The London Consortium is seeking to appoint two doctoral students to work on the project Art School Educated: Curriculum Change in UK Art Schools 1960-2010. This Leverhulme-funded research project is based in the research department at Tate, an institutional partner of the London Consortium, and the students will be expected to work in collaboration with the department and the two postdoctoral researchers assigned to the project. These studentships are fully funded for three years to commence in September 2009 and include a maintenance grant of £14,940 as well as covering UK/EU tuition fees.

The London Consortium is a unique collaboration between Birkbeck College, the ICA, Tate, the Science Museum and the Architectural Association offering masters and doctoral programmes in humanities and cultural studies in a unique multidisciplinary environment. In the first year of the award the successful applicant will follow five core courses and a research methods course designed to provide an exploratory and innovative grounding in the concepts and methodologies of multidisciplinary research. The doctorate will be examined by a thesis of 80,000 to 100,000 words, and will be awarded by the University of London.

The main objectives of the project are to research and record the institutional and curriculum histories of the London art schools in the post-war period to reveal how art school education affected the intellectual formation and practice of the contemporary and recent artists whose work has entered Tate’s collection in recent years. The project will result in a fresh but authoritative historical account of education in the post-war London art schools.

Prospective applicants are invited to apply using the London Consortium’s standard application form, available at www.londonconsortium.com/apply, indicating that they would like to be considered for the award. Applications should reach Birkbeck registry by 20 August at the latest and interviews will take place in the first week of September. 2,000 word PhD proposals should specify a programme of research that relates to the history of art school education in the period. Applicants may wish to specify the topic chronologically, thematically or institutionally and are encouraged to bring their own research interests to the project. Enquiries should be directed to Dr. Matt Taunton, admissions tutor, by email on matt@londonconsortium.com, or by telephone on 020 7836 7558.