International Placement Scheme 2026 in Swindon

Opportunity status: Open

Funding type: Other

Total fund: £250,000

Award range: £6,000 - £16,200

Publication date: 7 January 2026

Opening date: 7 January 2026 9:00am UK time

Closing date: 19 March 2026 4:00pm UK time

Last updated: 23 January 2026

Apply for a funded placement at an international institution. Placements are available at the following institutions:

• US: Harry Ransom Center, Huntington Library, Library of Congress, Smithsonian Institution, Yale Centre for British Art
• Japan: National Institutes for the Humanities (NIHU)
• China: Shanghai Theatre Academy

You will receive £1,000 for travel and visa costs (£1,200 for travel to Japan and China) and £2,500 for each month of the placement. You can apply for two to six months of funding.

Who can apply:

This funding opportunity is open to organisations with standard eligibility. This funding opportunity is open to:

• PhD students currently funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)
• Early career researchers (ECRs)
• PhD students funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) may apply for a placement at the Library of Congress.

AHRC applicants must apply to undertake primary research in an AHRC subject area for all hosts. ESRC-funded PhD students are only eligible to apply to Library of Congress and must be applying to undertake primary research in an ESRC subject area.

AHRC applicants can apply for a placement at more than one institution in a single round, noting that separate applications need to be submitted. However, dates and applications must:

• be for separate and distinct research work packages
• not overlap
• take place in one continuous block of time
• not be interdependent

If applying for a placement at more than one institution, you should also check that there are no visa restrictions on returning to the host country within the same year. You can only hold a placement at the same institution once in each stage of your career, for example once as a student and once as an early career researcher (ECR). Deferred entry applications are not permitted. Equally, if your application is successful but you cannot undertake your placement, you must reapply the following year.

Before applying, PhD students must secure approval of their UK research organisation and their supervisor. Early career researchers and doctoral-level research assistants must secure approval from their head of department. This approval confirms that you can attend the placement in full if your application is successful.

Individual eligibility for PhD students:

• AHRC-funded doctoral students can apply to any host.
• ESRC-funded doctoral students can only apply to Library of Congress.

Placements must be undertaken during the funded period of your doctoral award. PhD students must include their doctoral training grant reference in the 'About you' section of the application form. Because these placements are intended to enrich and form part of the period of doctoral study, no additional time will be added to the doctoral award end date.

Individual eligibility for ECRs:

Applicants are expected to either:

• hold a doctorate by the start date of the fellowship
• demonstrate equivalent research or innovation experience, training or both

There are no eligibility rules based on years since PhD or whether the applicant currently holds a permanent or open-ended academic position or job role. However, individuals who currently hold a permanent position are encouraged, but not required, to meet at least one of the following criteria:

• not previously been a project lead or co-lead on any funded academic project or led a significant programme of work in a commercial or non-academic setting
• precariously employed, for example currently employed via a temporary contract of employment
• recent returner from a career break, for example maternity, caring responsibility, sickness, unpaid sabbatical
• changing career track or returning after substantial administrative responsibility
• recent change in career, for example industry to academia or academia to industry

Please note that these criteria are considered desirable and will strengthen an application, but they are not mandatory.

Doctoral level research assistants are eligible. Therefore, you must:

• be of postdoctoral standing, having either a PhD qualification or equivalent research experience
• have a contract with a UK research organisation at the time of application that extends beyond the end date of the placement

You will be asked to provide evidence of how you meet these criteria. Failure to do so could result in your application being rejected.

Equality, diversity and inclusion for all funding applicants. We encourage applications from a diverse range of researchers. We support people to work in a way that suits their personal circumstances. This includes:

• career breaks
• support for people with caring responsibilities
• flexible working
• alternative working patterns

for UKRI applicants and grant holders during the application and assessment process. Applicants with disabilities or caring responsibilities may request an appropriate amount of additional funding where this is essential to taking up the placement and where it cannot be provided by routes such as the . Applicants requiring this additional support should contact AHRC for further guidance and to discuss how to reflect this request within the application form.

We are committed to promoting the values of equality of opportunity, diversity, and inclusivity. A dynamic, diverse and inclusive research and innovation system must be an integral part of UK society, giving everyone the opportunity to participate and to benefit. Therefore, we particularly encourage applications from persons who identify as:

• an ethnic minority
• people with health conditions or impairments
• people with caring responsibilities
• persons of diverse gender identities and expressions
• persons identifying with other groups who are currently underrepresented

Applicants who identify with any of the protected characteristics listed above and who would welcome additional support, or who wish to discuss any perceived risks or concerns, are encouraged to contact AHRC and their prospective host institutions for further guidance and support.

Applications to UKRI through the new Funding Service can only be made if you have completed our EDI survey, which you are prompted to do when you open an.