AHRC CDP - Intimate Energies: How do museum collections help us see unrecognised actors in the history and future of energy?

Start date: 1st October 2026 <br /> Application Deadline: 1st May 2026 <br /> Interviews will take place on 1st June in London/on-line<br /> <br /> The Museum of the Home and the University of Leeds are pleased to announce the availability of a fully-funded Collaborative Doctoral Studentship from October 2026 under the AHRC’s Collaborative Doctoral Partnerships (CDP) scheme. This award provides full tuition fees with a tax-free maintenance allowance that matches UKRI rates (GBP 21,805 in 2026/27). <br />

<p>Please see further informaton about the AHRC’s Collaborative Doctoral Partnerships (CDP) scheme here <a href="https://www.ukri.org/what-we-do/developing-people-and-skills/ahrc/training-and-support-before-the-future-doctoral-provision-programme/collaborative-doctoral-partnerships-cdp/">https://www.ukri.org/what-we-do/developing-people-and-skills/ahrc/training-and-support-before-the-future-doctoral-provision-programme/collaborative-doctoral-partnerships-cdp/</a> and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) here: <a href="https://ahrc.ukri.org/skills/phdstudents/collaborative-doctoral-partnerships-scheme/">https://www.ukri.org/councils/ahrc/</a></p> <p>This research asks, ‘How can learning about a wider range of energy actors and actions in the home in the past help communities be active in energy decisions in the present and future?’ </p> <p>This project will be jointly supervised by researchers at the University of Leeds (Abigail Harrison Moore and Alice Owen) and museum professionals at the Museum of the Home (Ailsa Hendry and Aurelien Enjalbert)</p> <p>The student will be expected to spend time at both the University of Leeds and the Museum of the Home, as well as becoming part of the wider cohort of CDP funded students across the UK. </p> <p>The studentship can be studied either full or part-time (for UK candidates only).</p> <p>We encourage applications from a diverse range of people, from different backgrounds and career stages. Researchers from Global Majority backgrounds are particularly welcomed. UK black and minority ethnic (BME) researchers are currently under-represented in our Postgraduate Research (PGR) community, and we would therefore also encourage applications from UK BME candidates. All scholarships will be awarded on the basis of merit.</p> <p>Applicants should have an honours degree of at least a 2.1 at undergraduate level (or overseas equivalent). While a Masters degree isn’t a formal entry requirement, applicants holding or pursuing a Masters degree in a relevant subject area, or with relevant equivalent experience in a professional setting will be seen more favourably.</p> <p>The studentship is open to both home and international applicants.</p> <h2>Project Overview</h2> <p>This research asks, ‘How can learning about a wider range of energy actors and actions in the home in the past help communities be active in energy decisions in the present and future?’ </p> <p>The climate crisis requires a comprehensive, interdisciplinary response, addressing all aspects of how we live. Such “grand challenge” research often ignores what drives the need for energy - behaviours that shape energy demand. Energy research remains largely technocratic, overlooking the truism that “buildings and objects don’t use energy, people do.” </p> <p>This project responds by framing energy demand as configured by the intimate relations and everyday practices involving household members, and people who offer trusted advice. Using historical research in the Museum of the Home, it explores a new perspective on energy history by focusing on intimate encounters with energy in the household – cleaning, feeding, health and comfort - and on the agency of women in negotiating energy decisions. The Museum of the Home collections, documenting the expansion of London and new (commuter) lifestyles that instigated different patterns of energy use show that the promise was that new energies would make life easier – but for whom, under what conditions? </p> <p>The project’s novelty lies in bringing insights from historically oriented humanities subject and museums into conversation with sustainability studies at the cutting edge of energy policy and practice in the UK, creating a conversation between energy history in the museum and the applied debate around energy futures.</p> <p><strong>Research Objectives</strong></p> <ul> <li>Examine the role of women in the home – as energy users, energy mediators and energy-related professionals – as evidenced in MoH’s objects and collections documenting the expansion of London into suburbs and new (commuter) lifestyles</li> <li>Examine how that expansion instigated different patterns of energy use </li> <li>Examine the impact of that expansion e.g. the promise that electricity was all about making life easier – but for whom, under what conditions?Explore the role of museums as spaces where conversations about energy pasts, presents and futures are generated through engagement with domestic objects and archives.</li> <li>Connect this research to the way in which overlooked actors configure energy demand today, finding points of resonance for the research in contemporary policy making.</li> </ul> <p><strong>The successful postgraduate researcher will be supported to develop – and answer, through their research - questions that address:</strong></p> <ul> <li>How can learning about a wider range of energy actors and actions in the home in the past help communities be active in energy decisions in the present and future?