UCL excellence recognised by Arts & Humanities Research Council
The Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC), the principal funding body for postgraduate research in the Arts and Humanities in the UK, has awarded UCL with funding for 447 research posts over the next five years as part of new Block Grant Partnership (BGP) Scheme. Although comparative data will not be published for another month, the AHRC has confirmed that UCL was 'one of the most successful' of the 48 institutions which will be receiving BGP funding, winning 81% of posts submitted. Arts and humanities researchers constitute nearly a quarter of all research-active staff in the higher education sector, and the news follows an announcement made by Lord Drayson, Minister for Science and Innovation, that the Government will be investing £199 million in the Arts and Humanities over the next five years, to create a total of over 6,500 new MA and PhD places. The UCL allocation will fund 176 PhD and 271 MA awards. UCL's bid for one of the AHRC's BGPs was deemed to have 'shown strong evidence of excellent strategic planning for, and delivery of, high-quality postgraduate research and training in the arts and humanities'. Professor Henry Woudhuysen, Dean of UCL Arts & Humanities, says: 'Our success in gaining such a high percentage of awards recognizes the quality of research in the Arts and Humanities at UCL and richly reflects the Faculty's commitment to graduate teaching and research.' UCL submitted a bid for 554 posts for the five-year period, of which a substantial 81% were granted.
