RHS Masters’ Scholarships provide financial support to students from groups currently underrepresented in academic History. Each Scholarship is worth £5,000.
Applications for the 2025-26 round of Scholarships have now closed. The call, for applications for the academic year 2026-27, is expected to open in Spring 2026.
About this programme
The programme, established in 2022, seeks to actively address underrepresentation within the discipline, and enable Black and Asian students, along with those of other minorities, to consider academic research in History.
By supporting Masters’ students the programme focuses on a key early stage in the academic training of future researchers. With these Scholarships, we seek to support students who are without the financial means to study for a Masters’ in History. By doing so, we hope to improve the educational experience of early career historians engaged in a further degree.
There are no conditions on what the award may be spent and may be used to support fees, living expenses etc. during the degree course. Recipients also become Postgraduate Members of the Society.
Before beginning an application for a Scholarship, please read the following guide to ensure you meet the required eligibility requirements.
Scholarship holders for 2025-26
In autumn 2025, the Society was delighted to announce four recipients of Masters’ Scholarships for the academic year 2025-26
- Emily Jones (first degree Warwick) to study for an MA in Modern History at Warwick
- Ershad Ahaidi (first degree UCL) to study for an MA in Economic History at the LSE
- Wali Ntumba (first degree Greenwich) to study for an MA in History at UCL
- Aisling Ward (first degree Goldsmiths) to study for an MRes in Public History at Birkbeck, University of London
Supporting the Scholarships programme for the academic year 2026-27
In the first four years of the programme, the Society has awarded 22 Scholarships, thanks to the additional support of the Past & Present Society, the Scouloudi Foundation, the Thriplow Charitable Trust, and a generous donor. The RHS seeks to offer as many Scholarships as we can to talented eligible early career historians.
If you or your organisation would like to help support future rounds of this programme, please email president@royalhistsoc.org to discuss options with the Society’s President, Professor Lucy Noakes.
All other enquiries about the programme should be addressed to: administration@royalhistsoc.org.