Conference Grant Fund
About the award. The Fund exists to support conferences or colloquia within the field of medieval and modern European languages and literatures, including English. The MHRA’s priority for this Fund is to support strongly focused conferences which will lead to the publication of new work, and to provide opportunities for postgraduates and early career academics.
Conditions. The conference must be held in the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland and must be organised by academics based at UK or Irish institutions. Awards will not be made to individuals to attend conferences, but to the organisers of conferences to provide assistance with organisational support and/or the travel and subsistence costs of certain participants, including postgraduate students.
Amount of funding available. In 2024, the MHRA intends to make up to four grants of up to £1500 each.
Next round. In 2024 there will be a single application round, for conferences to be held between 1 August 2024 and 31 July 2025. The deadline for applications is 29 April 2024.
Guidance for applicants. Please click here to download the detailed notes on the rules and process.
Application form. You may click here to download the application form (in Microsoft Word format).
Enquiries. Please email: funding@mhra.org.uk
Past awards. In 2023, the following conferences and organisers were successful:
- Dr Caroline Summers (University of Warwick), ‘Afterlives of an Essay: 100 Years of Benjamin’s Task of the Translator’
- Dr Tobias Heinrich (University of Kent), ‘Migrant Voices in Contemporary European Filmmaking’
- Dr Amanda Davis (University of Derby), ‘The Shelley Conference: Posthumous Poems, Posthumous Collaborations’
- Professor Alison Fell (University of Liverpool), ‘War and Gender in Modern Europe’
Research Fellowships (formerly Research Associateships)
About the award. MHRA Research Fellowships are designed to hasten the completion of research projects of special importance through the provision of part-time research assistance.
Conditions. An award will be made solely for the employment of a postdoctoral researcher, to be selected and appointed by the project in consultation with the Association, and bearing the title of ‘MHRA Research Fellow’. Since another important aim of the awards is to provide an interim academic position to younger scholars who have not yet obtained a permanent academic post, the appointment should not exclude a limited amount of remunerated teaching in the host institution, or other approved work. The final details of the contract will be agreed between the MHRA and the institution concerned.
Amount of funding available. In 2024, the Association intends to make up to two awards of £27,500, for Research Fellows to be appointed for the academic year 2024-25.
Next round. Applications for academic year 2024-25 (for Fellowships with a start date on or after 1 October 2024) are now open. The closing date for applications is 29 February 2024.
Guidance for applicants. Please click here for further details of the scheme and process.
Enquiries. For further information, please write to funding@mhra.org.uk.
Current award-holders. Fellowships awarded in the 2023 round and held in the academic year 2023-24:
- PI: Professor Federica Pedriali (University of Edinburgh), ‘The Edinburgh Gadda Encyclopaedia’
- PI: Professor Max Saunders (University of Birmingham), ‘The Collected Letters of Ford Madox Ford’
Research Scholarships in the Modern European Languages
About the award. This scheme is designed to give support to scholars in their early postdoctoral phase who are revising their thesis for publication, but who have not yet obtained a full-time academic post.
Conditions. Applicants must have completed a doctorate in the field of Modern European Languages, excluding English, and must have an affiliation to a UK university department. Awards are for one year only, and recipients will be expected to produce, within 12 months of taking up the award, a manuscript of publishable quality or a minimum of three articles of publishable quality. The support of the MHRA will be acknowledged in the publication(s) produced on the basis of the work carried out during the period of the award.
Amount of funding available. In academic year 2024-25, up to five awards of £14,000 each will be made. The grant will be paid direct to successful applicants in two instalments, in October and March, and will be disbursed without any deduction for taxes. Recipients are responsible for payment of tax dues and for seeking professional advice in that connection.
Next round. Decisions are normally made each year by mid-May, for grants which begin in October. Applications for academic year 2024-25 are now open. The deadline for applications is Monday, 8 April 2024.
Guidance for applicants. Please click here for details on how to apply.
Application form. You may click here to download the application form (in Microsoft Word format).
Enquiries. For further information, please contact funding@mhra.org.uk.
Current award holders. For academic year 2023-24, four awards were made. The awardees are:
- Dr Jack Arscott (German, University of London)
- Dr Andrea Brondino (Italian, University of Warwick)
- Dr Simona Di Martino (Italian, University of Warwick)
- Dr Michele Maiolani (Italian, University of Cambridge)