the new UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service so please ensure that your organisation is registered. You cannot apply on the Joint Electronic Submissions (Je-S) system. The project lead is responsible for completing the application process on the Funding Service, but we expect all team members and project partners to contribute to the application.

Only the lead research organisation can submit an application to UKRI. Select ‘Start application’ near the beginning of this Funding finder page. Confirm you are the project lead.

Please allow at least 10 working days for your organisation to be added to the Funding Service. We strongly suggest that if you are asking UKRI to add your organisation to the Funding Service to enable you to apply to this opportunity, you also create an organisation Administration Account. This will be needed to allow the acceptance and management of any grant that might be offered to you.

Answer questions directly in the text boxes. You can save your answers and come back to complete them or work offline and return to copy and paste your answers. If we need you to upload a document, follow the upload instructions in the Funding Service.

All questions and assessment criteria are listed in the How to apply section on this Funding finder page. Allow enough time to check your application in ‘read-only’ view before sending to your research office. Send the completed application to your research office for checking.

They will return it to you if it needs editing. Your research office will submit the completed and checked application to UKRI. Where indicated, you can also demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant.

When including images, you must: provide a descriptive caption or legend for each image immediately underneath it in the text box (this must be outside the image and counts towards your word limit) insert each new image on a new line use files smaller than 5MB and in JPEG, JPG, JPE, JFI, JIF, JFIF, PNG, GIF, BMP or WEBP format Images should only be used to convey important visual information that cannot easily be put into words.

The following are not permitted, and your application may be rejected if you include: sentences or paragraphs of text excessive quantities of images A few words are permitted where the image would lack clarity without the contextual words, such as a diagram, where text labels are required for an axis or graph column.

For more guidance on the Funding Service, see: how applicants use the Funding Service how research offices use the Funding Service how reviewers use the Funding Service References should be included within the word count of the appropriate question section. You should use your discretion when including references and prioritise those most pertinent to the application. Hyperlinks can be used in reference information.

When including references, you should consider how your references will be viewed and used by the assessors, ensuring that: references are easily identifiable by the assessors references are formatted as appropriate to your research persistent identifiers are used where possible General use of hyperlinks Applications should be self-contained. You should only use hyperlinks to link directly to reference information.

You must not include links to web resources to extend your application. Assessors are not required to access links to conduct assessment or recommend a funding decision. Generative artificial intelligence (AI) Use of generative AI tools to prepare funding applications is permitted, however, caution should be applied.

For more information see our policy on the use of generative AI in application and assessment . AHRC must receive your application by 17 March 2026 4:00pm UK time. You will not be able to apply after this time.

Make sure you are aware of and follow any internal institutional deadlines. Following the submission of your application to this funding opportunity, your application cannot be changed, and submitted applications will not be amended. If your application does not follow the guidance, it may be rejected.

AHRC, as part of UKRI, will need to collect some personal information to manage your Funding Service account and the registration of your funding applications. We will handle personal data in line with UK data protection legislation and manage it securely. For more information, including how to exercise your rights, read our privacy notice .

If you or a core team member need to tell us something you wish to remain confidential, email AHRCDesignandInnovation@ahrc. ukri. org Include in the subject line: [the funding opportunity title; sensitive information; your Funding Service application number].

Typical examples of confidential information include: individual is unavailable until a certain date (for example due to parental leave) additional information about eligibility to apply that would not be appropriately shared in the ‘Applicant and team capability’ section conflict of interest for UKRI to consider in reviewer or panel participant selection the application is an invited resubmission For information about how UKRI handles personal data, read UKRI’s privacy notice .

Institutional Matched Funding There is no requirement for matched funding from the institutions hosting the project lead, project co-leads or other staff employed on the application. Expert reviewers and panels assessing UKRI funding applications must not consider levels of institutional matched funding as a factor on which to base recommendations. Direct and in-kind contributions from third party project partners are encouraged.

