About this studentship
The University of Brighton and Royal Pavilion and Museums Trust, Brighton & Hove, is pleased to announce the continuation of a studentship for people from the African or Asian diaspora, or from marginalised ethnicities to undertake a Curating Collections and Heritage masters degree at the University of Brighton: the Change Studentship.
The Change Studentship Fund has been created to help promote diversity in collections and heritage curation in response to research which points to the continuing lack of workplace diversity in the heritage and museums sectors (Historic England, 2024; Art Fund 2022). This award is intended to help a wider range of people consider or continue a career in the sector and support museums and heritage organisations to become more representative of our society. The award is generously funded by the James Henry Green Charitable Trust via the Royal Pavilion and Museums Trust.
The award covers postgraduate Home/UK course fees (£9,250 GBP for 2025–26), and travel expenses to access a mentoring programme organised by the university. The student will undertake a placement at the Royal Pavilion and Museums Trust working with the James Henry Green Charitable Trust’s collection.
The studentship is open to those already working in the museums and heritage sector, as well as to new entrants, and applicants can study full-time or part-time.
Who is eligible
To be considered for the award, applicants must:
- have been offered a place on the Curating Collections and Heritage MA
- be prepared to start the course in October 2025
- be domiciled in the UK and not required to pay international tuition fees
- be self-funding (students taking out a Postgraduate Master’s Loan can apply, but applicants who will be funded by employers or other schemes are not eligible)
- be from the African or Asian diaspora or from a marginalised ethnicity. For the purposes of this scholarship, people from Arab, Black, Asian, Chinese, mixed minority ethnic backgrounds or other minority ethnic backgrounds.
How to apply
Please use our online application form.
The Change Studentship application form asks applicants to write three 200-word statements addressing the following questions:
- How will the studentship transform your personal and professional development? (200 words)
- What are the top three challenges faced by the sector and how do you think they should be addressed? (200 words)
- What contribution do you hope to make to the sector after you complete the course? (200 words).
Applications are reviewed by an evaluation panel made up of museum and university professionals, including practitioners and academics. The decision of the panel is discretionary and final.
Awards will not be made purely on the basis of academic excellence; they are intended to nurture ambition and realise potential.
If you have any queries please email Dr Harriet Atkinson at h.atkinson2@brighton.ac.uk.