Collaborative Doctoral Award: “Plants and their Products: Biocultural collections at Kew Gardens & the South Kensington Museum during the long nineteenth century

The V&A, Royal Holloway, University of London, and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew are pleased to announce the availability of a fully-funded Collaborative Doctoral Studentship from October 2025 under the AHRC’s Collaborative Doctoral Partnerships (CDP) scheme.

The project considers the emergence and significance of 'biocultural' collections - containing both specimens and artefacts - during the long nineteenth century. The student will investigate the collection and display of plants and their products in museum contexts; explore the ways that botanical objects were used to present ‘object lessons’ in the commercial geography of trade and empire; and consider the linkages between the economic botany collections at RBG Kew and plant-based collections at the V&A including the food collection once on display at the Bethnal Green Museum.

More details here: https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/studying-here/fees-and-funding/research-degrees/sources-of-funding/other-studentships/  

 Please pass on details to anyone you think may be interested.