Research collaboration
Find out more about opportunities to collaborate with us on research projects. As an Independent Research Organisation (IRO), we conduct research and collaborate with other researchers – including doctoral students – to create new knowledge, with a particular focus on our collection, services and infrastructure.
How can we help you with your research?
We lead and collaborate with specialists from other cultural organisations and universities on research of all kinds.
We support postgraduate research through a range of programmes for doctoral students. Find out more about our collaborative doctoral studentships, PhD placement scheme and training events for doctoral students.
We work with partners and funders to offer a variety of fellowship programmes for scholars to pursue their own research interests and develop professional expertise. Find out more about our fellowship opportunities.
Collaborate with us
If you're interested into collaborating with us, please complete our Research Proposal form. Your proposal will be processed by the Research Development team and will then be distributed to the relevant curatorial teams for expert review.
Please contact us at the earliest possible stage when developing a proposal. To involve us in your funding bid, the following minimum timescales apply prior to submission:
- project co-lead –3 months
- co-supervision of collaborative doctoral awards (CDAs) – 3 months
- project partner, sub-contractor or dual role – 1 month.
Please note that these timescales are indicative only and more time may be required depending on the complexity of our involvement.
What are the Library's priority research themes?
We particularly welcome approaches which relate to our priority research themes:
Collection histories
Research into the histories of our collection enhances and develops our understanding, informing how we manage and present them as a keeper of national memory. Projects in this area may include provenance research; investigating the lives and legacies of collectors and institutions; histories of curation; conservation and dispersal.
New narratives
Our collection is full of stories that are relevant to contemporary issues and have the potential to engage new audiences, which need to be surfaced through high-quality research. Such projects will inform many aspects of our long-term public programming, including exhibitions, live events, broadcasts, digital resources, events and publications.
Innovations in library services
Libraries are research infrastructure, and as the national library, we must continue to adapt and improve how we provide national infrastructure and services across disciplines in response to changing needs and opportunities.
Policy and practice
Our practice-based research engages with areas including cultural and heritage policy and practice; sustainability; issues of access, equality, diversity, and inclusion in libraries; co-collecting and co-curation; learning programmes; information literacy; libraries' engagement with creative industries and their social, cultural and economic value.
Doctoral research
We support postgraduate research through our Reading Rooms and online resources, through collaborative projects, and through research training events.
These partnerships explore and open up our collection and enhance our engagement with different research and public audiences.
Collaborative doctoral research
We co-supervise doctoral research in partnership with universities, covering a range of disciplines and subject areas.
This includes projects developed through the AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Partnerships programme as well as co-supervision of PhDs funded through Doctoral Training Partnerships (Collaborative Doctoral Awards).
If you are an academic interested in working with a member of Library staff as a PhD co-supervisor, please complete our Research Proposal form.
Collaborative Doctoral Partnerships (CDP)
PhD studentships are available each year, through the AHRC’s Collaborative Doctoral Partnerships programme, to support collaborative research projects drawing on our collection, resources and expertise.
We select a limited number of strategic CDP research themes each year through internal staff consultation.
Following selection of our research themes, we issue an open call for proposals from academics at UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) interested in co-supervising doctoral research around one of these themes. Academics are invited to develop the theme according to their own research interests and expertise. The call window is usually open in the autumn, for projects starting in October of the following year.
We provide the student with staff-level access to our collections, expertise and facilities, as well as financial support for research-related costs of up to £1,000 a year.
Once recruited, the successful PhD candidate will contribute to the development of the final agreed research project.
Call for applications – HEI partners for AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Partnership Projects 2025
Academics at UK universities and Higher Education Institutions are now invited to collaborate with the British Library on jointly supervised PhD studentships fully funded for four years through the AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Partnerships scheme. We are seeking proposals for four PhD projects, to start in October 2025, developed on the basis of our specially selected research themes listed below.
We now welcome applicants from academics of postgraduate status currently employed at UK universities/Higher Education Institutions who would be interested in joint supervision of collaborative doctoral projects beginning in October 2025.
Research themes
Academic applicants are invited to submit proposals to develop one of the following themes:
- The music collection of Paul Hirsch (1881-1951): The collecting practices of a Jewish emigré to England in the WWII period (PDF, 249kb)
- Online fan communities: Collecting practice and inclusion in a national collection (PDF, 250kb)
- Eighteenth-century knowledge work in the Harleian Collection (PDF, 244kb)
- Beyond the Burger: USA food stories in the British Library's oral history and food industry literature collections (PDF, 221kb)
Please click on the individual titles to download the full details about each theme and the British Library co-supervisors.
