The University of Westminster has been selected by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) to participate in the Doctoral Landscape Awards programme. Launching in the Autumn of 2026, the scheme will provide scholarships to outstanding PhD candidates, promoting and expanding doctoral research in the arts and humanities.
The five-year programme will replace the Techne initiative. The University of Westminster will directly support three full-time PhD students a year, with each studentship covering a stipend, tuition fees and a research training support grant.
The initiative will be managed in collaboration with the University’s Graduate School, ensuring comprehensive research training and support for funded doctoral researchers. The Head of the Graduate School, Dr Margherita Sprio, will lead the programme and work in collaboration with postgraduate researcher co-ordinators and supervisors across the University.
Eligible students will undertake research that primarily contributes to arts and humanities disciplines, and interdisciplinary projects with a strong focus on arts and humanities are also welcome.
All institutions awarded Doctoral Landscape Awards will form part of an AHRC-supported regional hub, building upon Techne’s success. This hub will continue a decade-long tradition of sharing best practices and fostering doctoral researcher collaborations across the region, strengthening the future of arts and humanities research.
By receiving the AHRC Doctoral Landscape Awards, Westminster will strengthen its commitment to postgraduate research excellence. These Awards enable the University to develop its longstanding success in training future researchers, while supporting a diverse and talented new generation of scholars. By supporting doctoral candidates across the arts and humanities, the University is ensuring the vitality of these disciplines and their meaningful contributions to lasting social justice.
Dr Margherita Sprio said: “This funding underscores Westminster’s excellence in arts and humanities research, as reflected when the arts and humanities received one of the University’s highest outcomes in the Research Excellence Framework in 2021 as well as our successful AHRC funding track record in the past.
“The AHRC Doctoral Landscape Awards will enable us to offer fully funded bursaries, attracting strong doctoral researchers to our Westminster community and encouraging high-impact scholarship aligned with our University values. This initiative also allows us to maintain our collaborations with partners via a hub for best practices in arts and humanities research.”
Professor Andrew Linn, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Knowledge Exchange at Westminster, said: “This highly competitive process is based on institutions’ prior achievements with the AHRC and the outcome is testament to the research standing of our University in these disciplines, as also attested by our performance in REF2021. As well as providing essential support to a new generation of doctoral researchers, the Landscape Award will allow us to reinforce our research partnerships with the leading research universities in London.”
Professor Christopher Smith, Executive Chair of the AHRC, added: “The AHRC Doctoral Landscape Awards provide flexible funding to allow universities to build on existing excellence in research and opportunities for innovation across the arts and humanities. They will support the development of talented people and, alongside our other doctoral schemes, contribute to a vibrant, diverse and internationally attractive research and innovation system.”
This initiative directly contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 4: Quality Education and 17: Partnerships for the Goals. Since 2019, the University of Westminster has used the SDGs holistically to frame strategic decisions to help students and colleagues fulfil their potential and contribute to a more sustainable, equitable and healthier society.
Find out more about the Graduate School at Westminster.
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