The Royal Historical Society is pleased to announce the inaugural David Berry Fellowship in Scottish History and the History of the Scottish People.
Launched in December 2023, the David Berry Fellowship provides an annual award of up to £2,500 to undertake research on the history of Scotland and the Scottish people worldwide.
Invitations are now invited for the inaugural David Berry Fellowship prior to the closing date of 1 March 2024. For more on the Fellowship, eligibility, and how to apply, please see here.
The Fellowship is a new award drawing on the David Berry Fund, donated to the Society in 1929 and used, until 2022, to support the David Berry Prize in Scottish History. The change to a Fellowship from 2024 is in line with the Society’s strategic aims of using available funds to support new research and activity by historians.
The David Berry Fellowship may be used to undertake research, and to cover the costs of research, into an aspect of the history of Scotland and / or the history of the Scottish people within the United Kingdom or worldwide, within 12 months of 1 March 2024.
What is covered by the Fellowship?
The David Berry Fellowship is intended to enable and facilitate research that would not otherwise take place. Sources of funding may include, but are not limited to:
- Travel to an archive or research site
- Accommodation while researching away from home
- Entrance charges for archives, or similar, where required
- Fees for obtaining or posting research materials (e.g. copying / scanning)
- Please note: the Fellowship may not be used to pay a third party to undertake research or to support the publication of a final manuscript
Other current calls for RHS research funding
In addition to the David Berry Fellowship, applications for the following grants are now open with deadlines marked below:
- RHS Workshop Grants – awards of £1000 for historians to hold day-long events to pursue a wide range of activities and projects, including but not limited to research. Next closing date for applications: Friday 19 January 2024.
- Early Career Research Fellowships – for historians within 5 years of completing a PhD to support career-building research or activities in the post-PhD period. Awards of £2000, maximum, providing support for discrete outcomes lasting no more than 6 months. Next closing date for applications: Friday 1 March 2024.
- Open Research Support Grants – for all historians who are not postgraduate students or early career researchers (within 5 years of completing a PhD). Awards of either £500 or £1000 to support specified research activities. Next closing date for applications: Friday 1 March 2024.
HEADER IMAGES: (left); William Duguid, Scottish textile importer based in Boston (1773), by Prince Demah Barnes; (right) ‘Janet Law’, by Sir Henry Raeburn, both Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, public domain.