‘A Golden Thread’ - AHRC Doctoral Focal Award

The Open University is pleased to offer doctoral funding to two outstanding PhD applicants through the Doctoral Focal Award ‘A Golden Thread’.

Studentships cover tuition fees, stipend and research costs – for a duration of 3.5 years – starting 1 October 2026, in disciplines covered by the AHRC’s remit.

About the Doctoral Focal Award

The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) has introduced two new doctoral funding schemes – the Doctoral Landscape Award (DLA) and the Doctoral Focal Award (DFA) – as part of its Future Doctoral Programme. The new awards aim to provide more flexible, inclusive, and strategically aligned funding across the arts and humanities disciplines. 

The Doctoral Focal Award programme 'A Golden Thread' is led by the Glasgow School of Art (GSA) in partnership with Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) and the OU. The three institutions will work together to provide training support and offer opportunities for cohort development, including work placements.

Craft is a key theme for the programme ‘A Golden Thread’, and all proposals should demonstrate a strong Craft foundation or focus. We welcome proposals from applicants who identify as having a Craft practice (including, but not limited to materials, textiles, ceramics and printmaking) and who work in or across artistic disciplines (including, but not limited to visual arts, design and sound). Proposals are welcome for PhD by practice or by thesis. Candidates are encouraged to shape Craft-led research proposals at the intersection of themes/disciplines traditionally understood as from within the arts and humanities, and those traditionally understood as from within the sciences. These might include (but are not limited to):

• Biomaterials and regenerative design
• Planetary and space sciences, astrophysics and cosmology
• Agriculture, aquaculture, animal sciences and animal care
• Environmental sciences and nature-based solutions
• Al and emerging technologies
• Rural geography, sociology and/or economies 

How to Apply

In the first instance, prospective applicants are invited to complete a short questionnaire for the programme and to submit this to Dr Clare Devaney, the programme lead for the ‘A Golden Thread’ programme: [email protected]. This is in part to ensure that potential applications are within the scope of the programme. If this is confirmed, applicants will be invited to complete an online application for the programme by midday Friday 13 February 2026.

Students are also strongly encouraged to contact potential supervisors at the Open University to discuss their project ideas and how these may fit with the focus of this award, with existing research in the OU, and with the AHRC’s remit. Please find more about OU postgraduate research in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and about the OU research more broadly. 

In addition to the online application for this Focal Award programme, as detailed above, you need to submit an Open University application, including the following:

• OU application form – please indicate on the OU application form that you are applying for this award by completing section C1, providing ‘Focal Award A Golden Thread  - Discipline’ as the Advert Reference.
• HESA form (mandatory for all applicants) – To help us identify your file easily, please make sure to include your name in the file name.
• A research proposal (of no more than 1500 words)
• Research Proposal Applications and supporting documents should be submitted via email to [email protected] by midday Friday 13 February 2026.

Eligibility 

The studentships are open to all PhD applicants who meet the PhD entry criteria of the OU. Any PhD project under the AHRC subject areas – including those based outside of Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences  – are eligible. At the OU, disciplines under the AHRC include Art History, Classical Studies, English and Creative Writing, History, Languages and Linguistics, Law, Music, Philosophy, and Religious Studies. More information of what research is supported by the AHRC can be found in Remit, programmes and priorities. 

We especially welcome interdisciplinary project proposals, and prospective supervisors may be drawn from more than one disciplines. Given the focus of this award, we encourage co-supervision with the Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

Applications may be made for full-time or part-time study, but distance learning is not permissible under this scheme. 

We welcome both UK-based and international applicants. Successful applicants will be required to reside in the UK during their studies in line with the OU’s residency requirements.

For this programme, we especially welcome applicants who are resident in and/or have a demonstrable personal, heritage or practice-led connection to Scotland’s rural and island communities. 

We welcome applications from all backgrounds, in keeping with the Open University's mission to broaden access to higher education.

Applications are also welcomed from candidates with lived experience of marginalisation and/or who face structural barriers to doctoral study. Professional and lived experience will be considered in addition to formal qualifications.

To meet The Open University PhD admission requirements, it is essential that you have:

• Good academic qualifications i.e. a 1st or 2:1 in undergraduate degree in the relevant subject area from a UK institution or equivalent from a non-UK institution and/or a relevant Master's degree)
• Demonstrable ability to produce high-level academic writing.
• Evidence of the self-discipline and organizational skills required to complete a major academic project in three years and three months or part-time equivalent.
• Willingness to participate in the broader intellectual community of The Open University (and, if selected, the Landscape award community as well).
• If you are applying for a part-time PhD, please ensure that you are not employed at no more than 0.5 FTE.

Further Documents Required if you are successful 

If you are successful in the interview, you’ll be requested to submit the following documents within a week or on short notice.  Please ensure the documents are prepared in advance so you can provide them within the given timeframe. 

• Copies of degree certificates (bachelor’s degree or master’s degree)
• Transcripts of academic qualifications (Official transcripts of bachelor’s or master’s degree only, other qualifications are not required)
• Copies of your passport, or any other form of identification
• Certified translations of degree certificates and transcripts (if applicable)
• Copies of English language qualification certificates - SELTS (if applicable)
• Documentation supporting a change of name (if applicable)

Selection process 

Applications submitted on time will be considered by a cross-institutional academic and executive panel, with oversight from the Focal Award programme Steering Group. Longlisted applications will then be considered by an OU panel. Shortlisted candidates will be invited for an interview in March 2026.

All applicants will be informed of the outcome of their application by 30th April 2026. 

Further information 

For general enquiries relating to doctoral study at The Open University, please contact [email protected].

For questions about the Doctoral Focal Awards, please contact Dr Luc-André Brunet, AHRC Doctoral Programme Lead: [email protected]

For further information about the programme ‘A Golden Thread’, please contact the programme lead, Dr Clare Devaney: [email protected]