BABAO members and followers interested in osteoarchaeology, funerary archaeology, and biomolecular approaches may wish to explore an exciting fully funded doctoral opportunity at the University of Edinburgh in partnership with National Museums Scotland.
Starting in September 2027, the AHRC Doctoral Landscape Collaborative Studentship project, “The Long Afterlife: Charnelling Practices and Cadaveric Agency in Medieval Scotland”, will investigate the collective fate of Scotland’s dead through an innovative interdisciplinary framework combining osteoarchaeology, spatial analysis, and biomolecular archaeology.
This project offers an exceptional opportunity for a doctoral researcher to contribute to our understanding of medieval mortuary practices by examining how human remains were treated, curated, moved, and understood after burial. By integrating skeletal analysis with landscape-scale approaches and cutting-edge scientific techniques, the studentship aims to provide new perspectives on the social and cultural lives of the dead in medieval Scotland.
The studentship is fully funded for up to four years and includes an annual stipend in line with UKRI rates.
Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion
The supervisory team actively welcomes applications from candidates from diverse backgrounds and particularly encourages applications from individuals from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds.
Key Application Deadlines
PhD Admission Application Deadline
- 5:00 pm (UK time), 5 January 2027
Collaborative Studentship Funding Application Deadline
- 5:00 pm (UK time), 18 January 2027
Further Information
Full details regarding the project, eligibility requirements, and application procedures can be found on the University of Edinburgh’s scholarship webpage:
University of Edinburgh Scholarship Information
For informal academic enquiries, prospective applicants are encouraged to contact Dr Sam Leggett at sam.leggett@ed.ac.uk
For administrative enquiries regarding the application process, please contact hca-pgr@ed.ac.uk.
A Fantastic Opportunity for Emerging Osteoarchaeologists
Collaborative doctoral projects such as this provide invaluable opportunities to work across university and museum environments while developing expertise in both traditional and emerging archaeological science methods. For students interested in medieval burial archaeology, human remains research, spatial analysis, and biomolecular approaches, this studentship represents a rare chance to contribute to a significant research partnership between the University of Edinburgh and National Museums Scotland.
We encourage BABAO members to share this opportunity with colleagues, students, and anyone who may be interested in pursuing doctoral research in bioarchaeology and medieval mortuary archaeology.
Applications open now, with the studentship commencing in September 2027.