AHRC Collections & Communities in the East of England Collaborative Doctoral Partnership PhD studentships
ARU is currently offering one AHRC-funded PhD studentship under the Collaborative Doctoral Partnership Scheme.
The studentship will start in October 2025 on our Cambridge campus and you can study on a full-time or part-time basis.
Applications must be submitted through our online application portal. You can find the application link under the project description.
You will need the following documents available electronically to upload them to the application portal (we can accept files in .pdf, .jpeg or .docx format):
- Certificates and transcripts from your Bachelor's and Master's degrees (if applicable).
- Your personal statement explaining your suitability for the project. We recommend uploading this as a Word doc or PDF, but you can also type it directly on the form. You do not need to upload a research proposal with your application – only a personal statement is needed.
- Curriculum Vitae.
To discuss the research project, contact the supervisor(s) named, or come along to an information session detailed in the project description.
If you have any questions about this vacancy or the application process, contact Rebecca Kraszewski, Postgraduate Research Studentships and Partnerships Officer, at [email protected]
We will review all applications after the submission deadline of 5 May, with interviews expected to be held on Friday 23 May.
Supervisors: Dr Melanie Rohse; Dr Lara Houston; Johanna Jones (Time and Tide Museum – [email protected]); Colin Stott (Time and Tide Museum – [email protected]). You will undertake research at both Time and Tide Museum and ARU.
Project overview
The Time and Tide Museum (T&T) holds a remarkable archive of 350 oral histories – the Great Yarmouth Voices (GYV) Collection. This studentship offers the opportunity to analyse these Oral Histories (OHs) for the first time, and to collect new OHs from diverse voices.
The purpose of the research is to explore how socio-ecological change is narrated through coastal livelihoods, and how these construct Great Yarmouth as a place – considering how insights from the past can be useful for coastal resilience today.
The GYV Collection contains personal stories of coastal transition from the last 70 years: interviews with offshore workers narrate Great Yarmouth’s place in the ‘black gold rush’ of North Sea oil and gas, and prompt reflection on transitions to offshore wind. Interviews with circus performers and tourism workers highlight innovations in Great Yarmouth’s history as a resort, narrating the everyday work of showmanship and the sensory atmospheres of the coast.
The topical range of the OHs allows the successful candidate to significantly shape the project towards their own interests, by choosing which aspect of the collection to focus on. Find out more about some of the OHs in the collection in our blog post.
The studentship is geared towards personalised skills development, to help with future careers in the museum and heritage sectors, and/or academia. It offers the opportunity to undertake placements, tailored to your needs, interests and career plans.
Importantly, you'll receive training in the recording of new OHs – playing a key role in diversifying the collection, and potentially addressing gaps in the representation of women, minority ethnicities and younger people.
You'll also work with Time and Tide's Exhibition and Events team to organise public engagement and outreach activities, to connect the research into Great Yarmouth’s communities. For example, you could stage displays of (in-process or completed) research outputs – such as alternative narratives – in the Smokehouse Digital Galleries to further engage a variety of publics, enabled by the supervisory team’s wide-ranging expertise on engagement and co-design.
Research questions
The overarching research question is: How is socio-ecological change narrated within the stories of coastal livelihoods in the Great Yarmouth Voices Collection?
With some indicative sub-questions being:
- What can we learn about the lived experiences of changing livelihoods, through personal testimony from Great Yarmouth workers in coastal industries, where social, ecological and economic dimensions intersect?
- How can these ‘bottom-up’ accounts surface alternative histories that centre workers’ voices?
- How can we further diversify the GYV Collection through the gathering of new OHs from under-represented groups (e.g. people with migration histories and women)?
- What can we learn from past lived experiences of transition to inform present and future coastal transitions facing Great Yarmouth, to ensure they are place-informed and socially engaged?
Research with Time and Tide Museum
This research studentship is a collaboration between ARU and Time and Tide, Norfolk Museum Services. The museum opened in July 2004 and is located in a former fish smoking factory. The museum displays tell the story of Great Yarmouth and its people since the last ice age with a particular focus on maritime and social history. The collections originated in a museum set up to raise money for the Shipwrecked Sailors' Home in the nineteenth century.
The museum is firmly established as a community asset. It was shaped during development by extensive community consultation. Since the museum opened, links with its local communities have been developed through work with schools as well as youth engagement and community engagement projects.
You'll spend a significant amount of time working with collections based at Time and Tide in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, where the you'll have opportunities to engage with colleagues from across a range of disciplines and collections. Whilst at Time and Tide Museum, you may expect to discover more about how the collections are managed and work with museum staff on outreach and engagement activities, as well collecting new oral histories. You'll also have the opportunity to work on creating new exhibitions and displays. The activities will be tailored to your own interest and professional development needs.
