Providing bursaries is an essential element of the Byron Society’s charitable aims. The Society offers 3 types of bursary:
- Our annual PhD bursary (see below)
- Student and ECR travel bursaries for our annual Newstead Abbey Byron Conference (details here)
- Sponsored special panels for major Romanticism conferences
PhD Bursary
The Byron Society invites applications for a PhD bursary of up to £5,000 per year.
Applications are open to new and existing full-time PhD students enrolled at a UK university and working on a thesis addressing any aspect of the life, work and /or influence of the poet Lord Byron. Applications are also welcomed from those studying multiple poets or authors, including Byron.
Each bursary covers just one year, however multiple applications can be made and postgraduates whose research focuses solely on Byron can receive up to three annual bursaries. (Those who study Byron alongside other poets and authors can only be awarded one bursary).
Applications can be made by students with additional sources of funding, but please list these in your application. The applications should also include a summary of the applicant’s academic record, an outline of his / her proposed research and the names of two referees who may be contacted. Please also state what year of study you are in.
Please provide the following information:
- Name
- Institution
- Year of Study
- Thesis title
- Thesis outline (300-500 word summary)
- Supervisor names and contact details (who might be contacted as referees if required)
- Any additional / existing sources of funding
Applications should be sent by email to Dr Emily Paterson-Morgan, Director of the Byron Society, at contact@thebyronsociety.com. In addition please cc in emily@p-m.uk.com as a back-up.
The application process for 2025/20265 is now open and will close on May 1st, 2025. However please get in touch if you have any questions.
2024/2025 PhD Bursary Award Recipient:
Toby Lucas
Toby Lucas is a PhD student at Durham University, working on a thesis entitled ‘The Impact and Configurations of Napoleon Bonaparte in the poetics of Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley and John Keats’. During one of the most transformative periods of English literature and modern European history, Bonaparte’s dramatic career made an indelible mark on the Romantic imagination. Toby’s project attends to Byron, Shelley and Keats’ uses of form, structure and language to understand their apprehensions of these tumultuous times, and the protean man at their centre. Toby also completed his MA and undergraduate studies at Durham University.
