AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Partnership (CDP): The Hidden Gender of Collections: Women and the Curation of Scientific Heritage

The School of Philosophy, Religion, and History of Science at the University of Leeds and Cambridge University Library are pleased to announce a fully funded Collaborative doctoral studentship, from October 2025, under the AHRC’s Collaborative Doctoral Partnership Scheme.

<p>This project will be jointly supervised by </p> <p>•   Professor <a href="https://ahc.leeds.ac.uk/philosophy/staff/143/">Jonathan Topham</a> (University of Leeds)  <br /> •   Dr <a href="https://www.hps.cam.ac.uk/directory/rose">Edwin Rose </a>(University of Leeds)<br /> •   <a href="https://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/research-institute/people/elizabeth-smith">Elizabeth Smith</a> (Cambridge University Library)<br /> •   <a href="https://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/research-institute/people/katrina-dean">Dr Katrina Dean</a> (Cambridge University Library) </p> <p>The student will undertake research at both Cambridge University Library and the University of Leeds, as well as becoming part of the wider cohort of CDP-funded students across the UK. </p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Project Overview</strong></p> <p>While scholars have recently begun to recover and honour the often-disregarded involvement of women in recognized scientific roles, women’s sphere of operation was historically often restricted to roles that were less esteemed, despite being of considerable significance. Revising views of this work not only takes our understanding of women’s historical role in the sciences to a new level, but also deepens our understanding of how science works, by recognizing the importance of hidden labour by marginalized figures. An important example of this is the role of women in managing the scientific collections and legacies of men, whether within their own families or within institutions. This project will explore these activities to create a new understanding of how women both worked alongside men in their scientific activities and later contributed to their legacies by preserving, pruning, and publishing archives, specimens, and other collections. These practices embodied considerable but under-appreciated expertise, and the aim of this project is to show how numerous women’s skilled management of these materials shaped the scientific heritage we know today to offer a new methodology for surfacing women’s hidden role in science. </p> <p>The project will draw on scholarly literature both on women’s place in scientific families (e.g. Pycior 1996, Bashford 2022, and Richards 2022) and on the role of women in memorialising and curating family archives (e.g. Hall and Tweed 2019, and Janning and Scalise 2015), bringing these approaches together with the growing body of scholarship concerning women’s more recognized scientific work to explore new questions. The starting point for this project is one of the most wide-ranging and important archives managed by generations of women: the Darwin Archive held by Cambridge University Library. However, with similar, less-studied female-curated collections present in the Ipswich Museum, Cambridge University Herbarium, the Sedgwick Museum, and the University Museum of Zoology, Cambridge (all partnered in this project), the student will be able to navigate their own path in exploring the role of such women in the shaping of the natural sciences between the mid nineteenth and mid twentieth centuries.</p> <p>The student will be encouraged to shape the precise focus of the study, both in terms of particular kinds of women’s labour and the extent to which the Darwin family will form a case study. The key questions are:</p> <ul> <li>In what ways did women in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries work to create scientific legacies, whether of families or of institutions, through the curation and deployment of collections?</li> <li>What consequences did such work have for the structuring, use, and interpretation of those archives?</li> <li>To what extent were collaborative practices of working important, including familial relationships? </li> <li>How does this research change the historical understanding of women’s scientific roles in the period as researchers, scientists and the builders of received legacies, and of the nature of scientific work?</li> </ul> <p>This project will employ extensive primary resource research to explore women’s roles in creating and organising scientific collections, analysing both the content and historic curation of the collections, but will also involve extensive biographical and comparative research to understand both their underlying concerns and their wider involvement in the sciences. The work with diverse collections will be supported by the supervisors and by the curators of these collections. The student will be immersed from an early stage in relevant scholarly literature on women in science but will also be expected to use archival scholarship in exploring practices of curation and cataloguing from the point of view of archivists and contributors. The student’s discoveries will likely allow them to enhance the digital collection of CUL with curation-related metadata, in which case they will be offered training. Other collections across participating museums will also be explored according to the student’s precise choice of focus. In addition, Sally Stafford, Darwin Participation Manager at CUL, will offer an opportunity for the student to explore motives and feelings in the work of curating one’s own family heritage through work with community groups.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Benefits and Opportunities</strong></p> <p>As the CDP programme emphasises work-based skills, the four years of funding (up to six years and eight months part-time) includes PhD research but also development activities, including internships and placements, as applicable to meet the successful student’s needs. At the outset of their PhDs, students will complete an individual training needs analysis and plan. This is a unique opportunity to gain a wide range of transferable professional skills, which may include public engagement and interpretation of collections, as well as metadata and digitization.