Scholars of Colour MA Scholarship
As part of a positive and practical effort to attract more early career scholars of colour to the Renaissance, the Society for Renaissance Studies has created a fund to support MA Scholarship Awards for scholars of colour. In 2024, we plan to offer two scholarships of £4,000 each, to contribute to the costs of postgraduate study.
These scholarships are open to those who identify as scholars of colour. The topic on which you choose to work, and the discipline in which you are centred, is entirely open, so long as it fits within a broad definition of Renaissance studies (c. 1400-1700).
The scheme this year will have a deadline of 15 July 2024, for postgraduate taught courses running in 2024-25.
The awards can be held at any institution in the UK or Ireland. However, the committee that makes the decision will bear in mind that, as with all our funding schemes, awards should not be allowed to pool among a small number of institutions, but rather be distributed as widely and fairly as possible. We therefore encourage applications from any and all universities (or equivalent institutions). Applicants should ideally have applied to and been accepted by a specific university or college by 15 July deadline, but we will be flexible on this. Please also remember to allow time for your referee to complete their reference before the 15 July deadline.
Applications will be judged on merit, based on the applicant's account of why they wish to study the Renaissance, together with their academic record at undergraduate level, and where necessary, with reference to the letter of recommendation from an academic who has knowledge of the applicant’s work.
We strongly encourage academics who work in the Renaissance to publicise this as widely as possible to final year undergraduates of colour, or those who are already in receipt of their undergraduate degree, and who may be interested in MA study. We recognise that some applicants may not come directly from undergraduate study, and welcome such applications.
Applicants need not be members of the SRS when they apply, and the society will cover the cost of membership during the award. They will be offered the opportunity of having a mentor from the SRS Council (which is made up of senior academics across a wide range of disciplines) who will offer career advice, including on any subsequent PhD proposal. Please note, however, that we do not stipulate that a candidate has to plan to go on to study for a PhD.
Applicants should state on their application the degree programme they will be studying.
This scheme will be reviewed for its viability after one year, both in terms of the number of such scholarships that will be offered in the future, and their value.