British & Irish Furniture Makers Online and Furniture History Society digital research project
Applications are invited from postgraduate students to engage in one of several possible exciting digital research projects involving the collections and furnishings of three prestigious historic British houses and estates: Raby Castle, Chatsworth House and the Buccleuch Estate.
This is a short research project of about three weeks, to be carried out in late May/June/July 2025.
Each project will be conducted online and will include both research and the production of a public-facing digital output.
While the bulk of the work should be carried out within the agreed time, there is some flexibility to work over the summer in order to refine the project – precise timings should be discussed with the project curator and the BIFMO project manager.
The online output created will need to be ready for the partnering institution to review by 26 September 2025 at the very latest. This will allow time for the product to be tried and tested ahead of a research conference to be held later in the year, where the students will have the opportunity to present their research to members of the Furniture History Society, curators and academics.
Please download the application form BIFMO MA student project application 2025 for further information, including details about each of the three research projects specified, working in collaboration with Raby Castle, Chatsworth House or the Buccleuch Estate.
Supported by the Furniture History Society and the Iris Foundation.
Open to students from History of Art only.
Organised under the outreach programme of the Furniture History Society’s database, British and Irish Furniture Makers Online (BIFMO), applications are invited from individual students to work with another student selected from one of the other participating universities or colleges.
This project is suitable for MA and PhD students in the areas of art history, cultural history, material culture studies, and museum studies. Students who have an interest in digital technologies and historic British furniture and interiors are particularly encouraged to apply.
Application deadline: Tuesday 15 April 2025, 12am BST
For further details and to apply, please see the BIFMO MA student project application 2025 form and return it to the BIFMO administrator at bifmo
We ask that you choose more than one project (up to three) and that you show your selection in order of preference. This will maximise your chances of participating in this project as there are only six places available overall.
Pairs of students will be assigned by the selection committee, each consisting of one US and one UK student. It is not required that students already have knowledge of digital programmes, such as WordPress (or other similar programs used to build websites) or Sketchup, but we would be particularly interested in students who wish to develop those skills. Similarly, experience working on primary source material would also be valuable.
We anticipate that these exciting projects will enable each student to obtain the following experience:
- to work collaboratively and to share knowledge and ideas
- to develop research skills
- to develop digital and media skills
- to develop skills for public engagement of research
- to gain a more in-depth knowledge of a particular historical period and learn to transmit that knowledge to a wider audience
- to create an online blog
- to present an oral paper on the project to an academic audience.
Individual students will be selected and allocated a working partner by the Digital Project Selection Committee. The aim is to bring together students with different skill sets, who are prepared to both share and learn from each other. Working virtually, students from the UK and from the US will be paired according to their project selection and skills.
The FHS is able to award a bursary/stipend of £450 to each student on completion of their project.
BIFMO is prepared to consider applications for reimbursement of additional costs incurred, such as travel, purchasing of digital packages or other essential tools to carry out the project. These payments are discretionary and subject to approval in advance of incurring the cost. Applications should be made by email to the BIFMO Project Manager at bifmo