Petrie Watson

Preference will be given to students who are continuing their study and do not have existing extensive funding. The grant gives an opportunity to experience valuable training elsewhere and is over and above the normal expectations of the course.

If you are successful you will be notified at the end of March 2024.

Before completing the application form, please ensure you read the notes below.
Download the application form (.doc, 34.4KB)

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Who can apply?

Undergraduate and Postgraduate students currently registered either full or part-time in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities are eligible. However, preference will be given to students who are continuing their study and do not have existing extensive funding. The grant gives an opportunity to experience valuable training elsewhere and is over and above the normal expectations of the course.

How to apply

You should first consult your personal tutor or supervisor to discuss the proposed project. If you are encouraged to proceed, please complete the application form (.doc, 34.4KB).

Your department will then forward the application to the Student Results and Awards Team. Their address can be found on the application form.

It is your responsibility to make sure that your tutor is aware of the details of the project so that additional information can be requested from them if necessary.

Application advice

• Give a full and clear statement (suggested length 200 words) on the nature and scope of the project or course, its duration, and the reason for undertaking it and the interest and value of the activity involved.
• Say whether this forms part of a larger project and whether you are seeking funds from any other body. If this is the case, please indicate when the other bodies concerned will make their decision. If any material outcome is envisaged (eg gaining some qualification or producing an article) this should be mentioned.
• Say whether the project is dependent on financial support or whether it will go ahead, albeit in a reduced form, if finance is not forthcoming.
• Specify the full cost of the project, and specify costs under the headings. If the total amount is less than the total cost asked for, please say where the balance is to come from.

How can the grants be used?

The grants are intended to provide an opportunity for carrying out an approved programme of study and travel either in this country or abroad. Grants are also available for students wishing to attend approved vacation courses, summer schools or conferences.

Grants should normally be used to enhance or complement mainstream academic work although other projects will be considered. They cannot be used to cover the costs of required coursework nor to fund basic or core research work foreseeable at registration.

In the case of students specialising in modern foreign languages, Petrie Watson Exhibitions may not be used either to supplement or take the place of funds normally granted for residence abroad, as required by the regulations of the degree programme. These grants are also not offered to support periods of study relating to University approved Study Abroad/Exchange Schemes, nor will they be available to cover basic foreign language acquisition.

Preference will be given to students who are continuing their study and do not have existing extensive funding. The grant gives an opportunity to experience valuable training elsewhere and is over and above the normal expectations of the course.

How many grants are available and what are they worth?

The number of awards made per session depends on the funds available and on the merits of the applications. Each application will be considered by a Faculty of Arts and Humanities Panel on the basis of the intrinsic value of the project, and on the basis of the applicant’s record as attested by the academic department concerned.

Grants will normally be in the region of £250-£750; applications for outside this range may be considered. You will not normally be considered for more than one award during your time at the University.

Applicants are expected to have explored all internal and external sources of funding. You may apply for a contribution to a project partially financed from other sources. You will usually be expected to make some personal financial contribution to your costs.

Closing date

The closing date for applications to reach the Student Results and Award Team, Student Administration Service is Friday 23 February 2024.

Ensure you allow enough time for your tutor to provide a supporting statement or any other additional information needed. 

When are the applications considered?

The Faculty of Arts and Humanities Panel will meet to consider applications in March 2024.

What happens if I am successful? 

You will be notified of the outcome by email at the end of March 2024. Funds will not be paid until April 2024.

You will be required to submit a full report of how you have made use of the award. The report must be a minimum length of 1000-1500 words and should be in word processed format. In addition, you are asked to include an initial paragraph summarising the project and the benefits you have gained from the award.

It is hoped to produce summaries from those successful in obtaining an award from the Petrie Watson Exhibitions on a dedicated website for use by future applicants considering this award.

You are also asked to provide receipts for major items of expenditure only (eg travel, accommodation and tuition costs etc). Any unspent grant must be returned to the University following submission of the final report. The report and receipts, together with details of expenditure form will need to be submitted to the Student Results and Awards Team before September 2023, if this is a problem please indicate this on your application form.