</li> <li>How can research in the Museum of the Home support and inform policy and practice change? </li> <li>What is the role and potential of the Museum of the Home as a space where visitors and community outreach projects engage with energy objects and archive documents from homes in the past, in order to ask questions about who are the actors missing from traditional stories of energy change?</li> <li>How can we use research on the history of domestic energy decisions to inform the next stage of the Museum of the Home’s award-winning sustainability practice? </li> <li>What is the value of different methods to engage communities in this type of research, including object-based methods to support the co-production of research and participatory action research methods?</li> </ul> <p><strong>Research with The Museum of the Home</strong></p> <p>This research studentship is one allocated to the Museum of the Home by the AHRC. The successful student will be expected to spend time carrying out research and gaining relevant experience with the partner in The Museum of the Home in London as part of the studentship. </p> <h2>Information about this award</h2> <p><strong>Duration of the Award</strong></p> <ul> <li>The award will be available full-time (4 years), or part-time (for UK candidates only, the maximum duration of study is 8 years). The award will be made for one year in the first instance and renewable for a further period of up to 3 years (pro-rata for part-time), subject to satisfactory academic progress.  </li> </ul> <p><strong>Funding</strong></p> <p>This award will provide:</p> <ul> <li>Full tuition fees up to the value of the full-time home fee. The UKRI indicative fee level is £5,238 for 2026/27, but is subject to change in future years. Students with an ‘overseas’ fee status are welcome to apply and the University of Leeds will cover the difference between the home fee and the international fee rate. Overseas-fee rated students would not be expected to pay the difference in fees. The successful student will be required to reside in the UK until completion of the PhD.</li> <li>An annual tax-free stipend equivalent of an annual salary, enabling the student to pay living costs. The UKRI stipend is £21,805 in Session 2026/27 for full-time study (part-time will be pro-rata). This amount increases per annum in line with the Research Council UK rate.  </li> <li>A Research Training and Support Grant (RTSG) of £3,000 in total (can be used to support study visits, conference attendance, training and development opportunities which are necessary for the student’s primary research)</li> <li>A CDA uplift. An additional £600 per year to go towards any additional cost students incur whilst undertaking a collaborative award, e.g. costs of travel between the non-HEI and HEI. HEIs must ensure that students receive this uplift in their yearly stipend amount.</li> <li>£1,000 per year for collaborative doctoral students who are at a non-London university but working with a London based non-HEI.</li> <li>The successful candidate is eligible to receive an additional travel and related expenses grant during the course of the project courtesy of The Museum of the Home worth up to £1000 per year for 4 years.</li> </ul> <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>Please be aware that any expenses related to the relocation of international students to the UK (<a href="https://www.leeds.ac.uk/international-visas-immigration/doc/applying-student-visa">visa, insurance, NHS fees, flights, etc</a>) would be their responsibility and is not covered by this award.</p> <p>Further details can be found on the <a href="https://www.ukri.org/publications/terms-and-conditions-for-training-funding/">UKRI website.</a></p> <p><strong>Selection process</strong></p> <ul> <li>The deadline to be considered for this Collaborative Doctoral Partnership is 2pm on the 1 May. All applications will be considered after the deadline. Only complete applications will be considered. </li> <li>We will hold remote interviews for shortlisted candidates 1^st June 2026.</li> <li>All applicants will be e-mailed within 10 weeks of the deadline to confirm the outcome.</li> <li>The final list of awards are based on academic merit and no other factors such as financial hardship are taken into account.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Other information</strong></p> <ul> <li>Awards must be taken up by 1 October 2026.</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 or who have previously been awarded a PhD are excluded from applying. Students who were previously registered on a PhD but withdrew from their studies, and who can provide formal confirmaton of their withdrawal, may be considered.</li> <li>Applicants must live within a reasonable distance of the University of Leeds whilst in receipt of this CDP. </li> </ul> <p><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 or Irish National (meeting residency requirements), or</li> <li>Have settled status, or </li> <li>Have pre-settled status (meeting residency requirements), or</li> <li>Have indefinite leave to remain or enter</li> </ul> <p>The latest revision of the AHRC Training Grant Funding Guide is available <a href="https://www.ukri.org/publications/training-grant-funding-guide/">here</a>.</p> <p>As a collaborative award, students will be expected to spend time at both the University and the Museum of the Home.</p> <p>NB. All applicants must meet UKRI terms and conditions for funding. See: https://www.ukri.org/funding/information-for-award-holders/grant-terms-and-conditions/</p>

