AHRC Funding

1. AHRC Funding

2. Types of funding • External (Research Councils, Faculty) • Internal (School/Department/ORS) • All details on School website: • www.arts.manchester.ac.uk/postgraduatestudy/funding/

3. AHRC Block Grant Partnership • How does the BGP scheme work? • BGP vs Open Competition • Application; selection; final nomination • What are my chances? • Manchester has 221 awards over 5 years

4. Eligibility • UK and EU students only • EU students fees only unless they meet criteria on previous period in UK (e.g. if took first degree in UK, or resident for three years) • one or two year programmes at Masters level (MA, MusM) • three year PhD (must have or be doing a Master’s course, or have other equivalent experience) • full time or part time • falls within AHRC subject areas • your responsibility to check eligibility in advance

5. Subject coverage in SAHC (NB check if your subject has an award this year) • Archaeology • Classics • Creative Writing • English • History • History of Art • Museum Studies • Music • Religious Studies • Dance, Drama, Performance • Film Studies

6. Three Schemes • Research Preparation Masters (RPM) - intended to prepare you for a doctoral research in arts & humanities (including the creative and performing arts) • Professional Preparation Masters (PPM) – preparation for definite professional practice based career path (e.g. MA in Art Gallery and Museum Studies) • Doctoral (PhD)

7. Application Process • Contact programme director/potential supervisor • Contact referees • You apply directly to the University (to your chosen School), rather than to the AHRC. • The application process is in two parts, both of which must be completed by the deadline of 15th March 2010. • 1. You must submit the standard University PG online application form. This includes references and transcripts. You can do this at: http://www.arts.manchester.ac.uk/postgraduatestudy/apply/ • You must have been in receipt of an offer of a place by the time the selection panel meets • 2. You will need to submit a SAHC Funding Application Form with Supporting Statement to the relevant School PG Administrator

8. Specific skills Research skills Linguistic skills Work experience General distinctive features Qualitative appreciation: awards, examiners’ comments Research activities – conferences, student networks Your record so far

9. MA Case for Support • 500 words max. • How will the course prepare you for a PhD/ research career (for RPM scheme), or professional career (for PPM scheme)? • How does it build on existing knowledge/skills/experience? • Course details (which options, and why?), including potential dissertation, and direction of future doctoral work

10. MA Case for Support • previous experience or preparation that is relevant to your proposed study (e.g. any course units you have taken as part of your undergraduate degree that are particularly relevant • summary which demonstrates to the assessors that you are appropriately prepared to undertake your proposed course • also include preparation that is additional to the formal undergraduate qualifications you have mentioned on your University Application Form • If you have had a career change, say why you wish to pursue this new direction • If you are aware of further training you will require to enable you to complete your studies, e.g. language skills or ICT training, include it in this statement • Whilst we recommend that you discuss this with the proposed Programme Director, it is crucial that the detail provided here is your own work

11. MA Case for Support (RPM) • describe how this programme will prepare you for doctoral study or, in the creative and performing arts, provide a foundation for a career in research in the higher education sector • state briefly why you wish to study this programme • What are the intellectual problems that interest you and how will this programme address these interests? How will this prepare you for doctoral study? How does it relate to your eventual career aims? • The expectation is that you will proceed to a course of doctoral study • include an indication of the likely focus of your both your MA dissertation and your doctoral studies • for creative and performing arts subjects, including practice-led study, if you are not intending to continue to doctoral study, you should say how the course will act as a foundation for your career in research in HE • for practice-led research subjects, the AHRC will not support proposals that aim to produce only a creative outcome or a piece of work; there must be a research basis and outcome to the project and this must be clearly explained your proposal

12. MA Case for Support (PPM) • describe how this programme will contribute to your long term career aims and how taking this course is a pre-requisite for meeting your long-term career aims • give a brief description of the subject area in which you plan to do your dissertation • if your course includes an assessed practical element, give a brief description of the work you intend to pursue • you should say how your proposed work relates to what you have studied already, and any relevant professional experience you have had

13. For MA applications, what are the AHRC panels looking for? • evidence of intellectual purpose • reasons for, and approach to, your proposed study • good awareness of the field • good homework • narrative of how this particular Masters builds on previous experience, and where it will lead • foundation for research/professional career

14. PhD Proposal • 1000 words max. • the research problem or question you intend to address • the research context in which this problem or question is located • the particular contribution to knowledge and understanding you hope to make • the methods and critical approaches you plan to use in investigating the problem or question which you have identified • the sources you will use, where they are located, and how they will be accessed • how the project will be completed in three years • the nature of any ethical issues raised by the research project 

15. PhD Proposals: Defining originality • Be specific • Be precise • Be assertive • Be practical: a 3-year thesis, a viable project • Avoid jargon • Well informed on scholarship

16. For PhD proposals, what are the panels looking for? • Ability to identify and articulate a coherent research project • Awareness of the field, and how the project will make an original contribution • Methodology/critical approach that will lead to the right kind of answers • Sensible choice of sources • Feasibility of the project (time; resources) • Fit with Manchester

17. Summary of the selection criteria • The Four P’s: • Person (track record of grades/experience; evidence from references) • Preparation (relevance of prior experience; coherent story of how you have got here, where you are going) • Proposal/Project • Place (good fit between the student and the institution in terms of resources and research strengths)

18. Helping your referees • References need to be constructive, realistic, and factual • Hyperbole doesn’t work • Talk to your referees • Supply them with information (transcripts, feedback sheets, background information)

19. Selection Process • Subject Area panels: external and internal awards • Panels meet last two weeks of April • ratification by University of Manchester AHRC BGP Panel w/c 3rd May • Successful candidates notified w/c 10th May; reply by 31st May • Reserve list • Internal awards • Official “nomination” via Je-S system during June • Final confirmation of award by AHRC in August

20. What if I don’t get an AHRC award? • Internal awards (check the School website for details) • Self-funding is possible (NB for MA: £500 Rylands Achievement Awards for Manchester graduates with a First) • Part-time study • Try again later…