We will be holding information events on Wednesday 26 March (online) and Saturday 5 April (in-person at Time and Tide Museum).
Eligibility
This studentship is open to both home and international applicants.
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.
Read further guidance on international eligibility (PDF).
International students are eligible to receive the full award for maintenance, as are home students. They will need to pay themselves the difference between what the AHRC provide (£5,006) to the University for tuition and the charge made by the University for tuition fees for international students studying for a doctoral degree (£16,700).
We encourage applicants from all backgrounds to apply, even if you are not certain that you meet every criterion. We are keen to hear from individuals with varied expertise who can bring unique perspectives to the studentships. Experiences beyond academia, including other experience in a professional setting are also highly valued; this includes diverse lived experiences and those with an understanding of diverse research practices, outputs, impacts and engagement practice. We particularly welcome applications from ethnically diverse backgrounds as they are currently underrepresented at this level in this area.
Applicants should ideally have or expect to receive a relevant Masters-level qualification, or be able to demonstrate equivalent experience in a professional setting. Suitable disciplines are flexible, but might include Archaeology, Anthropology, Art History, History, or Conservation Science, Environmental Social Science, Human Geography, Museology or Museum Studies, Curation, Oral History, Heritage Management.
We are looking for applicants with passion, dedication and enthusiasm for the topic of the studentship, and potential and enthusiasm for developing skills in any of the areas of museums, archives, oral history, heritage sector, and/or environmental transition and sustainability.
As a collaborative award, students will be expected to spend time at both ARU (Cambridge) and Time and Tide Museum (Great Yarmouth).
All applicants must meet UKRI terms and conditions for funding.
Details of Award
CDP doctoral training grants fund full-time studentships for four years or up to six years if studied part-time. This time period will include development activities and relevant work experience placements. Placements are expected to total 3-6 months full-time (or part-time equivalent) over the duration of the project.
The award pays tuition fees up to the value of the full-time home UKRI rate for PhD degrees. The Research Councils UK Indicative Fee Level for 2025/26 is £5,006.
The award pays full maintenance for all home students. International students may also apply. The UKRI National Minimum Doctoral Stipend for 2025/25 is £20,780.
The successful candidate will also have access to a Research Training and Support Grant (RTSG) of £750 per year. This can be used to support study visits, conference attendance, training and development opportunities which are necessary for the student’s primary research.
In addition, the award provides a CDP maintenance payment of £600 per year to go towards any additional costs students incur whilst undertaking a collaborative award.
The student is eligible to receive an additional travel and related expenses grant during the course of the project courtesy of Time and Tide worth up to £2,000 per year for four years (pro rata for part-time students).
Further details can be found on the UKRI website.
If you are an international student, please be aware that there may be additional fees (e.g. UK student visa, Immigration Health Surcharge). For all enquiries, contact the PG administrator. There is no fee for applying for this postgraduate course.
If you have a disability, you may be entitled to a Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) on top of your studentship. DSA helps to cover the cost of any additional support that a person studying for a doctorate might need as a result of a disability, mental health problem or specific learning difficulty. Read more about DSA.
Please let us know if you require any adjustments for the interview.
Your application will not be adversely affected by disclosing a disability, and it will be processed in exactly the same way as any other application.
For guidance, information and support for prospective students, applicants and current students with any impairment/disability or health condition, please visit our Disability Support pages.
You will undertake research at both Time and Tide Museum, and at ARU. You will become part of the wider cohort of CDP-funded students across the UK, as well as the 800-strong intellectual community of postgraduate researchers studying for a doctorate at ARU.
Benefits and opportunities
This collaborative PhD studentship offers the opportunity to develop skills and experience for careers in academia and the creative and cultural sectors, supporting a pipeline of staff into the museum and cultural sector.
The four years of funding (up to six years part-time), includes PhD research but also development activities including placements (expected to be 3-6 months full-time, or part-time equivalent), as applicable to meet the successful student’s needs.
At the outset of their PhD, the student will complete an individual training needs analysis and plan. This studentship is a unique opportunity to gain a wide range of transferable professional skills, which may include public engagement and interpretation of collections, as well as experience of academia, heritage, education and the wider public sector.
The successful candidate will be registered with the Global Sustainability Institute (GSI) at ARU in Cambridge. ARU's dedicated Doctoral School supports all our postgraduate researchers to fulfil their potential and become the researchers, innovators and leaders of the future. Find out more about benefits and opportunities for postgraduate research students at ARU.
CDP students also benefit from a dedicated programme of UK-wide CDP Cohort Development events delivered in tandem with the other museums, galleries and heritage organisations affiliated with the AHRC CDP scheme.