Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures Graduate School

At the heart of the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures, our Graduate School supports postgraduate researchers (PGRs) from across disciplines to explore, challenge, and shape our cultural and intellectual landscape.

The Graduate School team comprises the Head of the Graduate School, academic Directors of Postgraduate Research in each of the Faculty’s nine Schools, together with a dedicated team of professional services colleagues. All are committed to creating an outstanding environment for our PGRs, providing a platform for their future professional success.

Our vision for postgraduate research

Studying for a postgraduate degree in the arts and humanities at Leeds – whether our PhD programme or Master’s by Research – opens up possibilities. We provide training and development for aspiring academics, but also position our PGRs for a range of other careers where the skills of postgraduate research – creativity, critical thinking, and communication, amongst many others – are highly prized. Many of our PGR graduates go on to shape their academic fields, while others become leaders in the creative industries, policy, heritage, tech and beyond.

A collaborative research culture

In our Faculty, PGRs work across a rich tapestry of subjects, spanning all our Schools and interdisciplinary centres. We foster strong connections not only between academic disciplines in the arts and humanities, but across the University, creating a diverse, collaborative research environment.

Inclusion, community and wellbeing

We are proud to embed the University’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy into every aspect of our Graduate School. We believe that diverse perspectives drive better research and a stronger academic community. It is our mission to create a caring culture of trust, kindness and mutual respect for our PGRs. We offer regular drop-in support sessions open to all PGRs in the Faculty, as well as a programme of events and tailored support through the AHC Wellbeing and Disability teams.

Every School has dedicated PGR representatives who sit on both Faculty-wide and School-level committees, including our Faculty PGR Forum. They are supported by Leeds University Union and act as advocates and champions for our PGRs, raising matters of concern and helping to shape the experience of postgraduate research in the Faculty.

PGRs come to Leeds from across the UK and around the world - around half of our PGRs are from overseas. We regularly organise cultural events, local excursions, and social gatherings, helping you to discover Leeds and Yorkshire while forming lasting academic and personal connections. Support for our PGRs recognises and reflects the distinctive ways in which they work and their varied backgrounds.

Funding support

Each year, we sponsor a range of PGR-led research groups that encourage networking, collaboration, and intellectual exchange. We also offer Faculty Research Dissemination Awards, which provide funding to enable PGRs to present their work at conferences, organise exhibitions, or to explore other creative ways of communicating their research.

Explore our schools

The Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures covers the full waterfront of disciplines and approaches in the arts and humanities. PGRs are each associated with a “home” School, with some receiving additional supervision from other areas of the Faculty. You can find out more about postgraduate research in each School, including details of how to apply:

• School of Design
• School of English
• School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies
• School of History
• School of Languages, Cultures and Societies
• School of Media and Communication
• School of Music
• School of Performance and Cultural Industries
• School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science
• Institute for Medieval Studies
• IDEA: The Ethics Centre