Midlands4Cities (M4C) PhD funding

Be part of a thriving community of doctoral students producing world-class research.

• Studentship funding and enhanced support for professional training
• Expert supervision within and across our dynamic mix of university partners
• Networking and collaboration across the Midlands, nationally and internationally
• Links to leading cultural organisations and creative economy partners

Find out more about the partnership

University of Nottingham academics are leading specialists in their fields. They have years of experience in successfully supervising PhD candidates.

You're encouraged to get in touch with potential supervisors as early as possible. They'll be happy to advise on suitability for M4C applications, co-supervisors and writing applications.

You can find out about their specialisations and how well they fit your research interests on our department websites:

• American and Canadian Studies
• Classics and Archaeology
• Cultural, Media and Visual Studies
• English
• Geography (cultural)
• History
• Law
• Modern Languages and Cultures
• Music
• Politics and International Relations
• Philosophy
• Theology and Religious Studies

Collaborative Doctoral Awards (CDA)

Midlands4Cities also offers a number of existing research projects together with external partners where your supervision team is already set. As well as producing your thesis you also gain first-hand experience of a partner organisation outside the university environment.

For 2021 start there are two with the University of Nottingham as the lead institution:

• Decolonising the collection: The origins and early history of Nottingham Castle museum (1878-1929)
• Reconstructing Residential Adult Education: Fircroft College, politics and community, 1970-2020

Find out more about CDAs on the Midlands4 Cities website. 

You must do this before you apply for M4C AHRC funding as you need your University Applicant ID to submit your M4C form. Our postgraduate study pages give full details on the application process including key dates, eligibility criteria and help to write your research proposal.

How to apply to research at Nottingham

You do this using the M4C online application portal. Their website provides detailed guidance notes on how to apply for funding, a referees reference form and access to the online application form.

The M4C application process and form