PhD studentship on Early Modern Global History

King's College London - Arts and Humanities

The PhD student will work within the ERC project New Christian Materiality 1450-1750 (Materia), which started on January 1, 2026. The studentship will be for 3 years (with a provisional start date of 1st June 2026, to 31st May 2029). The project is based in the Department of History, King’s College London.

The PhD student will develop her/his/their own dissertation under the supervision of the PI, Professor Francisco Bethencourt. Two possible areas of research are suggested: New Christian material expertise in Asia and the Environmental Impact of New Christians in the Atlantic.

The doctoral research will be autonomous, although it will benefit from interaction with the project’s team, in time, three Postdoc researchers, one Research Assistant and another PhD student, and contribute to the development of the project.

Key Responsibilities

Research and Scholarship

• Conduct individual doctoral research aligned with the project’s themes.
• Contribute to collaborative research within the Materia team.
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge in relevant scholarly fields.

Communication

• Communicate complex and specialist information clearly, both orally and in writing.
• Present research findings to academic and public audiences.

Teamwork and Collaboration

• Work closely with other team members on shared areas of interest.
• Participate actively in project meetings and departmental activities.

Initiative and Problem Solving

• Use creativity and initiative to identify new research questions and methods.
• Contribute to shaping the project’s broader research direction through collaboration.

Workload and Environment

• Balance research with administrative tasks and deadlines, with appropriate support.
• Be mindful of health and safety responsibilities and how the work environment affects yourself and others.

Expertise and Development

• Possess or develop specialist knowledge of the relevant historical period, themes, and research methods.
• Engage in ongoing professional development and training.
• Be aware of equality and diversity considerations in research content and practice.

The above list of responsibilities may not be exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks and responsibilities as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.

Eligibility Criteria

Essential criteria, to be assessed via application:

• MA in Early Modern History or a related discipline
• Reading capacity of Italian, Spanish and Portuguese (at least one of these languages) *
• Reading capacity of archival documents of the 16th and 17th centuries in one of these languages *
• Awareness of early modern Southern Europe and the Iberian World
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Availability for the selected period, from June 1, 2026, to May 31, 2029

Desirable criteria:

• Awareness of database operations *
• Capacity for preparing meetings related to the expertise area *

* To also be assessed via interview

How to apply

Candidates should submit applications via https://apply.kcl.ac.uk and select the History Research MPhil/PhD (Full-time) programme. Please include the code MATERIA ERC Project in your application personal statement.

The deadline for applications is 19th April 2026.

Interviews for shortlisted candidates are expected to be held shortly thereafter.

For informal queries, please contact francisco.bethencourt@kcl.ac.uk