The University of Huddersfield is part of a consortium currently advertising 12 funded PhD places for subjects related to Heritage Studies. This will pay tuition fees plus about £14,000 per year in living expenses (stipend). Applicants should have been living in the UK for the last 3 years, and should be UK or EU citizens. Eligibility is complex, and addressed on the application pages. Applicants should have an MA or have a good undergraduate degree along with relevant professional experience. These are competitive opportunities, and the awards will go to the best quality candidates and research applications, across a range of fields.

I am interested in particular in encouraging applications related to sound archaeology and multimedia archaeology. For example you may be interested in the following projects:

Sound/Music Archaeology PhD:

PhD project proposals are invited in the areas of sound archaeology, music archaeology, archaeoacoustics or related fields. This might involve an examination of the acoustics or acoustic ecology of an archaeological site or sites. It could involve study of musical instruments, composition for ancient musical instruments, the study of ancient music or any related subject. Another area of interest is the integration of audio into multimedia modelling of heritage sites. Research can integrate practice-based or practice-led elements as well as theoretical and contextual study. Students may wish to have co-supervision from a member of archaeological staff as well as an expert in sound archaeology. Students may have a background in acoustics, music technology, audio, composition or archaeology, although other fields are not excluded.

Multimedia Archaeology PhD:

PhD project proposals are invited to explore the use of multimedia tools to explore archaeological sites, particularly including exploration and modelling of sound as well as image. This could be a creative arts project, creating multimedia artworks, installations, or interactive environments that explore archaeological or heritage contexts. Models of world heritage sites, including Stonehenge, Palaeolithic decorated caves, and Cyprus’ Paphos theatre, as well as of other significant archaeological sites, are available as a starting point for the project. This may explore development of these models into edutainment/serious games. It may involve exploring the use of such modelling in heritage contexts. It could explore the modelling of specific spaces, or the use of online or interactive environments, including apps. Unreal or Unity game engines can be used. A focus could be specifically on audio elements of such research. Students with backgrounds in game design, programming, multimedia art, archaeology, music technology or related subjects are welcome. Support for multimedia, sound or archaeological elements is available, and a range of supervision support in different departments is available.

There may well be opportunities to be involved in the European Music Archaeology Project, a 5 year EU funded research project (www.emaproject.eu). The University of Huddersfield is a co-organizing partner in this project.

The advert is here:

http://www.heritageconsortium.ac.uk/2015/12/09/2016-ahrc-studentship-competition-up-to-12-phd-studentships-in-heritage-studies/

There is a frequently asked questions (FAQ) page here:

http://www.heritageconsortium.ac.uk/apply/frequently-asked-questions-faqs/

Details of how to apply are here:

http://www.heritageconsortium.ac.uk/apply/

I am happy to help with developing applications, please contact me at r.till@hud.ac.uk. Please mention my name in your application, and let me know if you are applying.