Royal Holloway is the lead member of the Techne Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP_, which offers Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) studentships, funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
What is Techne?
Techne currently comprises 9 universities and is one of the 10 AHRC Doctoral Training Partnerships. Techne's vision is to produce scholars who are highly motivated and prepared for academic, public or professional life. Its students will benefit from a diverse range of training workshops and opportunities to engage with partners in the arts and cultural sector.
What studentships are available?
There are around 45 awards made each year in the open competition for students who are applying to undertake PhD study. If you are in your first year of PhD study, you can apply for funding for the second and third year of your programme (at least 50% of your PhD must remain by the time the studentship commences).
Studentships include stipend and UK rate fees for 3.5 years (42 months) for a full time student, or 7 years (84 months) for a part-time student (50% of the full-time rate of stipend). This is pro rata if you have already started your PhD.
You should note that you must submit your thesis during your funded period and by your funding end date.
Application process
You may apply to Techne for a doctoral award by submitting an application through Royal Holloway.
Techne awards are available in the following subjects at Royal Holloway:
Subject | Royal Holloway Department |
Cultural Geography | Geography |
Philosophy | Politics, International Relations, and Philosophy |
Development Studies | Geography and Politics, International Relations, and Philosophy |
English and Creative Writing | English |
Modern Languages and Literatures | Languages, Literatures and Cultures |
Comparative Literatures and Cultures | Languages, Literatures and Cultures |
Theology, Divinity, Religion | Classics and History |
Media, Film and TV | Media Arts |
Music | Music |
Drama and Theatre | Drama, Theatre and Dance |
Cultural Studies | English and Media Arts |
Classics | Classics |
History | History |
Law | Law and Criminology |
Once you have identified the department you would like to apply through, you will need to undertake the following steps:
- Please ensure you are familiar with the AHRC’s eligibility criteria, and their terms and conditions, before beginning an application. Please see the eligibility section below.
- Contact the Director of Postgraduate Research Education, or potential supervisor in the relevant department, to discuss your research proposal, the supervision that may be available, and whether you might be considered a suitable candidate for a Techne award. You can also check with the department on their selection process.
- If the Director of Postgraduate Research Education agrees that you may be a suitable candidate for a Techne award, you will be invited to submit an application to Techne via the Techne online portal. Further information on submitting your application to the Techne online portal is available from the Techne Application Guidance Notes, available on the home page of the portal.
- You will also need to submit an application for a PhD place to Royal Holloway. You can find out how to do this on our Admissions page.
Application deadline
The deadline for applications to be submitted to Royal Holloway's Techne competition is midday on Monday 27 January 2025, but departments will set their own earlier application deadlines - please check with them directly where not noted below.
Politics, International Relations, and Philosophy: Tuesday 7 January 2025, 5pm
Law and Criminology: tbc
Drama, Theatre and Dance: Wednesday 15 January 2025, 11.59pm
Music: Wednesday 15 January 2025, 11.59pm
Media Arts: Wednesday 15 January 2025, 11.59pm
English: Friday 10 January 2025, 11.59pm
Languages, Literatures and Cultures: Friday 10 January 2025, 11.59pm
Classics: Friday 10 January 2025, 11.59pm
History: Friday 10 January 2025, 11.59pm
Geography: Monday 6 January 2025, 5pm
Assessment process
There are three stages to the competition:
- Departmental internal review
- University institutional review
- Techne external review
If the department agrees to put your application forward to the Royal Holloway open competition (Stage 1), it will be considered by internal panels of subject experts at Royal Holloway (Stage 2).
You will hear from your selected department in February whether your application will go forward to the Techne stage of the competition. If your application does progress into the open competition (Stage 3) you will hear in April whether or not it has been successful.
Further details of the assessment process can be found on the Techne website.
The timetable for the competition is as follows:
January 2025 |
Application deadline set by each department (Stage 1) |
Mon 27 Jan, midday |
Deadline for applications selected by departments to be submitted on both Techne and Royal Holloway portals |
Tue 11 – Wed 12 Feb |
University internal panel meetings (Stage 2) |
Thu 13 – Wed 19 Feb |
Applications selected by internal panels amended by candidates following feedback from panels |
Wed 19 Feb, midnight |
University deadline for revised applications to be finalised on Techne portal (Stage 3) |
Tue 25 Feb |
Applications reviewed by Peer Review College members |
Tue 18 Mar |
Applications moderated by Subject Group members |
Wed 16 Apr |
Techne Subject Group review meetings |
Wed 30 Apr |
Techne Management Group meeting – final decision on awards |
Fri 2 May onwards |
Candidates notified of outcome of competition |
AHRC terms and conditions and eligibility
All AHRC awards are subject to the AHRC and UKRI Terms and Conditions. Please ensure that you are familiar with them. They are set out in three documents which can be accessed via the 'Manage your award' page on the UKRI website:
- UKRI Terms and Conditions of Training Grants
- UKRI Training Grant Guidance
- AHRC studentships: additional requirements for research organisations and award holders
Note that EU students are now classed as international students and the AHRC/UKRI competition has been opened to all international students who may apply for a UK fees and stipend award. Successful recipients of a UKRI scholarship will receive a fee award from the University covering the difference between home fees and international fees.
You can find current stipend and fee rates, as well as other support provided by UKRI for studentship award holders here: 'Get a studentship to fund your doctorate' page on the UKRI website.
Got a question?
Please email TechneRHUL@royalholloway.ac.uk if you have any enquiries about the Techne application process at Royal Holloway.
Further help and advice
Techne will be holding an online open evening on Wednesday 2 October at 4.30pm, an opportunity to hear more about Techne studentships and meet academics from across the institutions that make up the DTP: Register on Eventbrite.
Techne will also be holding an online application workshop on Tuesday 22 October at 3.30pm. A chance to ask questions and receive support on completing the application form. Register on Eventbrite
Techne has produced a set of films to help you understand more about what it means to undertake a PhD, talking to supervisors and students about a range of aspects including application, finance and career opportunities: PhD Lifecycle films.