South West and Wales Doctoral Training Partnership

The South West and Wales Doctoral Training Partnership (SWW DTP) will be awarding a number of doctoral studentships in the Arts and Humanities for entry in September 2025. SWW DTP studentships are for three years as standard, or part-time equivalent.

Subjects

  • Archaeology and Anthropology
  • Classics and Ancient History
  • English
  • Film and Television    
  • French
  • German
  • Hispanic, Portuguese and Latin American Studies
  • History
  • History of Art
  • Italian    
  • Law
  • Music
  • Philosophy
  • Religion and Theology
  • Russian and Czech
  • Theatre
  • Translation

Discounts for international students

In response to the new UKRI eligibility criteria, University of Bristol is pleased to announce that it will be offering international fee discounts for successful UKRI applicants. The fees will be discounted to the home fees level.

This approach ensures that students regardless of nationality or financial means will be able to apply for our UKRI studentships (including those administered by the SWW DTP). Successful applicants will receive a fully-funded studentship and will not be charged the international fee difference.

How to apply

Applications for September 2025 will open in November 2024, and should be made via SWW DTP. These scholarships are for students commencing their studies in September 2025, as well as those that have already commenced doctoral study.

Note: It is important to check the SWW DTP Eligibility Guidelines before applying.

Deadline

Information for the 2025/26 academic year will follow shortly.

Why Bristol?

  • Top 10 UK university and 62nd in the world (QS Rankings 2022)
    The SWW DTP connection builds from an existing platform of world-class disciplinary research at Bristol and within our partner universities, spanning the arts and humanities. Bristol also offers connections with established regional research and training networks, such as GW4, allowing students to formalise and extend research and training interactions among different universities.
  • Ranked in the top 5 UK institutions for research excellence (Research Excellence Framework)
    Your collaborative cross-institutional supervisory team, anchored in Bristol and connecting with others around the SWW DTP, will work together, and with you, to ensure you receive the bespoke training you need to develop both your disciplinary and where appropriate, inter-disciplinary knowledge, skills and expertise. In addition to the development opportunities within the academic partner institutions, your supervisory team will also help you identify development opportunities with our non-academic partner organisations including mentoring, placements, technical skills and more.
  • 83% of research rated as ‘world leading’ and internationally excellent’ (2014 REF)
    An exciting spectrum of world-class research: We offer opportunities to study within and beyond a wide variety of research themes across the Faculty of Arts.
  • Top 10 most targeted university by top UK employers (High Fliers Research 2021)
    Our research graduates follow a wide range of career paths in academia, research, the public sector, industry and non-governmental organisations with more than 90 percent in employment or further study within six months of completion.
  • Bristol is amazing: winner of What Uni? Student Choice Award 2015 for City Life
    Bristol is simply a fantastic city in which to live. It has also won prizes as the best city to live in with the Sunday Times thanks to its “great shopping, great scenery and great social scene… buzzy culture and night life and access to some fantastic countryside”. Bristol has over 450 parks and open spaces, was the UK’s first cycling city and European Green Capital 2015. Bristol is a great transport hub with London only 78 minutes away by train and an international airport a short bus ride from the city centre.