Frequently Asked Questions

Each of our funding opportunities will have specific eligibility requirements so do check these thoroughly before applying.

Our funding programme is designed to support individuals and organisations undertaking research in the field of British art.

• Organisations
  Our organisational grants support organisations, institutions, nonprofits, publishers or other entities which holds a dedicated business account,

• Individuals
  Our Scholarships, Fellowships and individual grants can support academics, scholars, authors, curators and museum professionals, postgraduate students and independent researchers.

All applicants, regardless of level, must demonstrate they are undertaking research-led projects.

All of our funding opportunities are open to applicants based outside of the UK.

We do not currently support activity from, or for, those in Primary or Secondary Education. Opportunities for younger people are delivered through our Learning programme, so do look at the relevant section of the website if you think you may be interested.

We support research projects in the field of British art, visual culture and architecture. For full and comprehensive guidance on this please see our Funding Focus webpage.

We support practice-based research in the context of projects with clearly stated methodologies and defined research outputs that clearly align with our mission to support new understanding of British art and culture. We are unable to fund a project where the practice is the main or sole component of the work.

For the purposes of the grant-giving process, practice-based research is understood to be research that involves elements of making, doing, or experimenting, which may lead to non-textual outputs such as artworks, exhibitions, or films. Practice-based research should provide insights or create new understandings that standard research methodologies might not achieve.

With specific exceptions set out in the guidelines for each scheme, our funding is designed to support research activity, and may not be used to support production costs (e.g. those relating to exhibition organisation or the making of artworks). Whatever the form of the research outputs we require that these be supported by written submissions that will make their findings or impact accessible. Specific details of what can, or may not be, supported are provided under each scheme.

Any applicant wishing to submit an application which contains a practice-based component should ensure that their application reflects the following points:

• Research is underpinned by a clearly stated question, or questions.
• Research will follow a structured and clearly articulated process of inquiry that includes documented moments of critical reflection and new/original insights.
• Research is situated in a lineage of similar practices and contextualized within relevant literature and contemporary debate.
• The practice-based elements of the research will produce new, distinctive, and original insights about British art and visual culture.
• Whatever form the research outputs take (ie. whether written, visual, digital or other), they directly and primarily address topics within British art and visual culture.
• Research outputs, in whatever form, will be accompanied by written submissions which will assist in making their findings accessible.
• Applicants will declare any ethical considerations which may arise in connection with their project, and state how these will be addressed.

All applications must be submitted via our grants system when the funding round is open. Sample PDF versions of each application form can be found at the bottom of the relevant funding opportunity webpage. The next funding round will open on Monday 3 August 2026.

The assessment process takes approximately two months to complete, from the time of the application closing date, so we will aim to inform all applicants within this timeframe. More accurate details on when you can expect to hear back will provided on application submission.

Applications are assessed in a two-step process by our Advisory Council, the list of members currently on our Council can be found on our Governance webpage.

The initial round of assessment will be undertaken by a Sub-Committee of Advisory Council members who will read and score the application using specific criteria, information on this can be found on each opportunity webpage. The top percentage of each category will then move forward onto the final round of assessment and those applications will be read by the full Advisory Council. A final meeting will be held to decide upon award recipients.

We will keep you updated on the status of your application during the assessment process.

Individuals cannot apply for more than one funding opportunity per round.

Organisations can apply for up to two grants as long as they are different categories (eg. an Event Support Grant and a Research Project Grant).

If you are applying from a large or complex organisation with multiple divisions or functions (eg. a university) then it is the department that this rule applies to.

The level of applications varies from year to year. Over recent years we have been receiving between 300 - 450 applications per round and usually award approximately 50 grants. So we are likely to receive far more applications than there is funding available. Even if an application in theory meets all of our criteria there is no guarantee that it will receive funding due to the number of applications that have been received.

We do not have any examples of successful applications available however we have put together a comprehensive guide to our application form which can be found below and on each of our funding opportunity webpages.

