To help foster study and research in the arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas, the Sainsbury Research Unit offers funding support for its academic programmes.  An endowment from the Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Art Trust, made in 1986, partly funds the Research Unit, and includes provision for postgraduate grants, scholarships and fellowships.

SRU MA Scholarships.

For MA applicants, UK/EU or overseas, the Research Unit is able to offer several scholarships annually. These range from awards covering fees and living expenses, to study allowances. All MA students receive a travel allowance to cover visits to museums, exhibitions and conferences in London and elsewhere as part of the course.

SRU PhD Scholarships.

For SRU PhD students, we are able to offer the Robert Sainsbury Scholarship. This is a three-year scholarship that covers university fees, living expenses and an allowance for fieldwork/travel. The scholarship will next be available in 2021.

The Research Unit is also able to assist PhD students with smaller awards that usually supplement grants from other sources.

All doctoral students receive a bursary to support fieldwork, library and/or collections research and conference attendance.

Our awards are evaluated on the basis of applications and merit, and all outcomes are decided by committee.  At present, we do not consider funding support for students or projects not associated with SRU-based MA, doctoral research or visiting fellowship programmes.

For information on any of the above please contact the admissions secretary.

Collaborative Studentships 2019

We are delighted to offer two collaborative studentships for study commencing October 2019. Both studentships start on the 1st October 2019. The deadline for applications is Friday 3rd May 2019 at 23h59min.

Missing objects and endangered material knowledge in the Kalahari - A Collaborative Doctoral Partnership studentship between the British Museum and the Sainsbury Research Unit, University of East Anglia, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

For more information or to apply please click here 

The Historic role of missionary societies in shaping children's understandings of Britain's place in the world - A Collaborative Doctoral Partnership studentship between the National Maritime Museum and the Sainsbury Research Unit, University of East Anglia, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council

For more information or to apply please click here

UEA Scholarships

The University of East Anglia administers different scholarships and bursaries for candidates commencing MA and PhD study. These competitive awards are restricted to candidates who have been offered a place to undertake research at UEA. SRU candidates are strongly supported in applications for CHASE funding, UEA and other grants and have a very high success rates. Please see the graduate school page for further information.

CHASE awards

UEA as part of the Consortium for Humanities and the Arts South-East (CHASE) also offers scholarships across the consortium for PhD entry in September 2019.

CHASE doctoral studentships are available to UK and EU residents. For UK residents the awards consist of fees and maintenance and for EU residents they are on a fees-only basis.

ACU Scholarships

The Association of Commonwealth Universities provides scholarships for graduates of Commonwealth universities who wish to undertake postgraduate study at a Commonwealth university outside their own country. Please see their website for further details.