University of Exeter Wolfson Postgraduate Scholarships in the Humanities PhD Studentship 2026

Exeter’s Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences is offering up to three fully funded Wolfson Postgraduate Scholarships in the Humanities, open to Home and International fee-paying candidates for study commencing in September 2026.

The research must be in the area(s) of history, literature or languages. The Wolfson Postgraduate Scholarships defines these fields broadly and accepts inter-/multi-disciplinary studies. These fields are outlined as including:

• History: As well as broad-based historical and historiographical studies, this may include such areas as classics, history of art, visual culture, or architectural history, provided the research is grounded within historical methodology.
• Literature: As well as literary and textual studies, this may include research that involves critical theory, theatre, film and other visual media, provided there is a literary element within the research (e.g. translation of literature to screen). It excludes creative writing.
• Languages: Research should be in applied languages other than English. It may involve the study of literary or historical texts, theatre, film or other visual media, translation, or the philosophy of language, provided that the research is focused primarily on a language other than English. It excludes linguistics.

• Table of Content
• About University of Exeter
• University of Exeter PhD Scholarship
• Aim and Benefits of University of Exeter PhD Scholarship
• Requirements for University of Exeter PhD Scholarship Qualification
• Documents Required for Application
• Application Deadline
• How to Apply

University of Exeter PhD Scholarship

Aim and Benefits of University of Exeter PhD Scholarship

• The studentship will be for a period of up to 3 years (36 months), dependent on satisfactory progress, and provides funding of £37,250 per year. This funding will cover full tuition fees in the first instance and the remaining balance of funding will be provided to support maintenance, research, travel and training costs incurred during the student’s studies. The allocation of this funding is at the discretion of the student.
• For international fee-paying students, as tuition fee costs are higher and will take up a greater portion of the funding award, the Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences will provide a top-up for the maintenance element to bring this up to the UKRI minimum stipend level of £20,780 (2025/26 rate).
• The Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences will also provide, as part of this studentship, additional funds for international fee-paying students to help with visa fees and health surcharge costs. Successful applicants will need to initially pay the costs of these fees themselves and top-up funding to cover these costs will be provided upon registration with the University.

Requirements for University of Exeter PhD Scholarship Qualification

Applicants should have at a minimum a good first degree (at least 2.1, or international equivalent) in a relevant field of humanities, and have obtained, or be currently working towards a Master's degree at Merit level, or international equivalent, in a relevant discipline. Evidence of relevant professional expertise can also be taken into consideration.

If English is not your first language you will need to meet the English language requirements and provide proof of proficiency. Click here for more information.

Applicants must have identified and approached a potential supervisor and have supervision agreed in principle. To help find an appropriate supervisor please look at the staff pages of departmental websites or use the Research Expertise search function on our Postgraduate Study pages: http://www.exeter.ac.uk/pg-research.

• Applicants would be expected to start their studies in September 2026.
• Recipients are expected to commit to engagement with the research environment of their discipline and the Faculty by participating in research activities, accessing skills development training and opportunities and career development etc. Continued funding would be dependent on satisfactory evidence of this engagement having taken place.

Documents Required for Application

• A research proposal of 1,500-2,000 words (exclusive of bibliography), with supervisors agreed in principle. Guidance about how to write a research proposal is available here.
• You are encouraged to include in your research proposal a 250-word (max) statement outlining how your background will enrich our diverse and inclusive research community. You are encouraged to reflect on your own experience, interests and/or proposed research for the statement. Please note this is optional.
• A 200-500 word statement on your fit with the department/Faculty research culture and your prospective supervision team. You should also name which programme of study you are applying for
• A CV
• Proof of academic track record (transcripts/certificates)
• Two references, at least one to be an academic reference
• Proof of your English language proficiency, if relevant

Please submit all documents, apart from your references and degree transcripts, as one combined file and submit this against the research proposal section of the application form.

• All application documents must be submitted in English. Certified translated copies of academic qualifications must also be provided.
• Please note that University of Exeter will seek a supporting statement from named prospective supervisors for all shortlisted candidates as part of the final assessment process.
• Please quote reference 5726 on your application and in any correspondence about this studentship.

Reference information

• It is your responsibility to ensure that your referees email their references to [email protected], as we will not make requests for references directly; you must arrange for them to be submitted by 23 February 2026.  Please note that applications with missing documentation will not progress to shortlisting.

References should be in the form of a letter. Referees must email their references to us from their institutional email accounts. University of Exeter cannot accept references from personal/private email accounts, unless it is a scanned document on institutional headed paper and signed by the referee.

No interviews will be held for these studentships. University of Exeter expect to be able to communicate outcomes to all applicants by the end of April 2026.

Check also:
Erasmus Mundus Scholarship 2027
Global Korea Scholarship 2027

Application Deadline

How to Apply

Contact: [email protected]

For more information, kindly visit University of Exeter scholarship webpage.