AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Partnership (CDP) Studentship with the University of Cambridge and the Museum of the Home. “The Non-Elite Painting and Decorating Trade in Britain 1600-1800” at University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge and the Museum of the Home are pleased to announce the availability of a fully funded Collaborative doctoral studentship from October 2025 under the AHRC’s Collaborative Doctoral Partnership (CDP) scheme.

This PhD will explore the lives and careers of people who painted and decorated working-class and lower-middle-class homes and lodging houses in the early modern period. The project will involve extensive archival research in numerous British collections. The successful candidate will also be involved in the museum’s upcoming redisplay of the early modern period rooms.

This project will be jointly supervised by Dr Matthew Walker (Assistant Professor in Architectural History), Dr Frank Salmon (Associate Professor in the History of Art) at Cambridge; and, at the Museum of the Home, by Marina Maniadaki (Exhibitions and Project Manager) and Louis Platman (Curator and Research Manager).

DETAILS OF THE AWARD

CDP doctoral training grants fund full-time studentships for 4 years or part-time equivalent up to a maximum of 8 year.

The CDP studentships will provide an annual maintenance grant to cover living costs (£19,237 stipend + £600 CDA allowance pa at current rates) and university tuition fees at home fee level. The fee gap between the home and overseas fee rates will be covered by the University through internal co-funding for international candidates.

ELIGIBILITY

•  The studentship can be studied either full or part-time.
•  This studentship is open to both Home and International applicants (see above for details on fees).
•  To be classed as a home student, candidates must meet the following criteria:
•  Be a UK National (meeting residency requirements), or
•  Have settled status, or
•  Have pre-settled status (meeting residency requirements), or
•  Have indefinite leave to remain or enter

HOW TO APPLY:

Please include in your application:

• Personal Statement (max. 1,500 words) explaining why you are interested in researching this topic, including what you would bring to the project and how you think you would develop it to reflect your own interests and expertise.
• A sample of writing. This could be a piece of academic writing (e.g., MA dissertation) or a text written in the course of any current or previous professional work.
• Your CV.
• Two references.
• Transcript of university-level grades and qualification certificates.
• We ask all applicants to complete a voluntary EDI monitoring form here. All responses are anonymous.

The successful applicant will be expected to apply formally through the University of Cambridge following notification of the interview outcome.

All prospective students are strongly advised to first make informal contact with the lead supervisor. Dr Matthew Walker (matthew.walker@qmul.ac.uk).

Please send materials to: postgraduate.admin@aha.cam.ac.uk

The deadline for applications is 17:00 (BST) on Friday 23rd May 2025. Interviews will be held week commencing 2nd June 2025, subject to change.

Please quote reference GB45836 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.