Scottish Graduate School for Arts & Humanities

Applications are now open for a fully funded PhD studentship at the University of Aberdeen in partnership with National Museums Scotland (NMS) through the SGSAH Collaborative Doctoral Awards (CDA) scheme. This project will explore colonial consumption and the display of Australia during the ‘long nineteenth century’ (c.1768–1904), drawing on NMS’s extensive collections. The research will examine how museum practices reflected colonial expansion, while tracing the transformation of the national museum over time. The studentship will also contribute to NMS’s efforts to enhance awareness, access, and future care of these collections, with a focus on decolonial and collaborative approaches.

Apply by 25th May 2025.

Find out more: Collecting Australia: Colonial consumption and the display of Australia in Scotland during the long nineteenth century

Applications are now invited for a fully funded PhD studentship at the University of Glasgow, offered in partnership with The Reading Agency. This interdisciplinary project explores how teenagers engage with the Reading Well book collections—curated resources designed to support mental health and wellbeing through reading. The studentship offers a unique opportunity to work at the intersection of literary studies, education, and mental health promotion. It is particularly well-suited to candidates with interests in reader development, youth studies, and bibliotherapy.

Apply by 26th May.

Find out more: Understanding teen perceptions of mental health and wellbeing through the Reading Well book collections

Applications are now invited for a fully funded PhD studentship at the University of Glasgow, offered in partnership with Art in Healthcare. Through a historical-geographical approach, this project will provide an innovative account of the stories of the collection, encompassing the people, places, artworks and practices that have shaped the role of Art in Healthcare in Scotland. Potential research questions include, 'How and for what reasons was the collection originally assembled and who were the key people involved in its making?', and 'What practices are associated with the creating, assembling, curating, displaying and utilising of the collection over the past 30 years?'.  

Apply by 29th May.

Find out more: Where have you been? Exploring the historical geographies of The Art in Healthcare Collection

Applications are invited for a fully funded PhD studentship at the Universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh, in partnership with the National Library of Scotland, as part of the SGSAH CDA scheme. This project explores the evolving role of libraries as trusted information repositories in the age of extractive AI. Key questions include: What is the role of libraries within AI ecosystems? What ethical responsibilities do they hold when it comes to data access and use? The student will engage with researchers and practitioners across the library and information sectors, while shaping their own research direction within this timely field.

Apply by 30th May 2025.

Find out more: “Mainlining AI into the Veins”? Library collections as data in the age of Extractive AI Capitalism

Applications are invited for a fully funded PhD studentship at Glasgow Caledonian University and the University of Stirling in partnership with National Galleries of Scotland (NGS) and the National Library of Scotland (NLS), as part of the SGSAH ARCS scheme. The student will investigate representations of women in sport in Scotland between 1840-1940. The project will regain and discover new insights from the rich heritage collections of NGS and NLS that will underpin a critical investigation of how women were depicted both by others and themselves while participating in a range of sports.

Apply by 30th May 2025.

Find out more: Women, Sport and the Visual in Scottish Sport History, 1840-1940: Regaining Insights from Scottish Heritage Collections