The following brief guidance is intended to help applicants to answer the questions in section 5 of the application form which deals with ‘Your proposed visit to London’.

Question: “Which months during 2026 would be suitable for your visit?”

Notes:

The Trust aims to accommodate visitors between the months of April and November. We can only accommodate two to three at a time however and we are generally busiest in June, July, August and September. Applicants are therefore advised to be as flexible as possible in their availability. While we endeavour to select the candidates who have provided the best applications, availability is also a very important factor; candidates who are available in April, May, October and November, stand a better chance of gaining a place than those who are only available in the summer months.

Question: “Please describe the research you intend to undertake in London. Include details of any academic institutions or colleagues you intend to visit, conference or other events you would like to attend, or collections you intend to study etc.”

Notes:

The awards made by the Trust are for academic research at MA, PhD or Postdoctoral level (PhD / postdoc only for applicants in Egyptology in 2026).

You will need to be able to show that you will be pursuing an interesting and worthy research project while you are in London.

The awards are not for vocational experience, or as a general introduction to London’s academic and cultural institutions.

While other activities are of course permitted, our expectation is that the successful candidates will spend most of their time in London pursuing their research.

One month is not a very long time, so you will need to have prepared very well for what you are going to do.

If you cannot give specific details of your plans you are unlikely to be granted an award.

Please be as specific as you can: successful candidates will have a very clear idea about what they will be doing in London. Where relevant, you should give consideration to, and should include details such as the following:

• examples of the literature – which books and articles – you will consult;
• examples of the original documents, museum objects or archives you will study;
• any colleagues you will meet and/or collaborate with;
• any events you might participate in or attend.

Successful candidates have often already contacted the relevant libraries, museums or colleagues to make provisional arrangements. If you have not made these contacts please consider doing so before submitting your application – your case will be much stronger if you have already made such arrangements.

Question: “Why do you need to visit London for your research? What would you NOT be able to achieve if you were unable to spend time in London?”

Notes:

You will also need to persuade us that a visit to London will make a significant difference to your research, i.e. that you will be able to achieve something by coming to London that you could not achieve otherwise.

Please note also that there are lots of things that can be done remotely, for example contacting specialists and discussing your work with them which can be done via video call. Although meeting a colleague face-to-face might be best, you might also be able to advance your discussions with them while you are still at home, and this will give you the best chance of using your time in London constructively. Similarly, a great deal of literature is now available online. The most compelling applications come from those who can show they have done everything possible to advance their research before coming to London, so that they spend their time in the UK exclusively on things they could not do anywhere else.

We look forward to reading your application.

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Should you have any questions about the application process please contact the Trust via the form here.