Fully-funded Collaborative Doctoral Award: University of Leeds and the Royal Armouries

How do ethics influence the development policies for accessing public collections which are essentially restricted by law: A case study of the Royal Armouries

Applications are invited for White Rose College of the Arts & Humanities Collaborative Doctoral Award based within a project between the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies at the University of Leeds and the Royal Armouries Museum.

The Royal Armouries is currently updating its research strategy. An important new aspect is the requirement for the Museum to understand its public role specifically because of the nature of the collections, which include many objects of arms and armour and also objects that are restricted in terms of access due to provenance or legislation.

This has led to the development of a student project that will critically analyse policy and practice in terms of public access and museum ethics, in collaboration with the Centre for Critical Studies and Museums, Galleries and Heritage. The project is embedded in a ten year programme to train future museum registrars, which is run through a partnership between Royal Armouries, University of Leeds and Leeds Museums and Galleries. The proposed supervisors run this wider project collectively.

This project will require the successful student to develop a critical, research and practice informed analysis of current policy and legislation that informs access to the types of collections uniquely housed by the National Museum of Arms and Armour. Working with the Director of Collections and Head of Collections Services at the Royal Armouries and the Centre for Critical Studies in Museums, Galleries and Heritage, the research will question current practice and look to support the development of future policy, in line with the Royal Armouries' ambition to understand further how the Museum fulfils its public role.

Strong applicants will have a good first degree in an appropriate subject, as well as a Master’s degree and professional experience relevant to the scope of the project (or experience of belonging to a collaborative team).

The successful applicant will be supervised by Professor Abigail Harrison Moore (University of Leeds) and Laura Bell (Director of Collections, Royal Armouries).

Full-time AHRC Competition Studentships for doctoral research are three years in duration (or five years part time). Awards are subject to satisfactory academic progress. Awards must be taken up in October 2019 and no deferrals are possible. The award will comprise UK/EU fees at Research Council rates and, for eligible students, a maintenance grant (£14,777 in 2018/9).

Applicants must apply directly to the University of Leeds in the first instance for a place of study by 26 November 2018 (stage 1), clearly stating the name of the project to which they are applying. Candidates selected after Stage 1 then liaise with the project supervisory team to submit a WRoCAH studentship application via the WRoCAH online application form by the 5pm on Wednesday 23 January 2019.

See here for full information about this project, including how to apply.

Please direct any informal enquiries about this studentship to Professor Abigail Harrison Moore.

The studentship is one of a number of collaborative doctoral awards funded by the White Rose College of the Arts & Humanities (WRoCAH), including further opportunities within the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies. More details can be found here.

Before applying for any WRoCAH Studentship, please first ensure that you have read the WRoCAH webpages about Collaborative Doctoral Awards, the WRoCAH training programme and requirements.