Internships and Artist Residencies

SGSAH organises paid internships and artist residencies for PhD researchers to spend up to three months at a partner host organisation, enabling you to enhance your research skills in a wide variety of contexts. These exciting opportunities give you the chance to make a difference to an organisation, whilst developing your skills, networks and CV to take you to the next stage of your career. 

Projects can be worked full time, part time or flexibly in blocks. We will pay you the equivalent of an UKRI stipend rate for the duration of your internship or residency and can help with travel and accommodation costs if these aren’t funded by your host organisation. The programme is open to arts and humanities PhD students in Scotland, regardless of funding source.

A colourful graphic with jigsaw pieces and words describing the benefits of internships

Host a PhD Researcher in 2026

Our call for internship hosts will open on Thursday 28 August 2025.

If your organisation would like to host a PhD researcher as an intern in 2026, we invite you to submit a proposal. Placements can last for up to three months (FTE) and are fully funded by SGSAH. Hosting an intern offers the chance to benefit from fresh perspectives, specialist expertise and dedicated research skills.

The proposal form will be open from Thursday 28 August until 5pm, Friday 26 September 2025.

We will review submissions and be in touch as required before advertising approved opportunities to PhD researchers this autumn, along with details of how they can apply. Once the researcher application window closes, you will have the chance to review applications for your role, shortlist and interview candidates.

Placements are expected to begin from January 2026, although start dates can be flexible.

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Eligibility

The programme is open to arts and humanities PhD students in Scotland, regardless of funding source. Any doctoral researcher that meets the following criteria can benefit from this programme:

  • You are registered at a SGSAH member HEI;
  • You are in 2nd or early in your 3rd year (full time equivalent) at 1 October 2025;
  • You are studying an arts and humanities discipline. The AHRC’s subject coverage is here;
  • You are eligible to work in the UK;
  • You have not already undertaken an internship or residency through SGSAH’s programme.
  • Some of these placements are within universities; you should not normally apply to your own university for an internship without previous approval from SGSAH, or to your existing industry partner if you are a CDA/ARCS researcher

We recognise there are some subjects where the AHRC and the ESRC share interests and responsibilities (as can be found here, pages 74-77. PhD students in these areas are eligible to apply for SGSAH-funded internships as long as they fulfil the eligibility criteria as above, and additionally, have not been funded for an internship through the UKRI in Scotland (ie through SGSSS). Students registered in social science disciplines/departments may therefore be eligible to apply; contact admin@sgsah.ac.uk for clarification.

Contact

For an informal discussion about any aspect of the programme, please contact Helen Kendrick, SGSAH Partnerships & Placements Manager on helen.kendrick@sgsah.ac.uk.

Key dates

Early October 2025 Internship opportunities will be available to view online and open for PhD researchers to apply for 
5pm 31st October 2025 Closing date for researchers to apply for internships 
November 2025 Hosts will review candidates, interview and confirm selection 
December 2025 Partnership agreements completed, ready for placements to start from January 2026 
From January 2026  Researchers undertake internship placements with host institutions 

Internship Stories

Curious about the kinds of placements our researchers take on? Want to know where they go, what they do, and what they learn? Explore real internship stories on the SGSAH Research site—or browse a few highlights below.

Emily Hay: Scottish Book Trust

From October 2023 to May 2024, Emily (University of Glasgow) completed a part-time internship over the course of six-months with the Scottish Book Trust looking at the use of the Scots language in the classroom. Read about her experience and what she learned along the way.

Alborz Dianat: The Twentieth Century Society

In summer 2022, Alborz (University of Edinburgh) completed a three-month full-time internship with the Twentieth Century Society—a London-based charity dedicated to preserving Britain’s post-1914 architectural heritage. Read about his experience and the skills he gained along the way.

Rachel Millar: Jane Austen's House

In 2023, Rachel (University of Glasgow) undertook a three-month full-time internship with Jane Austen’s House, supporting preparations for the museum’s 75th anniversary celebrations. Read about her experience—and how it may have shaped her future plans.

Maike Dinger: The Scottish Parliament

In 2022, Maike (University of Stirling) completed a part-time internship over the course of a year with the Scottish Parliament’s Oral History Project. Discover what the experience was like and the insights she gained along the way.

Zoe Strong: British and Foreign Bible Society

In 2024, Zoe (University of Abderdeen) completed a twelve-week, full-time internship with the British and Foreign Bible Society. Working with the Research and Impact department, she assessed the impact of dyslexia-friendly scripture products produced by BFBS. Find out what motivated her to pursue an internship—and discover her top tips for anyone considering one.

Victoria Evans: MARE-Madeira/ ARDITI

Victoria (University of Edinburgh) completed a three-month, full-time residency with MARE–Madeira, a Portuguese marine research centre based in Funchal, the capital of the subtropical island of Madeira in the Eastern Atlantic. Find out what she hoped to achieve from the residency—and whether those goals were met.

Claire Elder: Moffat Museum

Claire (University of Glasgow) was appointed as the researcher for an exhibition developed by the Moffat Museum and launched in summer 2024. Running for several months, the exhibition explored ten 16th-century fortified tower houses. Claire completed the internship part-time over the course of a year. Take a peek at the exhibition and discover what aspects of the internship she found most rewarding.

Désirée Coral Guerra: Glasgow Seed Library

Désirée (University of Dundee) completed an internship at the Glasgow Seed Library in 2022. Her work involved organising a series of events that facilitated knowledge exchange between academic and non-academic experts on topics such as food sovereignty, soil health and seed sharing. Learn more about the internship and what Désirée contributed to the project.

Sonali Misra: The University of Edinburgh Museums

Sonali (University of Stirling) completed a six-month, part-time internship with the University of Edinburgh Museums, where she designed and led a series of six-week writing for wellbeing workshops. These sessions used the Museums’ collections to engage participants experiencing low-level mental health challenges. Learn more about what inspired Sonali to pursue this opportunity and what she gained from the experience.