CHASE: Consortium for Humanities and the Arts South-East England

What does the studentship provide?

You will receive subject-specific and advanced training, whilst undertaking your research in an innovative, ground-breaking and empowering research environment, amongst our thriving postgraduate community.

You will also be provided with opportunities to attend world-class training, attending and presenting at conferences and events, academic publishing and work placement opportunities.

CHASE Studentship Funding supports both full-time and part-time study and covers:

• Fully-funded studentships: a tax-free maintenance stipend to cover your living costs, this is set at a minimum of £19,237 (full time equivalent) for 2024-25.
• Fees: whether you have home or international fee status, you will not have to pay university tuition fees during your studentship funding period.

How to apply

The CHASE Studentship competition is now open for applications on Wednesday 9 October 2024. All CHASE studentship applications will need to be submitted using the CHASE application form on SM Apply. The deadline for applications to be submitted on SM Apply is 12pm (midday) on Monday 27 January 2025.

In addition to your CHASE Studentship application, you must also apply for your place on the relevant PhD course at Essex, using the online application form The deadline for you to have applied for a place on your course at Essex in order to be considered for a CHASE application is 12pm (GMT) on Monday 13 January 2025.

You should start thinking about and drafting the key aspects of your application; you can outline your research proposal, plans and timeline for completion. Your supervisor will be able to offer you advice about how best to do this.

You can also start on your personal statement, which should address the following key questions; why are you applying for this studentship; why are you the best person for this research project; how are you and your proposed supervisors the best fit; why CHASE and how will the CHASE studentship enable you to achieve what you are proposing?

Applying online

CHASE will be hosting an online applicant webinar on 1 November at 12:00pm. Register your place for free online.

There was a webinar for applicants who were interested in the Stuart Hall Foundation CHASE AHRC Studentship on Friday 25 October, 12:00 - 13:00. 

The deadline for submission of your online applications for a CHASE Studentship is 12pm (GMT) (midday) on Monday 27 January 2025.

The deadline for you to have applied for your PhD at Essex (in order to be considered for a CHASE studentship) is 12:00pm GMT (midday) on Monday 13 January 2025. You can apply for your PhD online.

To further support applications for CHASE studentships, we are offering the opportunity for Essex applicants to attend any one of the other online workshops to support your application:

• On Tuesday 19 November 2024, 12pm – 1pm, we will hold an applicant workshop on “how to write your environment statement" on Zoom.
• On Thursday 21 November 2024, 11am  - 12pm, we will hold a workshop for both applicants and their supervisors on “what to include in the Supervisor Statement on Zoom.
• On Tuesday 3 December 2024, 11am -12pm, we will hold a drop-in support session for you to discuss your draft application with us. We will publish further details about this drop-in nearer the time.

Indicative timeline

September/October:

• Make contact with your potential supervisor(s) and commence your CHASE application on SMApply, discussing ideas for your application form with your supervisor.
• Attend our CHASE applicant workshop on Monday 27 January 2025 at 12pm.

November:

• Working with your identified supervisor, finalise your research proposal and complete the CHASE application form and apply for your PhD place at Essex.
• If possible, attend the CHASE studentship online application support workshops.

December:

• Come along to the online drop-in session with your draft/work-in-progress CHASE application for "first-look-feedback" on Tuesday 3 December 2025, between 11:00am and 12pm.
• Continue to work with your supervisor on your CHASE application, following feedback, and ensure you have nominated your referees on SMApply.
• If you haven’t already, ensure you have applied for your PhD place at Essex.

January:

• Submit your CHASE application by the deadline of 12:00pm GMT (midday) on Monday 27 January 2025

What's the selection process for studentship competitions?

After the CHASE studentship submission deadline (12:00pm GMT (midday) on Monday 27 January 2025) applications pass through an internal University selection process, before a decision is made whether to nominate particular applications to CHASE, for consideration at the relevant CHASE Panels. We are able to nominate 17 high-quality applications across the range of discipline areas. Applications put forward to these panels are considered alongside applications from other CHASE partner institutions.

You will be notified at the point we nominate the final 17 applications from Essex (26 March 2025) whether or not you have been successful at that stage.

The final selection phase, conducted by the CHASE Management Board, will be held in late May, and you will be notified by mid-April whether you have been awarded a CHASE student-led studentship.

The selection criteria used to assess applications across all panels, degree types and at all levels of the selection process is:

1. Research proposal (50%) (evidence: Research proposal, supervisor statement)

• The proposal is clearly-written and demonstrates engagement with an academic field at a high level of sophistication.
• The project demonstrates original thinking in its field (or fields)
• The project is clearly situated in its field (or fields)
• The methodology proposed clearly demonstrates the viability of the planned research.
• The planned research is described in a way that inspires confidence that it will definitely be completed within the funded period.
• The application demonstrates excellent motivation for the research project.
• The proposed research may be timely or urgent in nature, but not all excellent projects will be time-critical or topical.

2. Preparedness for research (25%) (evidence: academic record, professional achievements, Widening Participation Statement, references)

• The applicant demonstrates understanding of appropriate research skills required for successful completion of the project.
• The applicant has appropriate training at Master’s level or equivalent (including experience gained outside of higher education) to undertake the project.
• The applicant’s references fully support the applicant’s preparedness for doctoral study
• The applicant demonstrates outstanding competency in organisational skills and initiative through their previous activities, and a capacity to overcome obstacles.
• Where a widening participation statement is provided, it gives context on aspects of the candidate’s preparedness and on their motivation to undertake doctoral study. CHASE is committed to addressing inequalities in participation in our DTP, and encourages applications from all under-represented groups, including people with disabilities, ethnic minorities, lower income families and mature students. Assessors should consider information provided in the widening participation statement alongside other answers in this section.

3. Suitability of research environment (25%) (evidence: Research proposal, supervisor statement)

• The research environment (as constituted by the proposed supervision, the home department(s) or equivalent, the institutional support (including available archives, sources, research centres), any external organisations) is appropriate to the project.
• The applicant has given clear thought to the fit between their project and their proposed research environment.
• The supervisor statement fully supports the project’s fit with the proposed research environment.