You may also like to inform your tutor/department of the outcome.

What happens if I am unsuccessful?

You will be notified of the outcome by email at the end of March 2024.

Further questions

Will applications be considered after the closing date?

No. Applications received after the deadline are not considered for the award.

Should I apply to the Learned Societies Fund and other funding bodies before completing this application?

Yes. If you have been successful with other funding it is unlikely you will receive a Petrie Watson Exhibition.

If I have received a Petrie Watson Exhibition award in previous years can I re-apply? 

Yes. However, it has been agreed that a fairer approach is to consider first time applications to allow more students the opportunity to be made an award.

I am due to graduate this year, can I apply for a Petrie Watson Exhibition?

The criteria requires that you are a registered student in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities. The selection will prioritise students continuing their studies at the University of Sheffield.

If I do not use all the money allocated to me will I have to pay this back to the University?

Yes.

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Examples of previous Petrie Watson Exhibition Award Winners

Keros Cycladic Field School

Jayne Burland, BSc Archaeaology and MA Aegean Archaeology

"I was fortunate enough to be granted a Petrie Watson Award to take part in the Keros Cycladic Field School, a joint enterprise of the University of Cambridge and The Cyprus Institute. The field school runs alongside excavations run by the British School at Athens on the Greek islands of Keros and Dhaskalio.

To date the project has so far discovered the largest Bronze Age settlement known in the Cyclades. The site, which was built in a monumental and planned manner is known to be both a metalworking centre and an early maritime sanctuary where prestige items were ritually broken and deposited.

By taking part in this field school I’m hoping to gain lots of insight into Aegean Archaeology whilst learning the latest excavation and digital recording techniques before starting a Masters in Aegean Archaeology at the University of Sheffield in September"

British Conference of Undergraduate Research (BCUR, Sheffield), and the Faith in Research Conference (FiR, Birmingham)

Jo Henderson-Merrygold

"The Petrie Watson Exhibition fund generously awarded me £325 to support my work as the postgraduate supervisor of a Sheffield Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) project, in conjunction with the undergraduate researcher. I am grateful for their funding as it enabled me to attend two conferences as part of this team. We presented posters at the British Conference of Undergraduate Research (BCUR, Sheffield), and the Faith in Research Conference (FiR, Birmingham).

The initial portion of funding covered my attendance at BCUR as a member of academic staff. Without the support of the Petrie Watson fund I would not have been able to attend. I accompanied my research colleague as she presented her research, and we both gained useful feedback to support the project further.

It encouraged us to refocus the presentation for the subsequent conference, and we were able to compare and contrast different styles of presentation. This aspect of the event was hugely helpful for our research project, however I was also able to benefit from plenary sessions, hearing other undergraduate papers, and through networking.

The second event, FiR, was a more direct collaboration and the first, and to date only, fully joint presentation of our research. It was a really engaging and professionally useful event, as well as providing opportunity to consider the extent to which the collaboration is likely to continue.

I am grateful to have been able to gain further experience in research collaborations and supervision of undergraduate researchers."

Reading Musicals: Sources, Editions, Performance Conference in Indiana

Katy Jayasuriya, PhD Department of Music 

"The Petrie Watson Exhibition award allowed me to attend and speak at a conference held in Carmel, Indiana. The conference, Reading Musicals: Sources, Editions, Performance, provided a unique opportunity for me to meet and listen to scholars, publishers and practitioners. The event also included a day on critical editions, the focus of my doctoral work and an emerging area of Musical Theatre Scholarship. By presenting in such an environment, I was able to receive invaluable feedback on my research from leading experts in the field.

Furthermore, myself, two other students and a postdoctoral researcher, all attended as representatives of the University of Sheffield’s Musical Theatre Research Team. This was a fantastic opportunity for us to network with other scholars and talk about the exciting research that is currently being undertaken at the university.

The Petrie Watson made it possible for me to attend and speak at this conference, which has been an integral part of my PhD and career progression thus far." 

