The British Library PhD research placement scheme is intended to provide opportunities for PhD students to apply and enhance research, communications and analytical skills and expertise outside of Higher Education as part of their wider research training and professional development.
A PhD research placement at the British Library provides the chance to experience research in a different environment to that of a university, to engage with a range of research users and audiences, to gain insights into different potential postdoctoral career paths, and to make a tangible contribution to the purposes and programmes of a national library and major cultural organisation.
Examples of previous BL PhD research placements and their outcomes.
Current opportunities
A broad range of research placement opportunities have been identified by the Library for 2018-19 (click on the links below to view placement project profiles)
- Afrikaans literature
- Investigating Anne McLaren’s Notebooks
- Art, Poetry and Politics – Contemporary British Artists’ Books
- Exploring music archives of 20th-century British composers
- Unlocking Charles I’s Vision of Rome
- Exploring our ‘Endangered Archives’ Projects in Africa
- First World War French posters
- Examining the role of internal engagement and communications in the British Library
- Visualising a future for Midland Road and Euston Road
- North American Migrant Narratives
- Playbills in context: linked open data for historical playbills
- Policy development with the British Library
- Political cartoons in India in the 1930s and 1940s
- Virus checking in long-term digital collection management and digital preservation
- William Blake at the British Library
- Telling the Stories of the Treasures of the British Library
How to applyPlease refer to the application guidelines and email the completed application form and a CV to Research.Development@bl.uk
Application form (Word)
Please note that all applications must be approved by the applicant’s PhD supervisor and Graduate Tutor (or equivalent senior academic manager).
The application deadline is 4pm on 19 February 2018
Eligibility
- Open to all PhD students, as long as they have the support of their PhD supervisor and their Graduate Tutor (or equivalent)
- International students are eligible if they have the right to study in the UK
FundingThe British Library PhD research placement scheme has been developed in consultation with UK Research Funders, universities and Doctoral Training Partnerships.
The research placements offered through the scheme are opportunities for current PhD students to apply and enhance research skills and expertise outside of Higher Education as part of their wider research training and professional development. They are training and development opportunities to be undertaken within this specific context – and are therefore different to the paid internships or other fixed-term posts that the Library may occasionally make available. See the Application Guidelines for further details and background.
You may also be interested in:
- The Word Bank Conference on Development Economics 2018: Political Incentives and Development Outcomes
- OECD Statistician/Junior Analyst
- OECD Junior Labour Market Economists
- OECD Economists/Policy Analysts
Please note that – unlike for an internship or a fixed-term post – the British Library is unable to provide stipends or payment to PhD placement students. It is therefore essential that applicants to the placement scheme obtain the support of their PhD supervisor and Graduate Tutor (or someone in an equivalent senior academic management role) in advance and that, as part of their process, they consult their HEI to ascertain what funding is available to support them.
After the interview stage, students who have been offered a placement and are not able to cover the costs through funding from their university or other sources may apply to the Library’s PhD Placement Travel Fund to request help to cover day-to-day commuting expenses or one-off relocation travel costs only. Please note that this Fund is limited and the success of an application to it cannot be guaranteed.
To support self-funded and part-time students, most placements can be done on a part-time basis, with some remote working also sometimes possible – see the individual projects for details.
Any questions?Contact Research.Development@bl.uk for all queries or to be added to our placement scheme mailing list.
Scholarship & Career 