Scholarships & funding

AHRC CDP Studentship

The Imperial War Museums (IWM), and the University of Glasgow are pleased to announce the availability of a fully funded Collaborative doctoral studentship from October 2026 under the AHRC’s Collaborative Doctoral Partnerships (CDP) scheme

The project will investigate how IWM may find new, responsible ways of meaningfully transforming selected objects and narratives into playable experiences that support public engagement with war and conflict. By focusing on object-centred gamification, the project asks how games, analogue or digital, might deepen emotional, cognitive, and ethical understanding for diverse audiences, with particular emphasis on families and children.

This project will be supervised at IWM by Ian Kikuchi, and at the University of Glasgow by Dr Timothy Peacock and Dr Matthew Barr, and the student will be expected to spend time at both the University of Glasgow and IWM, as well as becoming part of the wider cohort of CDP funded students across the UK.

The studentship can be studied either full or part-time.

We encourage applications from a diverse range of people, from different backgrounds and career stages.

Students should have a Master’s Degree in a relevant subject or can demonstrate relevant equivalent experience.

The studentship is open to both home and international applicants.

Project Overview

Using a structured, object-centred approach through IWM’s Collections, this CDP will investigate how specific artefacts and narratives may be transformed into meaningful playable experiences for diverse audiences, including children, families, and intergenerational groups.

Selected Collections, chosen by the doctoral scholar consulting with IWM/HEI supervisors, will serve as a focal point (for example, particular conflicts or themes such as filmic, decolonial, and/or environmental impacts).

A combination of collection analysis, audience research, and co-design workshops (IWM visitors/staff) will allow iterative co-development of an analogue/digital game prototype to test hypotheses.

These case studies will provide exemplar outputs of best practice while also contributing to insights ensuring transferability and long-term value beyond the CDP:

1. A practical, inclusive, evidence-based model around potential methods for gamifying conflict-related collections.
2. A co-designed exemplar template, from researching how to gamify a selected IWM collection, evaluated with IWM staff and visitors.

1. New understandings of ethical, emotional, and environmental considerations facing conflict museums adopting games and gamified methods.
2. How can inclusive, ethical and sustainable playable experiences be built upon specific objects from the IWM collection?

This CDP builds on such initiatives as the War Games Exhibition and War Games Jam, while resonating with ongoing IWM projects from Duxford’s digital play and North’s ‘Mission Room’ to London’s expanding Schools Learning Sessions.

The project will contribute to IWM’s strategic priorities, including broadening participation and increasing interactivity, by offering directly actionable insights for future programming, family engagement, and onsite/digital experiences.

The latest revision of the AHRC Training Grant Funding Guide is available here.

 

 

To be eligible for the scholarship you should:

- Hold an offer for an eligible PhD programme commencing in academic year 2026/2027

All applicants must meet UKRI terms and conditions for funding. See: https://www.ukri.org/manage-your-award/meeting-ukri-terms-and-conditions-for-funding/

Number of Scholarships

1

Value

• CDP doctoral training grants fund full-time studentships for 48 months (4 years) or part-time equivalent up to a maximum of 8 years.
• The award pays tuition fees up to the value of the full-time home fee. Research Councils UK Indicative Fee Level is £5,238* Students with an ‘overseas’ fee status are welcome to apply. The University of Glasgow have waived the difference between international and home fees, so international candidates do not need to cover this cost. They will be required to reside in the UK until completion of the PhD.
• The award pays an annual stipend for all students, both home and international students. This stipend is tax free, and is the equivalent of an annual salary, enabling the student to pay living costs. The UKRI Minimum Doctoral Stipend is £21,805*. There is also a CDP maintenance payment of £600 per year, plus an allowance of £1,000/year. Further details can be found on the UKRI website.

 

• The successful candidate is eligible to receive an additional travel and related expenses grant during the course of the project courtesy of IWM worth up to £1,000 per year for 4 years.

 

 

How to apply

How to apply:

• Applications should be submitted through the University of Glasgow’s postgraduate application system. Full information, advice and access to the admissions portal is available here: https://www.gla.ac.uk/postgraduate/research/history/#tab=apply
• As this award will be jointly managed in partnership with IWM, the University of Glasgow will be required to share your application and supporting documents with IWM. If you apply for this studentship you are agreeing to share your data with the IWM co-supervisors for this project and the IWM research team. The University’s full Data Protection Statement is available via the application portal.
• Applications should be submitted no later than 22nd May at 1700 BST.
• Interviews will take place online on 1st July. Timings will be allocated closer to the time, but will be between 0900 and 1700 BST.

 

• We ask all applicants to complete a voluntary EDI monitoring form here. All responses are anonymous.