PhD studentship: Reawakening the Living Landscape – Integrating Heritage and Sustainability at the Ulster Folk Museum Newcastle University in United Kingdom

[Home tuition fees paid and an annual stipend of £21,805 (2026-27 UKRI rates). International candidates may need to fund the difference between home and international tuition fees.]

This funded PhD studentship at Newcastle University, in partnership with National Museums NI, offers a unique opportunity to explore the integration of heritage and sustainability at the Ulster Folk Museum. The project, titled 'Reawakening the Living Landscape: Integrating Heritage and Sustainability at the Ulster Folk Museum', aims to reconnect ecological and historical data sets to better understand the site's history and inform future planning. The Ulster Folk Museum hosts a remarkable range of ecological and historical resources, much of which remains untapped as a unified dataset. Through this studentship, you will blend history, heritage, and ecology to develop new insights into the living landscape of the museum.

The studentship is part of the AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Partnership (CDP) and is supervised by Professor Annie Tindley (Newcastle University) and Dr Damian McFerran (Ulster Folk Museum). The research will be based in the School of History, Classics & Archaeology at Newcastle University, with close collaboration with National Museums NI. The project is interdisciplinary, combining approaches from history, archaeology, environmental science, and museum studies to address questions of sustainability and heritage management.

Funding includes home tuition fees paid and an annual stipend of £21,805 (2026-27 UKRI rates). International candidates may be required to fund the difference between home and international tuition fees. The studentship is open to both home and international applicants. To qualify as a home student, you must be a UK or Irish national (meeting residency requirements), have settled or pre-settled status, or have indefinite leave to remain or enter. Applicants must hold a minimum of a 2:1 honours degree and a Masters degree at Merit level, or international equivalent, in a related subject (History, Heritage, Ecology), or have equivalent professional experience. Non-native English speakers must have an IELTS score of at least 6.5 overall, with no sub-score below 5.5. All applicants must meet UKRI terms and conditions for funding.

The award is for one student, starting 1 October 2026, with full-time study for four years or part-time for up to eight years. The application deadline is 20 April 2026 at 5pm, and interviews will be held online on 11 May 2026. Applicants are required to submit a research proposal (750 words), a statement of purpose (750 words), a current academic/professional CV, and two references. The studentship reference is HCA015.

To apply, use the University’s Apply to Newcastle Portal, select 'Postgraduate Research', use programme code 8210F, and select 'PhD School of History, Classic and Archaeology (full time) – History'. For further information, contact Professor Annie Tindley ([email protected]) or Dr Damian McFerran ([email protected]).