How to apply
Before submitting your application, please refer to the Information for HEI applicants (PDF, 194kb) and the relevant research theme profile, and ensure you are aware of the specific characteristics of the AHRC CDP scheme, the selection criteria, and the envisaged timetable.
Applicants must be academics of postdoctoral standing based at UK universities or HEIs, and be supported by the applicants’ institutions.
Applications should be submitted via the online application system which will go live shortly. If you would like to be notified when the system is live, please email pgr@bl.uk.
Applications should be submitted via the HEI Application Form. Applicants will be asked to upload a short CV for each academic supervisor. All materials must be submitted by the deadline of Friday 29 November 2024, 12:00 midday GMT. Late applications cannot be accepted.
PhD placement scheme
Our annual placement scheme offers doctoral researchers from all disciplines the chance to develop and apply transferable skills and expertise outside the university sector.
Projects cover activities ranging from cataloguing, conservation and interpretation to policy research, resource development and research or community engagement. The duration for each placement is 3 months (or part time equivalent). Most placements are also suitable for part-time students, and there may be opportunities to undertake placements remotely which will be indicated on the individual project profiles. Applications for the 2025-26 scheme will open in early 2025.
Please note that we do not accept applications for PhD placements outside this scheme. If you would like to be added to our mailing list for future PhD placement opportunities, please opt-in to the Research mailing list using our My Interests form.
British and European Collections: From Antiquity to 1800
Relevant to researchers interested in the Printed Heritage collection, the Ancient, Medieval and Early Modern Manuscripts collection, and the Maps collection. Also hear from the curators behind our Medieval Women: In Their Own Words exhibition.
Global Languages, Cultures and Societies
Learn about our geographic collection areas covering Asia and Africa, Americas and Oceania, and Modern European Languages. This event is co-hosted with the School of Advanced Study’s Institute of Languages, Cultures and Societies.
Post-1800 and Contemporary British Society and Culture
Find out about our collection from 1800 onwards, including the News and Moving Image collection, the Oral History collection, and the Contemporary British Published collection.
Not Just Books: Music, Sound and Vision
Discover our lesser known collections, including those relating to visual arts and prints, moving images, maps and the sound archive, covering broad time periods and geographical areas.
Not Just Books: Digital Collections and Resources
Explore digital resources at the Library, including web archives, metadata and digitised collections. Attendees can also hear from our Digital Research team and learn more about potential uses for digital data in research.
Fellowships
We work with a range of partners and funders to offer a variety of fellowship programmes for projects based at the Library, and grants to support individual research using our collection.
Chevening British Library Fellowships
We currently award two professional development fellowships each year through a special collaboration with Chevening, the UK government's international awards scheme aimed at developing global leaders. These fellowships are designed for mid-career professionals wishing to develop their career by engaging with collections, resources and audiences at the Library and working in close dialogue with our staff, fostering international skills exchange and collaboration.
Applications for the 2026/7 fellowships will open in summer 2025.
National Trust and British Library Doctoral Fellowships
We have partnered with the National Trust on a joint programme of doctoral fellowships. These three-month (or part-time equivalent) projects offer professional development opportunities to current PhD students which enables them to gain experience and skills from working with cultural organisations. Find out more about our previous projects.
We’re delighted to invite applications for a three-month doctoral fellowship in spring 2025: ‘Presenting Agatha Christie to diverse audiences at the British Library and National Trust’s Greenway House’. For more information and the application form, please visit the National Trust website.
Applications should be sent to Research.Development@bl.uk by 5pm on 15th December 2024.
Sustainability and Environment - Visiting Postdoctoral Research Fellowship
This is a collections-based fellowship, aimed at early career researchers in the arts and humanities or social sciences. It is designed to encourage the promotion and use of the British Library’s collection in sustainability and environmental research, an expanding and urgent area of current social and cultural enquiry. Researchers are invited to propose any projects which explore collection areas relevant to sustainability and environment, which seek to connect shared histories and futures.
Please refer to the Information for Applicants (PDF, 94kb) for further information and details of how to apply.
Application deadline: Tuesday 7 January 2025, 12.00 midday GMT.
Find out more
You can find out more about our plans for future work in our Research Strategy (PDF, 58kb) and read about past and current research activities in our annual Research Reports.
Get in touch
To discuss potential research collaborations, please email: research.development@bl.uk.
For enquiries related to our doctoral programmes, please email: pgr@bl.uk.