Scholarships and funding

The College of Arts and Law is a vibrant community of students and academics, dedicated to ensuring that excellence is rewarded, and that fears about finance do not constrain current or prospective students. For this reason, in addition to University funding schemes, we offer our own College-specific funding initiatives. 

Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) opportunities

The University of Birmingham is part of the AHRC Midlands4Cities (M4C) DTP and the ESRC Midlands Graduate School DTP, both of which are offering postgraduate research studentships to campus-based applicants across each DTP’s partner institutions. Applications for 2021 entry are now open:

• Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funding, through the M4C DTP. These prestigious awards are available for campus-based doctoral research in a range of arts, law and humanities disciplines.
• A place-based approach to literacy: the importance of partnership-working to the delivery of a successful local area project Collaborative Doctoral Award, through the M4C DTP. 
• Everything to Everybody?: A Critical History of the World’s Premier Public Shakespeare Library Collaborative Doctoral Award, through the M4C DTP. 
• Lucian Freud’s Childhood Correspondence and Drawings Collaborative Doctoral Award, through the M4C DTP. 
• Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funding, through the Midlands Graduate School DTP. These awards are available for campus-based doctoral research in a range of disciplines including Applied Linguistics, Area Studies (African Studies), Economic and Social History, and Socio-Legal Studies.

College of Arts and Law opportunities

The College of Arts and Law also offers a range of funding opportunities, detailed below. Applications for 2021 entry are now open:

• John Pagett Scholarship (for research in the natural history and archaeology of Shropshire and the West Midlands)

Birmingham Masters Scholarships

We are offering up to 100 awards of £1,500 to support the brightest and best applicants wishing to undertake Masters study at the University during 2021-22. Applications are now open. The deadline for applications is 23:59 on Wednesday 31 March 2021. Find out more. 

Postgraduate loans 

These government-backed student loans provide up to £11,222 for taught and research Masters courses and up to £26,445 for postgraduate doctoral courses in all subject areas, including programmes delivered on campus or by distance learning. Criteria, eligibility, repayment and application information can be found on the UK government website. 

Additional funding opportunities

Other funding opportunities may be available to prospective postgraduate students throughout the year. For details of all funding opportunities that may be available to you, please visit the University's Postgraduate Funding Database. 

Closed awards

Applications to the scholarships below are now closed. These pages are provided for guidance only, prior to the next round of funding being announced, if available:

• College of Arts and Law Distance Learning Research Scholarship(s) - Doctoral
• College of Arts and Law Distance Learning Research Scholarship(s) - Masters
• College of Arts and Law Doctoral Scholarships
• College of Arts and Law Masters Scholarships 
• Harding International Legal Scholarship
• Music Scholarships - Doctoral
• Music Scholarships - Masters
• Sir Henry Thomas Scholarship for postgraduate study in Hispanic Studies (for doctoral research in Hispanic Studies)
• Stanley Ray Scholarships
• The Amphlett Doctoral Scholarship 
• Wolfson Scholarships (Doctoral-level research in Languages, Literature and History)
• Masters Funding (continuing or new Postgraduate taught students. More details)