10th Audio-Visual Art Festival and presentation, seminar and field-recording session in Corfu

Dimitrios Savva, PhD Department of Music

Dimitrios was awarded funding towards a three-week project to Corfu which included taking part in the 10th Audio-Visual Art Festival organised by the Music and Audio-Visual Department at the Ionian University, a presentation of his theoretical and practical PhD research and a concert with works from USSS (University of Sheffield Sound Studios).

Dimitrios found the experience of giving the presentation provided valuable insight into his presentation skills and clarified which parts needed to be further developed. Dimitrios had the opportunity to prepare and perform a 45minute concert followed by a chance to obtain feedback from the audience about both the performance and the works themselves. The concert itself was a great success.

He also attended numerous talks and concerts as part of the Festival, highlighting different styles and aesthetics of electro-acoustic music and undertook location recordings of performances and field recording of pre-chosen soundscapes.

One of the highlights was the chance to give a seminar to students at the University interested in multi-channel composition explaining theoretical approaches, practical demonstrations and a chance for students to practice new techniques.

Musicals Research and Conference in New York

Hannah Robbins, Music

Hannah received funding to attend the Song, Stage and Screen XI conference and complete some additional research at the New York Public Library and Special Collections Department at Columbia University. She is writing her thesis on the Broadway musical Kiss Me, Kate and had discovered that new materials had been donated and processed which were unrelated to anything she had handled previously.

Her investigation of materials enabled Hannah to find new press coverage of one of the lead dancers of the production – Harold Lang – about which very little was known. Attending the conference Hannah was able to connect with practitioners and scholars and have fruitful and informative discussions and the opportunity to promote the Postgraduate Network in Musical Theatre that she helps to run.

Hannah says, "The research material I found during this trip have been invaluable to my thesis and have helped me to understand aspects of the musical I didn’t know anything about. It was also useful to have face-to-face conversation with archivists who hold their own collections. I was able to collect sufficient materials to produce a complementary article that is separate to my doctoral research."

Vagnari Vicus Archaeological Excavation Summer Field School

Kathryn Goulding, BA Archaeology

Kathryn attended the summer school in a project headed up by Professor Maureen Caroll from the Department of Archaeology. The project investigates the public and private life of Roman locals, their homes and the facilities and the industrial heritage of the central village of Vagnari – a large roman estate in rural southern Italy.

Students from across the world are invited to join the dig, gaining experience of excavation work, recording the trenches and contexts, finds and features, as well as cleaning and labelling the artefacts outside the dig site.

Kathryn said "Overall my five weeks of living and working in Italy were an incredibly valuable life experience, learning from and working on the archaeological dig in various capacities."

Petrie Watson Award: £750

Internship at the Foundation for Twentieth-Century Social History in Bremen

Ben Lewis, Wolfson Scholar, PhD in Germanic Studies, School of Languages and Cultures

"I spent five days at the Foundation for Twentieth-Century Social History - a forum for interdisciplinary research into twentieth-century socio-political history - based at the University of Bremen. During my internship I shadowed Martin Zahl as he archived documents, requested new materials and replied to enquiries about the foundation and its material.

I was also able to work alongside members of the foundation to complete the editing of a soon to be published work which marks the achievements of Global Labour History. The award made it possible to undertake the editing on a face-to-face basis at editorial meetings which were conducted in German. This gave me direct insight into how different the German and British approaches to referencing, indexing and content organisation can be. As a consequence I now feel more confident about working with German publishers in the future.

I spent the last two days conducting research for my MA thesis making use of the foundation’s library which contained rare materials which are difficult to obtain elsewhere."

Guildhall School of Music and Drama Summer Course

Patrick McMahon, BMus Music

"I took part in an Advanced Jazz summer school at a conservatoire as a way to spend time working proactively in a creative environment with staff and facilities I would not otherwise have had access to. I chose to study my degree in an academic institution but musical performance is something that I actively wanted to pursue whilst at university.

As a training guitarist, I wanted to take part in a short course that allowed me to explore my own creative ideas with other learning musicians, combining taught seminars with ensemble performances so I could develop fresh ideas about my own musical ambitions.

The course left me enthused and inspired, and also eager to work harder at improving my own playing."