Philological Society Masters Bursaries
The Philological Society is offering up to five bursaries for students embarking on a taught postgraduate programme in the UK in the areas of linguistics or philology.
Applications for 2026/27 are open until Friday 5 June 2026, 5pm BST
Bursary details
The Philological Society are offering up to five bursaries for students embarking on a taught postgraduate programme in the UK in the areas of linguistics or philology, in accordance with their mission: to investigate and promote the study and knowledge of the structure, the affinities, and the history of languages. As well as encouraging all aspects of the study of language, PhilSoc has a particular interest in historical and comparative linguistics, and maintains its traditional interest in the structure, development, and varieties of Modern English.
One bursary, the Anna Morpurgo Davies Master’s Bursary, is normally awarded to someone working on Ancient Languages (including non-Indo-European ones).
The intention is that the bursaries will make a contribution to maintaining and furthering the breadth and diversity of language-study in the UK by providing support for outstanding young scholars in the field.
Bursaries up to the value of £15,000 each may be awarded, which may be used for either fees or maintenance. A bursary will not be granted to anyone who has full fees and maintenance from any other source, but it may be used to supplement another award which covers only fees.
Suitable courses at York
This bursary could help you with the costs of studying any of the following courses at York:
Philological Society Masters Bursaries contact details
Language and Linguistic Sciences PG enquiries
lls-pg-enquiries@york.ac.uk
Eligibility
Open to International (including EU), International (non-EU) and UK (home) students.
Open to students in the Department of Language and Linguistic Science.
Candidates will normally possess or expect to be awarded a first-class honours degree or equivalent.
All candidates must have been accepted or provisionally accepted onto a full-time Masters programme at a United Kingdom university in the fields of philology or linguistics. In the case of candidates who have not yet received their first degree, a provisional offer may be made.
Priority will be given to applicants on a one-year Masters course. Applicants already enrolled in and part way through a two-year course may apply but will be held to a commensurately higher standard. Candidates will be evaluated on the basis of their academic record, their experience/interest in philology and linguistics, their personal/research proposal, and their references.
How to apply
Application deadline: Friday 5 June 2026, 5pm BST
Applications and references must be uploaded to the Society’s Online Portal. Anything sent by any other means will not be accepted. Candidates must have two referees and are advised to inform these referees in advance of their intention to submit their names as referees. Notes for referees can be found at the end of this announcement.
The deadline for submitting applications and references is 5pm BST on 5 June 2026. These cannot be uploaded after that time and no exceptions will be made. Correspondence about late submissions will not be entertained.
Applicants are strongly advised to submit their application well in advance to give their referees sufficient time to prepare and submit their references.
How we allocate
Applications will be assessed by a panel of members of the Society’s Council. The decisions of the panel will be final.
All candidates will be notified of the outcome of their application by the end of July 2026.
Terms and conditions
Successful candidates will receive their bursary later in the summer. They will be expected to become members of the Society and to share the transcript of their degree when they are offered the bursary or as soon as it is available afterward. Bursary recipients will inform the Society of the outcome of their studies and their future plans (employment, research degree) in February 2027 and in due course to contribute a 500-word article on their areas of interest for our blog.
Candidates must inform the Philological Society if they receive any other award(s) towards study on the programme. The Society will not consider repeat applications from people who have already received a Master’s bursary from the Society in the past.