Fellowships, studentships and internships at Bath Spa University’s Contemporary Writing Research Centre

AHRC Studentships

We have available a number of AHRC postgraduate studentships.

The Research Centre

For 2011/12 the Centre is offering a wide range of funded opportunities for international students applying to its PhD and taught MA programmes.

International PhD Student Fellowships

In 2011/12 the Centre is offering partial bursaries for full time PhD students as follows: Value £3000 (approx $4700 US) in the first academic year; then £1000 per academic year with opportunity to teach up to 6 hours per week (approx £40.00 per hour, subject to availability)

All fellowship funds are payable in three instalments, subject to satisfactory progress.

Fellowships are awarded on academic merit as determined by a panel of BSU staff based on your application’s sample of your creative writing and your interview. If no suitable candidates present themselves the awards will not be made. Fellowships are normally awarded for three academic years covering the period 01 September – 31 July. Fellowships are normally awarded to one person but can, in exceptional circumstances, be split between two people Fellowships are only available to students who are studying on the full time residential track of the PhD. Student fellows will normally be given the opportunity to undertake development activities in Year 1 that prepare them to undertake teaching during Year 2 and/or 3.

The 2011 Fellowships

The Les Arnold memorial fellowship in Poetry

The award holder will work with Prof. Liardet on the Bath Spa Poetry series – a programme of readings by leading writers. Past speakers have included such authors as Les Murray, Don Patterson, and Kathleen Jamie. The Fellow will also coordinate other activities for the wider graduate student community. The fellowship commemorates the work of Dr Les Arnold, the poet and founder of the MA in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University.

Fiction writing

The award holder will work with Prof Woodward on the provision of a reading series and other activities for the wider graduate student community. Past speakers have included Blake Morrison, DCB Pierre.

Scriptwriting

The award holder will work with Dr Steve May (Head of Creative Writing) and Ursula Sarma (Director of the MA in Scriptwriting) on the provision of a new play festival in conjunction with our sister departments of Drama and Performing Arts and other activities for the wider graduate student community.

We especially welcome applications from people interested in projects that make full use of the new studio faculties at Corsham Court. The Fellow will also support the Centre’s work with the Bridport Festival of Screen Adaptation.

Writing for Young People

The award holder will work with the Research Group for Writing for Young People, led by Steve Voake and Julia Green (Director of the MA in Writing for Young People) on the provision of a reading series and other activities for the wider graduate student community, including input to the events like the Bath International Festival of Children’s Writing.

Contemporary Writing

This fellowship is intended for students working on contemporary writing from a literacy studies perspective. The award holder will work with other fellows on provision of actives for the wider graduate community in the  research centre and will assist the Head of Dept and the Head of  School on the design and delivery of the Centre’s public facing programme for events like the Bath Literature Festival. We especially welcome applications from researchers interested in developing projects on the role of literature in the wider cultural economy such as its function in contemporary cultural tourism.

MA Studentships

The contemporary writing research centre also offers studentships of £2,000 (approx. US$ 3200) to full time international students on its MA courses as follows:

All Studentship funds are payable in arrears in three instalments: payment is subject to satisfactory progress.Studentships are awarded on academic merit as determined by a panel of BSU staff based on your application sample of creative writing and your interview. If no suitable candidates present themselves the awards will not be made.

Studentships are normally awarded for the period 01 September – 31 July and paid in December, April and July. Studentships are normally awarded to one person.

The award holders will assist the course directors and the Head of Dept in the running of various programme-related events during the course of the year. The Centre also funds an International Studentship for a student whose dissertation project in the MA in Literature & Landscape addresses some aspect of Contemporary Writing. The award holder will assist the course director of the MA and the Head of English in the running of various programme related events during the course of the year.

Writing Centre Internships

The School of Humanities & Cultural Industries manages the University’s Writing Centre and all home/ EU and international graduate students can apply to work as a writing tutor. Full time students cannot undertake more than 6 hours 1:1 writing tutoring work in any week. This would typically pay £50 per week.

Writing tutors work at the University’s Newton Park and Sion Hill Campuses. We typically have 6 internships available in an academic year. The internships are renewable on an annual basis subject to satisfactory performance. All applicants undergo a training programme before they begin work with students

Students interested in applying for a Writing Centre Internship should note this on their application form and they will be sent application details for these roles once they are enrolled as a BSU student.