PhD Collaboration

PHD Collaborations are an important part of helping us to not only learn more about our collections, but also share them more effectively with our audiences. In addition, they enable the V&A to play an active role in training a new generation of scholars who are equipped to work in both the academic and heritage sectors.

The V&A jointly runs – through a long-standing partnership with the Royal College of Art – the world’s oldest MA and PhD programme in the History of Design. Alumni from these programmes have entered the world of design at all levels including leading curators, journalists and design historians. Find out more about the course here.

We also co-supervise a broad range of Arts and Humanities PhDs, and work with universities across the country to improve training in public engagement for doctoral students. The V&A is a member of several AHRC Doctoral Training Partnerships and Centres for Doctoral Training. These consortia of universities and research organisations collaborate closely to provide innovative training environments for postgraduate students in the UK.

The Museum also holds an award from the AHRC for three Collaborative Doctoral Partnership (CDP) studentships per year. These PhD students are jointly supervised by V&A specialists and UK university academics. They work on topics from contemporary Brazilian design to the conservation of plastics, and from medieval English embroidery to Victorian literary culture. Further information, including how to propose a project is available here.

Cover image: ‘Research in action at the V&A Research Institute (VARI) photograph by Eileen Budd’