Welcome to Durham Collections Fellowships

The Call for Applications for the academic year 2026/27 is now closed, applications for the next academic year will open early 2027.

Apply for a CERES International Visiting Fellowship

The Durham Centre for Classics Education Research and EngagementS (CERES) brings together interdisciplinary research focused on how classical languages and ancient civilisations are taught and learned. Working across education from primary and secondary schools through to higher and adult/community education, CERES provides a distinctive space for research, collaboration and engagement in Classics education. CERES acts as a forum for knowledge exchange between academic research and charities, subject associations, journalists, policymakers, creative practitioners and teachers.

CERES is delighted to invite applications for its new International Visiting Fellowship Scheme. We are offering two International Visiting Fellowships, each of 2–4 weeks' duration, to be undertaken as one continuous period between October 2027 and July 2028.

The theme for this first round is the teaching and learning of Ancient Greek language in schools and communities. Applicants will have expertise in teaching Ancient Greek language using innovative methods, and/or widening access to Ancient Greek language beyond traditional education settings.

The Fellowship strives to foster collaboration between researchers, teachers, community organisations, cultural institutions and policymakers. Through this work, CERES seeks to advance understanding of how Ancient Greek can contribute to educational opportunity, linguistic knowledge, cultural literacy and public engagement in the twenty-first century.

We welcome applications from suitably qualified academics from institutions outside of the UK.
 
The Call for Applications is now open

What are the Durham Collections Fellowships?

The aim of the Durham Collections Fellowships is to enable and foster research across the three historic collections of Durham — those held by Durham University, Durham Cathedral and Ushaw Historic House, Chapels and Gardens, all of which have internationally significant collections of books and other materials that deserve to be brought to a wider scholarly and public audience.

In addition to libraries this includes archives, collections of visual and material culture, and architectural assets.

Together these collections contain:

  • 450 medieval manuscripts books
  • over 130,000 rare and early printed books
  • around 6,000 meters/shelves of archives
  • 107,000 museum objects and works of art
  • Over 40,000 archaeological artefacts
  • 9,000 bio-science specimens

Visiting Fellowships

The purpose of the Visiting Fellowships is to support research into these globally significant collections.

By bringing together these three collections, the Durham Collections Fellowships intend to foster research on material held at Durham, to create an international fellowship of scholars whose research interests have brought them to us, and to showcase the collections to a wider audience.

Our past fellows

Since 2018 the Durham Collections Fellowships has shared its collections with a global scholarly audience through its fellowships

2018/19

Dr Abdul Azeem

Holland Visiting Fellowship

Department of Archaeology & Museums, Government of Pakistan, Pakistan

2021/22

Barbara Denison

Barker Visiting Fellowship

Shippensburg University, USA

2018/19

Matt Binasco

Holland Visiting Fellowship

Università per Stranieri di Siena, Italy

2022/23

Elizabeth Gemmill

Lendrum Priory Visiting Fellowship

University of Oxford, England

2021/22

Carmen Mangion

Barker Visiting Fellowship

University of London, England

2018/19

Eilish Gregory

Holland Visiting Fellowship

Durham University, England

2018/19

Shanti Graheli

Holland Visiting Fellowship

University of Glasgow, Scotland

2021/22

Luke Roman

Barker Visiting Fellowship

Memorial University Newfoundland, Canada

2022/23

Raad Khair Allah

Barker Visiting Fellowship

University of Warwick, England

2023/24

Professor Christian Hesse

Lendrum Priory Visiting Fellowship

University of Bern, Switzerland

2022/23

Dr Syed Ashraf

Barker Visiting Fellowship

Department of Delhi Archives, New Dehli

2021/22

Dr Helen Kilburn

DRRL Visiting Fellowship

University of Manchester, England

2018/19

DrBenjamin Pohl

University of Bristol, England

2023/24

Professor Jack Cunningham

Barker Visiting Fellowship

University of Lincoln, United Kingdom

2018/19

Margaret Douglas

Holland Visiting Fellowship

2021/22

Luca Fois

Barker Visiting Fellowship

Università degli Studi di Pavia, Italy

2025/26

Lu Jiang

Sino British Fellowship

Sun Yat-sen University , China

2018/19

Rosemary Mitchell

Holland Visiting Fellowship

Leeds Centre for Victorian Studies, England

2018/19

DrKarly Kehoe

Holland Visiting Fellowship

St Mary ‘s University, Canada

2018/19

Matt Binasco

Holland Visiting Fellowship

Università per Stranieri di Siena, Italy

Research

Through the Durham Collections Fellowship's prestigious fellowships program, scholars have the opportunity to undertake ambitious research projects.

DCF takes pride in fostering this environment, where expert researchers are given the resources and time to delve deeply into complex topics and share their findings with the world. Whether through conferences, lectures, publications, or informal discussions in historic halls, DCF is a hub of world-class research and engagement.

Centuries of History

The Durham Collections Fellowships draw on the historic collections of three venerable Durham institutions—Durham Cathedral, Ushaw Historic House, Chapels and Gardens, and Durham University—each with a rich history spanning many centuries.

Durham Cathedral, with manuscripts dating back to the 6th century; Ushaw House and Chapels holding over 40,000 rare printed works accumulated since the 16th century; Ushaw Historic House, Chapels and Gardens holding over 40,000 rare printed works accumulated since the 16th century; Durham University’s Palace Green Library which includes Cosin's Library, founded in the 17th century as the first public lending library in the Northeast and which served as the university’s main library for 150 years before transitioning to special collections in the 1980s. Together these collections offer rich resources for research spanning many centuries.