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.

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 October 2021.

CHASE doctoral studentships are available to all fee status applicants. For UK residents the awards consist of fees and maintenance and for non UK residents the award can consist of fees and a stipend (amounts tbc).

The deadline for CHASE applicants for 2021 is 11th January 2021 however applicants are required to make an expression of interest to potential supervisors by 4th January 2021.

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.