This policy does not remove the need for support from host organisations who must provide the necessary research environment and infrastructure for award-specific activities funded by UKRI. For example, research facilities, training and development of staff. If your application is successful, we will publish some personal information on the UKRI Gateway to Research .

In plain English, provide a summary we can use to identify the most suitable experts to assess your application. We usually make this summary publicly available on external-facing websites, therefore do not include any confidential or sensitive information.

Make it suitable for a variety of readers, for example: the wider research community Guidance for writing a summary Clearly describe your proposed work in terms of: research theme of the proposed training grant proposed doctoral training and development opportunities partnerships within and beyond academia List the key members of your team and assign them roles from the following: project co-lead (UK) (PcL) professional enabling staff Only list one individual as project lead.

You can list multiple co-leads. The core team section should be used to list individuals from the lead HEI and co-leads from partner institutions. The project partner section should be used to list non-HEI partners.

UKRI has introduced a new addition to the ‘Specialist’ role type. Public contributors such as people with lived experience can now be added to an application. Find out more about UKRI’s core team roles in funding applications .

Discipline classification: primary Please provide the primary research area of your proposal. What the assessors are looking for in your response You must select from one of these research disciplines. This information will be used for the purposes of processing your proposal and in the selection of appropriate assessors.

The research disciplines are: cultural and museum studies drama and theatre studies information and communication technologies library and information studies political science and international studies theology, divinity and religion Discipline classification: secondary Please describe using keywords, the research area of your proposal and where relevant the approach, time period or geographical area.

What will this training investment achieve? How will this support UK capability and capacity needs and why is it important that UKRI support this activity?

What the assessors are looking for in your response a clear vision, and objectives that will make a positive contribution to the scope of this investment opportunity and deliver high quality doctoral education with tracking measures the positive outcomes and impact for society and the economy that the investment is aiming to deliver.

Describe the strategies to deliver these, grounded in a model that results in highly skilled doctoral graduates, employable across a range of sectors and careers how your vision aligns and will positively contribute to relevant wider strategies and priorities, including national capability and capacity needs.

If relevant, describe how it will provide additionality to your existing doctoral provision References may be included within this section. You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

How will the doctoral training programme, that you deliver through this grant, support your vision, and align with UKRI’s ambitions for its doctoral investments?

What the assessors are looking for in your response Explain how your choice of training programme will: deliver your vision and any specific requirements set out in the opportunity documentation, including why this approach is necessary to achieve your expected outcomes embed delivery of UKRI’s statement of expectations for its students so that the programme provides a holistic approach that delivers high quality doctoral research.

Also, how it integrates in-depth subject knowledge, research and methodological skills, and wider skills development opportunities embed delivery of UKRI’s statement of expectations for its students so that the programme supports students to build their understanding of what conducting high quality research involves embed delivery of UKRI’s statement of expectations for its students so that the programme prepares globally competitive researchers, able to use their skills to thrive in a range of sectors and careers.

And also, operate across interdisciplinary, collaborative and challenge-led environments effectively determine and actively manage the flexibility afforded to tailor individual student training and development undertake outreach and engagement across HEIs and non-HEIs to create wider benefits for the sectors and increase student opportunity References may be included within this section.

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service. Positive culture and environment How will you create and maintain an inclusive and supportive culture and environment for all those involved?

What the assessors are looking for in your response Explain how your doctoral training programme will: create and maintain a positive, inclusive, and supportive environment for all students and staff involved, addressing a variety of needs and supporting good wellbeing, including relevant, specific support and training for supervisors where needed champion and embed equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) for students and staff, across all aspects of the training grant, including supervision, training design and approaches, and flexible student support ensure that you put in place processes that look to address issues of underrepresentation and widening participation within the doctoral community achieve the specific EDI requirements detailed in the funding opportunity documentation or that you are proposing.

You should provide evidence for the specific need and value of the proposed EDI activities to achieve its intended aim, including baseline information explain