PhD Programme | Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London

Course summary

The PhD degree at The Courtauld is an ambitious, rigorous, and internationally renowned programme with a global outlook and unparalleled strengths in art history, conservation and curating. It enables postgraduate researchers to redefine the boundaries of art history, conservation and curating by promoting innovative and interdisciplinary research.

At the Courtauld you will join a diverse cohort of over 100 postgraduate researchers drawn from the UK and internationally to study a wide range of topics and approaches in an intellectually stimulating research-intensive environment.

You will benefit from the supervision of subject experts who work at the forefront of their respective fields. Members of faculty have extensive experience of advanced research including curating major exhibitions of historic and contemporary art, editing and publishing in leading academic journals, winning competitive research grants, speaking publicly in a great variety of institutions and events, and working in archives and collections worldwide. Learn more about our Faculty here.

Alongside close supervisory guidance, you will benefit from researcher training, cohort and network-building activities, and professional development opportunities, designed to support you at all stages of your doctoral degree.

At the Courtauld, you will become part of a vibrant intellectual community. A rich programme of research events hosted by the Research Forum will give you access to cutting-edge new research and ideas and the opportunity to build your academic network. Postgraduate researchers play an active role in inviting speakers, devising and convening research activity, and participating in events for academic and public audiences.

Postgraduate researchers are valuable members of our dynamic research clusters, which bring together specialist researchers from within and beyond the Courtauld to exchange and develop new knowledge and innovative ideas. Major research centres, including the Manton Centre for British Art and the Courtauld Centre for the Art of the Americas, represent world-leading concentrations of research expertise and new thinking. Our active research partnerships with a range of organisations across the cultural sector, including the National Trust and English Heritage, enable applied understanding of advanced research.

Courtauld postgraduate researchers develop a wide range of professional experience. They edit and produce the postgraduate journal Immediations and have opportunities to contribute curatorially in our gallery project space and prints and drawings room. Postgraduate researchers can also gain valuable teaching experience on our BA Art History degree and via our creative public programmes. Find out more about our current PhD students here: https://courtauld.ac.uk/research/postgraduate/postgraduate-research

Entry requirements

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Fees and funding

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Course options

Sponsorship information

Alumni Loyalty Scheme: This scheme is open to any graduate of the Courtauld Institute of Art admitted to a postgraduate programme of study. Recipients will receive a 10% loyalty discount off their tuition fee for the duration of the course.

Scholarships: The Courtauld is pleased to offer a number of Research Scholarships which vary in amount and qualifying criteria. Applications are welcomed from Home, EU and Overseas applicants and students. Find out more here: https://courtauld.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/ph-d-funding-and-scholarships/

Collaborative Doctoral Awards: The Courtauld are delighted to occasionally offer Collaborative Doctoral Awards. These are specific, one-off projects proposed by a Courtauld-based academic to work in collaboration with an organisation outside of higher education. We typically offer one Collaborative Doctoral Award each year – details will normally be published in April/May. Please check periodically for new award announcements.

Previous awards have included:

Imperial Intimacies: Portraiture and the East India Company 1757-1857 – AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Award (with Tate)
New Media Art Histories in Asia – AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Award
Global Surrealism: Tracing International Networks – AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Award
Net Art East: Post-Socialist Networks and New Media – AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Award
Associated programme costs: See General Associated Programme Costs. Depending on their research project, postgraduate researchers may have to plan extended research trips. If postgraduate researchers are not in receipt of a scholarship that includes travel costs, these will be self-funded, however, the Courtauld can offer small travel grants and other sources of funding may become available, including UKRI funding. These are announced year-on-year by the Research Manager.