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Arts and humanities scholars in the UK are feeling embattled as the current government focus appears to be firmly trained upon STEM. This makes the hunt for funding for doctorates and early career research in the arts and humanities ever more difficult.

But there are still opportunities available for PhD candidates who can successfully convince the relevant funding bodies of the worth of their proposed work.

We speak to a research leader and historian who has demonstrated notable success in her own career about changes to the funding landscape, how institutions can respond and how doctoral students can optimise their grant applications.

Hear from Alice Taylor, a professor of medieval history and vice-dean for research in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at King’s College London.

Her first book, The Shape of the State in Medieval Scotland, was co-awarded the Royal Historical Society’s Whitfield Prize in 2017 – the same year she was awarded the prestigious Philip Leverhulme Prize for History. 

More recently, she led the launch of a new Doctoral School for Arts and Humanities at King’s, which opens next year.

For more advice and insight on related topics, read our spotlight guide to finding and securing research funding.