Focal Awards Art History, Visua

Application Platform: UKRI Funding Service

Application Sections: Summary, core team, discipline classification, vision, approach, positive culture and environment, capability to deliver, partnerships and governance, use of resources and organisational support.

Assessment Process: Applications are assessed by a panel of experts reviewing proposals against the specified assessment criteria and ranking them before funding recommendations are made.

Co-Funders: Not specified

Collaboration Rules: Applications must involve a consortium including at least one additional higher education institution and at least one partner organisation beyond academia.

Competitiveness: Not specified

Consortium Requirements: A minimum of two higher education institutions and at least one non academic partner must form the consortium delivering the doctoral training programme.

Decision Risks: Applications may be rejected if they do not meet eligibility requirements or do not follow the application guidance.

Decision Timeline: Assessment expected to be completed within approximately four months of the application deadline.

Eligible Expenses: Doctoral stipends, tuition fees, training and development activities for students, cohort development activities and collaborative doctoral awards funding.

Eligible Scope: Programmes must support doctoral research and training in art history, visual arts and creative practice, including interdisciplinary and practice led approaches connected to cultural and creative sectors.

Funding Intensity: Funding provided at UKRI indicative fee levels and minimum stipend rates for up to four years per student.

Important Notes: Each higher education institution may submit only one application as the lead organisation but may participate in multiple applications as a consortium member.

Ineligible Projects: Applications from a single higher education institution without consortium partners, applications from organisations outside the UK and proposals focused on master’s level training.

International Collaboration Requirement: International partners may participate as project partners, including organisations based overseas.

Interview Stage: Not specified

Key Requirements: The consortium must demonstrate the ability to deliver innovative doctoral training, support student development and engage partners across academia and the cultural and creative sectors.

Lead Organisation Requirement: The lead applicant must be a UK higher education institution eligible for UKRI doctoral funding and capable of leading a consortium delivering doctoral training.

Match Funding Requirement: No requirement for institutional matched funding.

Project Duration: Minimum of six academic years

Project End Date: Final cohort expected to start in the 2028 to 2029 academic year

Project Start Date: First cohort starts in the 2026 to 2027 academic year

Publication Date: 2025-12-09 00:00:00

Renewal Rules: Not specified

Research Category: Doctoral research and training in arts and humanities.

Research Organisation Funding: Not specified

Subcontractors: Not specified

Total Fund Available: Not specified in document