</p> <p>With around ninety current research postgraduates, and over seventy academic staff, the<strong> School of Philosophy, Religion, and History of Science</strong> at the<strong> University of Leeds</strong> is a friendly and vibrant academic community and has an impressive international reputation in each of its constituent fields.  The<strong> Centre for History and Philosophy of Science </strong>is one of the foremost academic units for the subject in Britain, with around fifteen permanent and fixed-term staff, and a large and international body of postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers.</p> <p>Cambridge University Library is one of the world’s great research libraries. The Library is a major scholarly resource, not only for the University’s academic community, but also for researchers nationally and internationally. It has been collecting books and manuscripts since the 14th century and now has one of the greatest and most accessible collections of books and manuscripts in the world. The Library contains significant scientific papers, such as those of Charles Darwin and Isaac Newton, as well as those of many scientists associated with the university. The Library is also home to its own Research Institute drawing on the Library’s expertise, collections and infrastructure. It will host two CC-EE doctoral award students in the history of science and related fields starting in 2025.</p> <p>The successful candidate will be encouraged to participate in professional development events and activities organised for all Collaborative Doctoral Partnership students who are registered with different universities and studying with cultural and heritage organisations across the UK. These activities are organised by a coordination team based at the V&A and are designed to provide CDP researchers with the knowledge, networks and skills to thrive in their future careers.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Details of Award</strong></p> <p>CDP doctoral training grants fund full-time studentships for four years or up to six years and eight months if studied part-time (0.6 FTE). This time period will include development activities and relevant work experience placements/internships. </p> <p>The award pays tuition fees up to the value of the full-time home UKRI rate for PhD degrees. The Research Councils UK Indicative Fee Level for 2025/2026 is £5,006.</p> <p>The award pays full maintenance for both home and international students. The UKRI National Minimum Doctoral Stipend for 2025/2026 is £20,780 (pro rata for part time study). </p> <p>The successful candidate will also have access to a Research Training and Support Grant (RTSG) of £750 per year, (pro-rata for part-time students). This can be used to support study visits, conference attendance, training and development opportunities which are necessary for the student’s primary research. In addition, the award provides a CDP maintenance payment of £600 per year supporting additional costs students incur whilst undertaking a collaborative award. Further details can be found on the UKRI <a href="https://www.ukri.org/apply-for-funding/studentships-and-doctoral-training/get-a-studentship-to-fund-your-doctorate/">website</a>.</p> <p>The student is eligible to receive an additional travel and related expenses grant during the course of the project courtesy of Cambridge University Library worth up to<strong> £2,000</strong> per year for 4 years, or pro rata for part-time students.</p> <p>The project can be undertaken on a full-time or part-time basis. </p> <p>The fee gap between the home and overseas fee rates will be covered by the University through internal co-funding for international candidates. If you are an international student, please be aware that there may be additional fees (e.g. UK student visa, Immigration Health Surcharge; more details here: <a href="https://study-uk.britishcouncil.org/moving-uk/cost-studying">Cost of studying in the UK | Study UK</a>); for all enquiries contact the PG administrator (details at the end of document). </p> <p>There is no fee for applying for this Postgraduate course.</p> <p>If you have a disability, you may be entitled to a Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) on top of your studentship. DSA helps to cover the cost of any additional support that a person studying for a doctorate might need as a result of a disability, mental health problem or specific learning difficulty. You can read more about DSA: <a href="https://www.ukri.org/publications/disabled-students-allowance-dsa-framework/">https://www.ukri.org/publications/disabled-students-allowance-dsa-framework/</a></p> <p><br /> <strong>Eligibility</strong></p> <p>This studentship is open to both Home and International applicants. To be classed as a home student, candidates must meet the following criteria: </p> <ul> <li>be a UK National (meeting residency requirements), </li> <li>or have settled status, </li> <li>or have pre-settled status (meeting residency requirements), </li> <li>or have indefinite leave to remain or enter</li> </ul> <p>For information relating to the regulations surrounding how we assess residency and fee status, we would advise that you visit the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) website, who are the UK’s national advisory body who offer guidance and support to international students. They provide information and interpretation of the law that governs fee status assessments: <a href="https://www.ukcisa.org.uk/Information--Advice/Fees-and-Money/England-HE-fee-status">https://www.ukcisa.org.uk/Information--Advice/Fees-and-Money/England-HE-fee-status.</a></p> <p>Applicants must be able to demonstrate an interest in the museums, galleries, archives, library and heritage sector and potential and enthusiasm for developing skills more widely in related areas. </p> <p>As a collaborative award, students will be expected to spend time at both the University of Leeds and Cambridge University Library.</p> <p>Further guidance can be found here based on revisions to Training Grant Terms and Conditions for projects starting in October 2025 -  <a href="https://www.ukri.org/publications/policy-statement-review-of-the-training-grant-conditions/">Policy statement: review of the training grant conditions – UKRI</a><br />  </p>

