The History of Medical Herbalism in Wales, 1840 to 1948

AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Partnership (CDP) studentship

The National Library of Wales, Amgueddfa Cymru, and the National Botanic Garden of Wales / Aberystwyth University

Aberystwyth University and the National Library of Wales, Amgueddfa Cymru, and the National Botanic Garden of Wales are pleased to announce the availability of a fully funded studentship from February 2026 under the AHRC’s Collaborative Doctoral Partnership Scheme.

This project considers the history of herbal medicine in Wales during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and asks what it tells us about Welsh people's understanding and experiences of health, medicine, nature and the environment in the modern period.

Through study of herbal self-help books at the National Library of Wales, collections of herbal recipes and oral history interviews at St Fagans National Museum of History, and the plant collection, herbarium, and seed bank at the National Botanic Garden of Wales, the project explores the varied influences that shaped herbal medicine in Wales and how Welsh people attempted to look after their health and well-being.

The AHRC award pays tuition fees up to the value of the full-time home UKRI rate for PhD degrees and full maintenance for all students. The National Minimum Doctoral Stipend for 2025/26 is £20,780 (rising in alignment with UKRI) plus a CDP maintenance payment of £600/year.

The successful student will be expected to spend time at both Aberystwyth University, on the one hand, and the National Library of Wales, Amgueddfa Cymru, and the National Botanic Garden of Wales on the other.

The ability to speak Welsh is an essential requirement for this studentship. The student would not be employed as a member of staff at the National Library of Wales, Amgueddfa Cymru, or the National Botanic Garden of Wales.

Closing date: Applications must be submitted by 5pm BST on 10 December 2025.

How to apply: Funding Opportunities: Graduate School, Aberystwyth University

To apply please visit https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/study-with-us/pg-studies/apply/ and complete the application form.

Secondly, please contact Dr Steve Thompson sdt@aber.ac.uk to indicate that an application has been submitted.