Research

22% 22% of doctoral researchers working across multiple HEIs

Research

SGSAH supports the development of new research in the arts and humanities, nurturing and inspiring future generations of researchers who are committed to generating and mobilising new insights across society.

Over the past five years, 340 PhDs have been funded through SGSAH with the support of the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the Scottish Funding Council. Our prestigious studentships are awarded annually, distributing £2.6M through a highly competitive process, where more than 200 applications are received for 54 places. The rigour of the process is assured through the contributions of 40 academic and industry partner reviewers.

Our doctoral researchers demonstrate academic excellence, and our research outputs are at the leading edge of arts and humanities disciplines on a global scale. As we approach the end of our first five-year funding cycle, we have 41 alumni who have completed their PhDs and are now transitioning to a diverse range of roles in both academia and industry.

We fund projects across all disciplines of the arts and humanities, from Scottish Literature and Classics to Visual Arts and Museum Studies. Topics range from a study of gender equality in contemporary Scottish writing and publishing to philosophical perspectives on the stigma of mental illness.

The research produced spans the breadth of the arts and humanities with PhDs in established fields, such as philosophy and history to emerging fields such as video games and comic studies. The methods used to drive the research are diverse and innovative, with researchers making use of the latest technologies in communication, virtual reality and artistic practice to fully realise the potential of their research. This is only possible with input from across our partnership allowing researchers to access knowledge, expertise and facilities across the country that add value to the thesis.

The SGSAH team has developed robust processes for administering PhD applications at national scale and for communicating these developments across our stakeholder groups. Working with our partner Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), we have created a collaborative operational model that pools resources and provides an enriching environment for arts and humanities researchers across Scotland.

SGSAH encourages partnerships across its membership, aiming to provide our funded students with the best research environment in Scotland. 22% of our doctoral researchers are supported by supervisors from across at least two HEIs. The opportunity to forge new scholarly communities and networks across HEI borders is a key benefit of a national-level organisation.