<p>Formal applications for research degree study should be made<a href="https://prod.banner.leeds.ac.uk/ssb/bwskalog_uol.P_DispLoginNon"> online through the University's website</a>. Please state clearly in the research information section that the research degree you wish to be considered for is ‘The Hidden Gender of Collections: Women and the Curation of Scientific Heritage’ as well as Prof. Jon Topham and Dr Edwin Rose as your proposed supervisors. You will be expected to meet our <a href="https://ahc.leeds.ac.uk/philosophy-research-degrees/doc/doctor-philosophy-phd-7">eligibility criteria</a> for postgraduate research applications and to provide all the required <a href="https://ahc.leeds.ac.uk/philosophy-research-degrees/doc/apply-11">supporting documents</a>, which include a research proposal,* degree documents, names of referees, and a sample of your work.</p> <p><em>*N.B. Since you will be applying for a named doctoral project, your research proposal should take the form of a<strong> letter of application (maximum 1000 words)</strong>, explaining your reasons for applying for the studentship, how your existing scholarly interests relate to the doctoral project, and how your prior education and other experiences have equipped you to undertake it.  You should also outline particular ways in which you would hope to develop the project, in the light of your interests and expertise.</em></p> <p>To be considered for the award, candidates must have submitted a complete application for PhD study in the School of Philosophy, Religion, and History of Science by 30 April 2025.</p> <p>Applicants must not have already been awarded or be currently studying for a doctoral degree.</p> <ul> <li>Awards must be taken up by 1 October 2025.</li> <li>The awards are available for new Postgraduate Researchers undertaking full-time or part-time research study leading to the degree of PhD. Students who are already registered for PhD research study are excluded from applying. </li> <li>Applicants for Doctoral Research must live within a reasonable distance of the University of Leeds whilst in receipt of this Scholarship.</li> </ul> <p>If English is not your first language, you must provide evidence that you meet the University's minimum English language requirements (below).</p> <p>We encourage the widest range of potential students to study for this CDP studentship and are committed to welcoming students from different backgrounds to apply. We particularly welcome applications from UK Black, Asian, Ethnically Diverse backgrounds as they are currently underrepresented at this level in this area. All scholarships will be awarded on the basis of merit.</p>

Applicants to PhD research degree programmes should normally have a Master’s degree and at least a first class or an Upper Second Class Bachelors Honours degree. If you hold relevant work, or other, experience the Faculty may consider this in lieu of a Masters qualification, please check with the relevant school prior to making an application. To study a Masters by Research degree you should hold, or currently be studying towards, a Bachelors Honours degree, in an appropriate discipline where your current or predicted award is at least a first class or upper second class degree. Applicants who are uncertain about the requirements for a particular research degree are advised to contact the Graduate School prior to making an application.

The minimum English language entry requirement for research postgraduate study is an IELTS of 6.5 overall with at least 6.0 in each component (reading, writing, listening and speaking), or equivalent. The test must be dated within two years of the start date of the course in order to be valid. Some Schools, such as the School of Media and Communications, have a higher requirement.

<p>The award includes:</p> <ul> <li>Full fees at Home rate (£5,006 for session 2025/26).  Note that the fee gap between the home and overseas fee rates will be covered by the University through internal co-funding for international candidates.</li> <li> A maintenance grant (£20,780 in Session 2025/26 – pro rata for part time study)</li> </ul> <p>Please note that the award does not cover any costs associated with moving to the UK.  All such costs (<a href="https://www.leeds.ac.uk/international-visas-immigration/doc/applying-student-visa">visa costs, Immigration Health Surcharge/medical insurance, flights etc</a>) would have to be met by the student.</p> <p>You need to meet the AHRC’s UK residency requirements. </p> <p>Please let us know if you require any adjustments for the application process or interview. Support or adjustments may include (but are not limited to:</p> <ul> <li>Opportunity to speak with project supervisors at HEI and CDP Award Holder about the project and the process.</li> <li>Opportunity to speak with contacts within the HEI and/or CDP Award Holder regarding institutional support systems (e.g. neurodiversity, racial diversity and LGBTQIA+ networks, mental health support, support for carers).</li> <li>Access to interview questions and an insight into the interview process (e.g. selection criteria used).</li> <li>Opportunity to speak with active CDP students to ask questions regarding student experience as part of the CDP scheme. </li> </ul> <p>Your application will not be adversely affected by disclosing a disability, and it will be processed in exactly the same way as any other application.</p>

<p>For further information please contact the Admissions team (ahcpgradmissions@leeds. ac.uk) and lead supervisor, Professor Jon Topham (j.r.topham@leeds.ac.uk). </p> <p>If you would like to arrange an in-person visit to Cambridge University Library prior to applying, please contact Ms Elizabeth Smith (els47@cam.ac.uk). </p> <p>If you would like to speak with active CDP students to ask questions regarding student experience as part of the CDP scheme, please contact Sarah Villis at cc-ee@fitzmuseum. cam.ac.uk</p>