The world’s first national graduate school for the arts and humanities, which is hosted by the University of Glasgow, has announced its first round of applied doctoral studentship grants.

The funding, worth nearly £380,000 over three years, will support seven Applied Research Collaboration Studentships - £54,000 each – which are distributed by the Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities (SGSAH), based in the University of Glasgow.

The University of Glasgow is leading an in-depth study of the politics, programming strategies and practices of human rights film festivals, working alongside the University of St Andrews and the International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival.

It is also involved in another project – archiving and historicising the feminist anti-violence movement in Scotland – which is being led by the University of Stirling and also involves the Glasgow Women’s Library.

Other projects include 18th century reading habits and the history of whaling in Dundee.

Each of the three-year PhD studentships is based on a partnership project which includes two higher education institutions and one external body. The studentships are funded 50% by the Scottish Funding Council and 50% by the two universities, with the external partner providing support in kind.

The SGSAH is made up of 16 HEIs and 29 supporters from the arts, culture, creative and heritage sectors. It is supported by the Scottish Funding Council and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) to provide the framework to develop strategic and sustainable partnerships to deliver world-leading doctoral training in the Arts and Humanities across Scotland.

Professor Dee Heddon, Dean of the SGSAH and Professor of Contemporary Performance in the University of Glasgow’s School of Culture and Creative Arts, said: “The first round of our new studentships demonstrates the vitality and variety of arts and humanities research across Scotland and highlights the close links between that research and our arts, culture and heritage sectors. The projects will support the development of highly-skilled doctoral researchers who have the knowledge, experience and networks to make a difference in the world.”

Laurence Howells, Chief Executive of the Scottish Funding Council, said: “It’s vital that we invest in developing the best research talent in our universities. The students benefiting from this £380,000 investment will be the people leading innovation and discovery in the future.

“They will be helping to create prosperity and jobs in the creative industries as well as enhancing our enjoyment of history, art, film and new media. The fact that the students will be collaborating with organisations like festivals, libraries and the National Theatre of Scotland is also very exciting.”

The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, Angela Constance, added: “The Scottish Government will again be providing more than a billion pounds in funding in 2015/16, having invested more than £4bn in higher education since 2011. Scotland is a leading nation in higher education, with four universities in the world’s top 200 – more per head of population than any other country, except Switzerland.”

The projects that successfully bid for funding in 2015 were:

Archiving and historicising the feminist anti-violence movement in Scotland: Glasgow Women’s Library (GWL), University of Stirling, University of Glasgow

Books and Borrowers, 1747 – 1857: Innepeffray Library and the History of Scottish Reading: Innerpeffray Library, University of Stirling, University of Dundee

Connecting Performance and Play: interdisciplinary design methods for the development of games and performance: National Theatre of Scotland, University of Abertay, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland

Improving the Nation: investigating the principles of improvement in the new planned settlements of rural Scotland, c. 1750 – c. 1905: Inverary Castle and Argyll Estates, University of Dundee, University of Stirling

Human Rights Film Festivals: Politics, Programmes and Practices: Document: International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival, University of Glasgow, University of St Andrews

Hunting Whales and Making Knowledge: Dundee’s Globalisation through Trans-Maritime Whaling, 1750 – 1914: Dundee Heritage Trust, University of St Andrews, University of Dundee

Placing Sound: the Role of Aurality and Visuality in Locating Identities: sound@Woodend Barn, Robert Gordon University, University of Aberdeen

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First published: 4 June 2015