For any specific questions regarding applications then please do email us at grants@paul-mellon-centre.ac.uk

We can assist you make minor edits to your application after it has been submitted, eg. corrections of spelling errors or changing the details of a nominated referee. However once the application is in the assessment process (usually about 10 days after the application closing date) no edits can be made.

We understand that some applicants may wish to incorporate the use of AI tools when preparing their application. Use of AI tools is permitted to support clarity or formatting, but applicants must ensure that all content is original and an accurate reflection of their research and project. Applicants will be asked to confirm this as part of the application form. Inclusion of any plagarised information will automatically exclude the application from the funding process.

Most funding opportunities require one reference to be submitted as part of the application process.

Full details on referee requirements will be detailed on the specific funding opportunity webpage.

Your referee should be someone you know in a professional and/or academic capacity who is not personally involved in the research project in question. The referee should not be related to you or personally benefit from the award in any capacity.

For organisational projects the referee should not be currently employed by the organisation applying.

If you are applying for our Andrew Wyld Research Support Grant, Master’s Degree Scholarship, Doctoral Scholarship or Student Support Grant then your referee cannot be your current, or potential, supervisor.

If you have any specific questions about your choice of referee then do contact us to discuss further.

I have been asked to be a referee, how do I submit my reference?

Once the applicant has submitted their application, which will include your name and email address, you will receive a notification from our grants system with a link to view the full application. The link will lead you to a webpage that will display the application form and at the end there will be a section for you to fill out the reference, once completed click ‘Submit’.

If for any reason the link or system does not work for you then please email us a copy of the reference directly to grants@paul-mellon-centre.ac.uk

What do I need to provide in my reference?

The reference if a free form text box that allows you to speak freely and candidly about the applicants strengths and weaknesses in regards to carrying out the proposed research project. The Advisory Council places weight on the information provided in the reference so we do encourage to you be as honest as possible.

The reference cannot be longer than 500 words in length.

Who will read my reference?

Your reference will be read by the Advisory Council, who read and assess all applications, and will be read by members of the Paul Mellon Centre grants team. A copy of all applications, successful and unsuccessful, are also accessioned into our institutional archives.

When are references due?

Typically references are due within 10 days of the application submission closing date but an accurate date will be provided to you on notification of the reference request.

I am unable to complete the reference, what do I do next?

Please inform us at the earliest opportunity if you feel you are unable to complete the reference, or decline the request when it is sent to you. We will then inform the applicant and ask them to nominate a new reference for their application.

Due to the volume of applications we receive we cannot provide detailed feedback. However, we will try to accommodate specific requests about how to improve future applications.

Yes, whether successful or unsuccessful you are welcome to apply in future rounds of funding opportunities. We do advise that if you are seeking to apply again for the same project that alterations and improvements are made to the application form.

The reporting requirements of each of our funding opportunities are detailed on our remit webpages.

If you are required to submit a written final report then these should be 500 – 1000 words in length and detail the research activity that took place during the funded period. There is also a dedicated section for you to detail the impact of the funding on your research project.

We also encourage recipients to write a short piece on their project and grant for our website, there is a dedicated section on the final report to do this.

We do not ask for receipts or proof of spending to be submitted at the conclusion of the grant.

Certain grants will have acknowledgement requirements, details of these will be provided with the grant offer letter.

We are committed to making our funding opportunities accessible to all eligible applicants. To support this we have set aside funding to help individuals who may face additional barriers, and as such incur extra costs, whilst undertaking their research projects. If your application is successful, we will be happy to discuss how this access funding can support your additional needs.

For all funding enquiries please contact grants@paul-mellon-centre.ac.uk or call 020 7580 0311.

The Grants & Fellowships team is:

Martin Myrone, Head of Research Support & Pathways
Harriet Sweet, Grants & Fellowships Manager
Florence Smith, Administrative Assistant