Applications for the 2024 WRoCAH AHRC Open Competition Studentships are now open.
The White Rose College of the Arts & Humanities (WRoCAH) is a Doctoral Training Partnership of the Universities of Leeds, Sheffield and York.
WRoCAH will have approximately 45 AHRC Open Competition Studentships to award across the three institutions (Leeds, Sheffield and York) for October 2024 entry.
The College is responsible for the distribution of Arts & Humanities Research Council-funded doctoral studentships for these universities and for the coordination of a doctoral training programme.
Guidance Notes for Applicants
Full guidance notes to help you with the application process can be found here
Information Sessions
If you would like to learn more about WRoCAH studentships and how to apply to the 2024 competition, sign up for the information session for the University that you want to join:
University of York candidate session: 15:00 GMT Wednesday 1st November 2023. Register here
University of Sheffield candidate session: 14:00 GMT Thursday 2nd November 2023. Register here
University of Leeds session: 10:00 GMT Monday 6th November 2023. Register here.
Am I eligible to apply to WRoCAH?
In order to be eligible
- Your research must fall within the research remit of the Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC). You can check the scope here.
- You must be a new PhD student in October 2024 or be no further than day 1 of your second year (or equivalent if part-time) on 1st October 2024 of your PhD at the University of Leeds, Sheffield or York.
- You must have already applied to your chosen institution (Leeds, Sheffield or York) before you apply to WRoCAH
When to apply
You should apply to your chosen institution as soon as possible. You will need your 9 digit University number in order to apply to WRoCAH.
The application deadline for the 2024 WRoCAH AHRC Open Studentships Competition is 17:00 GMT on Wednesday 24th January 2024.
What do I get?
If your application is successful and you are awarded a studentship, you will receive the following
If you are a new PhD student:
- 40 months of stipend (36 months to cover the usual PhD funding duration, plus 4 months to cover mandatory WRoCAH activities)
- The stipend for 2023/24 is £18,662 (2024/25 rate is not yet available. This page will be updated as soon as this information is available).
- Fees covered at the Home rate (the difference between the Home and International fee rate may be covered by your institution. Please check the guidance notes to confirm the situation with the instition to which you have applied.)
- Access to funding from the small award, large award and Student Led Forum schemes, to cover activities like conference attendance, fieldwork, or event organsation.
- Funding for language training where necessary for your research (provided it is listed in your application).
- Funding for longer REP projects if you complete one that is longer than 1 month
- WRoCAH training & other cohort activities
- Membership of the WRoCAH cohort, in addition to belonging to your Department or School Community
- The support of the WRoCAH team
If you are already a PhD student in your first year of study (or equivalent if part-time) and you successfully apply to WRoCAH, you will receive all of the above except the duration of funding is different. Your funding will take into account the number of months of your PhD you have already completed. You will receive at least 28 months of funding, plus any months of your first year that are still to be completed by 1st October 2024.
Submission within the funded period
The AHRC requires that all newly funded students submit their thesis within their funded period. Therefore you must plan to complete your thesis in the funded period from the very beginning. Please talk to your supervisor about how to scale the project to fit within this timeframe and ensure you are both planning towards this deadline.
International Candidates
The Competition is open to all candidates, whether Home or International. However, please note that if you are awarded a studentship, we are not permitted to cover the costs associated with moving to the UK or to your new University. All such costs (visa, health surcharge, flights, etc.) will need to be covered by you or you will need to find an alternative funding source.
Want to apply?
You can access the application form here. We strongly recommend that you read the Guidance notes before completing the form.