Check the deadline for submissions via the Open-Oxford-Cambridge AHRC Doctoral Training Partnership - Open University/AHRC PhD Studentships webpage. If you intend to study part-time AND do not wish to apply for public funding you may register to start on 1 February 2024 instead of October, and the deadline is more flexible. Contact us in good time if you are unsure.

Before the deadline, your chance of success increases the earlier that you start writing your research proposal. You need to do some preparatory work with the aid of these webpages and links, to check that your ‘big idea’ has the potential to be supervised by current members of the department, and that you can begin to answer the basic questions we use to assess the potential of your project.

Look at the staff pages to find out more about the research we do and to identify potential supervisors. Then you are ready to make contact with us, either directly to a potential supervisor, or to the academic who directs postgraduate research within the department via the email FASS-ArtHistory-Enquiries@open.ac.uk. We will respond quickly, and if we are able to identify a good fit and a good idea, we will help you develop your application further.

When you are ready, check the relevant deadline, complete the application form, finalise your proposal document, and email it back to us. We will then formally assess your application and may invite you to an interview. This will be the deciding point in whether to accept your application to register as a doctoral student. If we accept you, this is a decision independent of any funding needs you may have.

Please read the following for further advice on writing your proposal and for answers about registering at the OU for a PhD.

Find out more about 'How to prepare a research project in Art History?'.