Scholarships and funding

The Art History Prize is awarded by the Board of Examiners to the final year student with the best overall academic performance and is presented at the Graduation Reception.

The Art History Dissertation Prize is awarded by the Board of Examiners to the final-year student with the best overall final year dissertation performance and is presented at the Graduation Reception.

The Bishop-McKinlay Prize was established in memory of James Bishop and Seamus McKinlay, and is awarded to a second-year student taking art history either as a single-honours course or as a significant part of a joint-degree course, and is intended to support travel and research abroad related to art history.

The prize can cover air fares, internal travel, living costs and health insurance for around four to six weeks, and is tenable in the summer vacation between the second and third years of study. An application of 1,000 words maximum should include an itinerary with visits to specific art works, galleries, architecture, sites or archives that either form the subject of your proposed third-year dissertation, or are otherwise related to art history study.

The recipient is decided by a departmental committee and successful applicants are expected to give a presentation on their travels to the Bishop and McKinlay families, usually early in the summer term.

Applications should be submitted to our Deputy School Manager via email spahdsm@essex.ac.uk, and should include the name of a staff member willing to act as referee. A committee made up of our Head of School and two members of art history staff consider applications and may divide the prize money to make more than one award.

Deadline: Friday 13 May 2022

Each year the School awards the Cioffi Prize to the most outstanding graduating student in philosophy. The prize is named in honour of Professor Frank Cioffi, who founded the Philosophy. Department at Essex in 1974. The prize is presented at the Graduation Reception. Students in the philosophy single honours course, or in one of the philosophy joint courses, are eligible for consideration.

It is also open to the External Examiner to recommend the award of a further prize, known as the External Examiner’s Prize, if he/she considers that there is another student who has achieved a First Class degree and whose achievements are worthy of the prize. The prize is presented at the Graduation Reception.

The Tim Laughton Travel Fund was established in memory of Dr Tim Laughton, a lecturer in our School of Philosophy and Art History specialising in mesoamerican art and architecture, who died in February 2009. Generous donations, especially from Dr Laughton’s family and the artist Michael Aakhus, enable us to offer a bursary of approximately £500 annually to the undergraduate or postgraduate art history student who submits the best proposal for travel to Latin America for research related to their BA, MA or PhD dissertation.

A committee made up of our Head of School and two members of art history staff consider applications. The prize is normally tenable during the summer vacation, and the winner is required to submit a brief report on their travel and research to our Head of School.

An application of 1,000 words maximum should outline the proposed research including a summary of travel plans and anticipated costs, as well as the name of a referee with whom you have discussed your proposal. Applications should be submitted to our Deputy School Manager via email, spahdsm@essex.ac.uk.

Deadline: Friday 13 May 2022.

 The Roy Beston Memorial Prize was established in 1995 by Maria Beston, a former student in our School of Philosophy and Art History, in memory of her husband. The prize is awarded to a second-year mature student taking art history either as a single-honours subject or as a significant part of a joint-degree course. The prize, of approximately £400, aims to enrich the studies of a talented mature student by contributing to the cost of books, travel or other degree related activities.

The winner is chosen by the Board of Examiners at the end of the Summer term.

The Thomas Puttfarken Memorial Prize, to the value of £100, is awarded each year in recognition of the best dissertation or portfolio submitted towards the completion of a taught MA in Art History and Theory or Curating. It was set up in memory of Thomas Puttfarken, who was a professor in the (then) Department of Art History and Theory. There is no need to apply; all dissertations are automatically considered for this Prize.

The Eleonore Koch Fund was set up in 2019 in honour of German-born Brazilian painter and sculptor Eleonore Koch. It funds an annual £5,000 bursary for a student from Latin America to come to Essex to study MA Art History and Theory. The bursary can be put towards tuition fees, accommodation or travel costs.

Eleonore Koch was best known for paintings that evoke the memory of everyday objects, while also exploring the sensory nature of painting through a tension between colour planes and line. She studied in Brazil, Paris, and most significantly London, where she became sponsored by the art collector Alistair McAlpine for a number of years.

In 2013, publisher Cosac Naify published Lore Koch, a book dedicated to her work, with text by art critic Paulo Venancio Filho. She sadly died in 2018, aged 92.

Please visit our funding webpage for more information on how to apply, and to read the Terms and Conditions.

If you would like to make a donation to the Eleonore Koch fund, please email James Martin at jrmartin@essex.ac.uk who would be happy to discuss this with you.

The deadline to apply for 2022-23 funding is Monday 15 August 2022.

The Mark Sacks Memorial Prize, to the value of £100, is awarded each year in recognition of the best dissertation submitted towards the completion of a taught MA in Philosophy. It was set up in memory of Mark Sacks, who was the founding editor of the European Journal of Philosophy and a professor in the Department of Philosophy until his untimely death in 2008. There is no need to apply; all dissertations are automatically considered for this Prize.

The Tim Laughton Travel Fund was established in memory of Dr Tim Laughton, a lecturer in our School of Philosophy and Art History specialising in mesoamerican art and architecture, who died in February 2009. Generous donations, especially from Dr Laughton’s family and the artist Michael Aakhus, enable us to offer a bursary of approximately £500 annually to the undergraduate or postgraduate art history student who submits the best proposal for travel to Latin America for research related to their BA, MA or PhD dissertation.

A committee made up of our Head of School and two members of art history staff consider applications. The prize is normally tenable during the summer vacation, and the winner is required to submit a brief report on their travel and research to our Head of School.

An application of 1,000 words maximum should outline the proposed research including a summary of travel plans and anticipated costs, as well as the name of a referee with whom you have discussed your proposal. Applications should be submitted to our Deputy School Manager via email, spahdsm@essex.ac.uk.

Deadline: Friday 13 May 2022

The Sir Andrew Carnwath Prize of £500 is awarded annually to a current PhD student for the best proposal for travel and research related to their thesis.
An application of 1,000 words maximum should outline the proposed research including a summary of travel plans and anticipated costs, as well as the name of a referee with whom you have discussed your proposal.

A committee made up of our Head of School and two members of art history staff consider applications. Applications should be submitted to our Deputy School Manager via email, spahdsm@essex.ac.uk. The committee may decide to divide the prize money to make more than one award. The award is normally tenable during the Easter or summer vacations, and the winner is required to submit a brief report on their travel and research to our Head of School.

Deadline: Friday 13 May 2022.

The Thomas Puttfarken Research Prize was established in memory of Professor Thomas Puttfarken (1943-2006), an international specialist in renaissance and barqoue art, and former lecturer in our School of Philosophy and Art History. The prize is generously supported by Professor Puttfarken’s friends and former colleagues.

The prize is for MPhil and PhD students requiring funds to support essential research visits to libraries, museums, archives and artists’ studios related to their theses, or to present conference papers or attend important conferences. The funds may also be available to support publication costs, or assist with costs associated with the completion of your thesis.

A committee made up of our Head of School and two members of art history staff consider applications. Awards are typically around £300, although requests for larger amounts will be considered. Applications of 1,000 words maximum including a summary of your proposed project and anticipated costs should be emailed our Deputy School Manager via email, spahdsm@essex.ac.uk.

Deadline: Friday 13 May 2022.