The University of Manchester invite applications for a PhD studentship exploring the intersection of museums, conservation, and artificial intelligence (AI). This is a collaboration between the University of Manchester and the Getty Conservation Institute.
AI technologies are increasingly embedded in museum and conservation practice, raising questions about authority, authorship, ethics, materiality, and care. From predictive analytics for preventive conservation to machine learning for object recognition and condition monitoring, tools such as natural language processing (NLP) and large language models (LLMs) are reshaping theoretical, professional, and practical approaches. This PhD sits at the intersection of critical museology, conservation, digital humanities, and computer science, offering an opportunity to explore how AI might support, disrupt, or redefine conservation in the 21st century.
Table of Content
Summary
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Benefits
- Studentship funding is for a duration of 3.5 years to commence in January 2026 and covers UKRI tuition fees and an annual stipend (2025/26 rate £20,780 per annum).
- This studentship is open for International Students.
Requirements
Academic
- Bachelor's (Honours) degree at 2:1 or above (or overseas equivalent); and
- Master's degree in a relevant subject – with an overall average of 65% or above, a minimum mark of 65% in your dissertation and no mark below 55% (or overseas equivalent)
English Language
All applicants must provide evidence of English language proficiency:
- IELTS test minimum score – 7.0 overall, 7.0 in writing.
- TOEFL (internet based) test minimum score – 100 overall, 25 in all sections.
- Pearson Test of English (PTE) UKVI/SELT or PTE Academic minimum score – 76 overall, 76 in writing.
- To demonstrate that you have taken an undergraduate or postgraduate degree in a majority English speaking nation within the last 5 years.
- Other tests may be considered.
Application Documents
Please ensure all required supporting documents are included at the time of submission, as incomplete applications may not be considered. Your application must include the following:
- Copy of your Bachelor's academic transcript and certificate.
- Copy of your Master's academic transcript and certificate. If your Master's degree is pending, please provide an interim transcript.
- If you have completed more than one Bachelor's or Master's degree, please provide evidence for each. If your transcripts are in a language other than English, you must provide an official English translation. If your weighted average mark or GPA is not included on these documents, please also include an official document from your university verifying this information.
- An academic CV, summarising your employment history, publications and highlighting experience demonstrating your research potential.
- Supporting statement (maximum of 1000 words) indicating why you would like to undertake this studentship, explaining how your focus, experience, and skills link to the research outlined above, and outlining how you would approach the research (including the research questions you’d focus on and the methodology you’d follow).
- Example of a piece of academic writing produced by you of up to 5,000 words (you may consider submitting two shorter pieces if this deals separately with conceptual and empirical analyses). This may be an academic essay or chapter(s) from a dissertation, in which case, an abstract or introduction outlining the context/aims/research questions of the study must also be included. In Section 12, upload the Writing Sample under Research Statement/Proposal and label it clearly as "Writing Sample."
- You must nominate two academic referees (including one from your most recent institution). Your referees will be contacted directly via the Referee Portal following the submission of your application form. You may wish to contact your referees to request they submit your reference in a reasonable timeframe as this forms part of the review process;
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Application Deadline
September 24, 2025How To Apply
The application deadline will be Midnight (GMT) on 24/09/25. Apply online for PhD Digital Humanities, Cultures and Media at the University of Manchester.
Under Section 6 Research Details select ‘Yes’ to Are you applying for an advertised project. Insert the project title as stated at the top of the advert. It is recommended when entering the name of the supervisor to simply enter this and not use the supervisor search function.
Please indicate in Section 9 Funding Sources your intention to apply for the EPSRC IDLA Award.
Please ensure all required supporting documents are included at the time of submission, as incomplete applications may not be considered. Your application must include the following:
- Copy of your Bachelor's academic transcript and certificate.
- Copy of your Master's academic transcript and certificate. If your Master's degree is pending, please provide an interim transcript.
- If you have completed more than one Bachelor's or Master's degree, please provide evidence for each. If your transcripts are in a language other than English, you must provide an official English translation. If your weighted average mark or GPA is not included on these documents, please also include an official document from your university verifying this information.
- An academic CV, summarising your employment history, publications and highlighting experience demonstrating your research potential.
- Supporting statement (maximum of 1000 words) indicating why you would like to undertake this studentship, explaining how your focus, experience, and skills link to the research outlined above, and outlining how you would approach the research (including the research questions you’d focus on and the methodology you’d follow).
- Example of a piece of academic writing produced by you of up to 5,000 words (you may consider submitting two shorter pieces if this deals separately with conceptual and empirical analyses). This may be an academic essay or chapter(s) from a dissertation, in which case, an abstract or introduction outlining the context/aims/research questions of the study must also be included. In Section 12, upload the Writing Sample under Research Statement/Proposal and label it clearly as "Writing Sample."
- You must nominate two academic referees (including one from your most recent institution). Your referees will be contacted directly via the Referee Portal following the submission of your application form. You may wish to contact your referees to request they submit your reference in a reasonable timeframe as this forms part of the review process;
- A full PhD Proposal is not required.
If you have any questions about the scope of the PhD project, please contact Dr Kostas Arvanitis ([email protected]).
For more details, visit University of Manchester Scholarship webpage
