Engineering for Arts

The Science and Engineering for Arts, Heritage and Archaeology (SEAHA) Centre for Doctoral Training trains students in the emerging field of heritage science, which develops scientific and engineering skills to understand, interpret, conserve and manage cultural heritage.

Graduate destinations

Career destinations anticipated for SEAHA graduates include heritage organisations, industry, academic and policy. SEAHA students will receive very good training in scientific skills, entrepreneurial skills and will be adept at pr

All SEAHA students begin the course by doing the one-year MRes SEAHA at University College London (UCL), and then continue with three years of doctoral studies at UCL (materials stream), University of Oxford (environmental stream) or the University of Brighton (digital stream).

The MRes course has a pronounced research element, and students are recruited to SEAHA to specific research projects chosen in advance, initiated during the MRes year and completed during the doctoral phase. The SEAHA website lists projects available for the coming year.

The MRes offers a number of modules that can be chosen to suit the training needs and the needs of the project, in agreement with project supervisors before enrolment. You will have tripartite supervision, with a heritage organisation, industrial and academic partner all providing support and oversight. SEAHA projects apply a wide range of science and engineering approaches to understand, interpret, conserve and establish the origins of objects (in museums, libraries, archives and galleries or outside), buildings, monuments or sites (ruins, buried archaeology etc). In particular, environment stream projects develop innovative methods to observe, monitor, analyse and conserve heritage objects, buildings, monuments or sites as they interact with air, water, sediment and biology around them.

SEAHA students in Oxford participate in the School of Geography and the Environment's graduate training activities, and also experience the benefits of SEAHA cohort activities. Spreading throughout the four-year programme, SEAHA cohort activities include short courses, often in collaboration with project partners, invited lectures, public engagement events, career events, and residential events.

SEAHA will accept candidates with science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) or creative, digital and information technology (CDIT) backgrounds, or any other relevant field, such as arts and humanities, conservation or social sciences, if sufficient relevant experience and aptitude is demonstrated.

The following entrance requirements apply:

• UK Second Class Honours 2:1 (or its overseas equivalent) in a relevant subject (relevant work experience desirable), or A minimum of 5 years’ relevant professional experience in lieu of the above requirement, and a letter of support
• Two references and a personal statement
• Demonstrated capability for independent research and enquiry.
• English Language Proficiency: All students whose first language is not English must be able to provide recent evidence that their spoken and written command of the English language is adequate. For SEAHA candidates, an advanced level certificate is normally required. Please see the relevant guide to UCL’s English language proficiency requirements

Additional EPSRC Eligibility Criteria

Since SEAHA is part-funded by the UK Engineering and Physical Research Council, its eligibility criteria for a full award (stipend and fees), apply. A student must have:

• Settled status in the UK, meaning they have no restrictions on how long they can stay, and
• Been ‘ordinarily resident’ in the UK for 3 years prior to the start of the grant. This means they must have been normally residing in the UK (apart from temporary or occasional absences), and
• Not been residing in the UK wholly or mainly for the purpose of full-time education. (This does not apply to UK or EU nationals.) Students from EU countries other than the UK are generally eligible for a fees-only award. To be eligible for a fees-only award, a student must be ordinarily resident in a member state of the EU, in the same way as UK students must be ordinarily resident in the UK.

EU/International Candidates

For students not meeting the EPSRC eligibility criteria, SEAHA offers at least one EU/international scholarship per year, based on the applicant’s excellence. This is a competitive process and will be assessed on the basis of the candidate’s prior academic achievement and their motivation. This scholarship is only available to UCL SEAHA applicants. Eligible candidates for the scholarship will be identified as part of the normal SEAHA recruitment process. Please note, there is limited funding available for International applicants.

• Global Education
• Hill Foundation Scholarships
• A number of Research Council awards are available each year from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), and Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).