<p><strong>Application deadline: 1 May 2026, 2pm (UK time)</strong></p> <p>You should apply for a research place of study, through the <a href="https://studentservices.leeds.ac.uk/pls/banprod/bwskalog_uol.P_DispLoginNon">online application form.</a> Please state clearly that the funding you wish to be considered for is “<strong>AHRC Museum of the Home CDP Scholarship</strong>”. You will be expected to meet our<a href="https://ahc.leeds.ac.uk/fine-art-research-degrees/doc/apply-12"> eligibility criteria </a>for PhD candidates. </p> <p>In order to be considered for the Scholarship you must submit all the <a href="https://ahc.leeds.ac.uk/fine-art-research-degrees/doc/apply-12">required supporting documents </a>with your application for PhD study. </p> <p><strong>As part of your application you must include a research proposal of no more than 500 words, indicating how you would approach the PhD project.</strong></p> <p>Any study applications that are not accompanied by the documents requested by the deadline will not be considered for the award.</p> <ul> <li>Please note that an unsuccessful application for this scholarship does not exclude you from applying for other research study opportunities or scholarships offered by the University of Leeds. </li> <li>Please note that, due to the large volume of applications, the University of Leeds will not enter into any correspondence regarding the progress of an application until the outcome is known. </li> <li>If English is not your first language, you must provide evidence that you meet the minimum English language requirements (below).  </li> </ul> <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 the HEI and a CDP Award Holder about the project and the process.</li> <li>Opportunity to speak with contacts within the HEI and/or a CDP Award Holder regarding institutional support systems (e.g. neurodiversity, racial diversity, LGBTQIA+ networks, mental health support, support for carers).</li> <li>Opportunity to speak with active CDP students to ask questions regarding student experiecnce 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>We ask all applicants to complete a voluntary EDI monitoring form <a href="https://forms.office.com/e/66i8V3mUb8">here</a>. All responses are anonymous.</p> <h2>CDP Consortium Webinar </h2> <p>All CDP projects are part of a nationwide programme called the Collaborative Doctoral Partnership consortium. The CDP consortium will host an online webinar for prospective applicants on 13 April 2026 at 11:00. These webinars will provide an overview of the CDP funding scheme. </p> <p>To sign up for a webinar, please email cdp@vam.ac.uk with the subject line “Prospective Applicant Webinar” from the email address you would like to join the online meeting from. Sign up will close on 10 April 2026 at 17:00.</p> <p>Please note, the webinars will not focus on individual projects.</p>

Applicants should have an honours degree of at least a 2.1 at undergraduate level (or overseas equivalent). Applicants should ideally have or expect to receive a relevant Masters-level qualification in a relevant subject, or be able to demonstrate equivalent experience in a professional setting. Applicants must be able to demonstrate an interest in the museum and heritage and/or the histories of energy, design, women and the home and potential and enthusiasm for developing skills more widely in related areas. Applicants who are uncertain about the requirements for a particular research degree are advised to contact the Admissions team prior to making an application.

The minimum English language entry requirement for research postgraduate study in the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies is an IELTS of 6.5 overall with at least 7.0 in writing and 6.0 in the other components (reading, 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.

<p>For further information please contact the Admissions team at ahcpgradmissions@leeds.ac.uk. </p>