The British Library annual placement scheme offers doctoral researchers from all disciplines the chance to develop and apply transferable skills and expertise outside the university sector.
Projects cover activities ranging from cataloguing, conservation and interpretation to policy research, resource development and research or community engagement. The duration for each placement is three months (or part time equivalent). Most placements are also suitable for part-time students, and there may be opportunities to undertake placements remotely which will be indicated on the individual project profiles. Applications for the 2026-27 scheme are open until 27 February 2026.
Please note that we do not accept applications for PhD placements outside this scheme. If you would like to be added to our mailing list to hear about future PhD placement opportunities, please sign up.
The call for applications to the British Library PhD placement scheme is now open. All current PhD students registered with a UK university are eligible to apply to undertake a PhD placement from our selection of nine projects. PhD placements are offered for three months full time or, wherever possible, part-time equivalent.
Our PhD placements offer the opportunity to work on a project in a specific area under the supervision of Library staff. Following an initial induction, placements will involve independent research and require the ability to work autonomously, supported by regular meetings with the Library supervisor, towards an agreed set of objectives.
- Describing the British Library’s Illustrated and Illuminated Incunabula
- Elgar’s Letters and Digital Tools
- Law and Legal Studies: Research Themes and Audiences at The British Library
- Mapping and Preserving the UK Newsletter Publishing Ecosystem
- War poetry in the manuscript collections: Cataloguing, Discovery and Outreach
- Researching Digital Duplication and Sustainability
- Illustrated Newspapers: Beyond the Illustrated London News
- Recording the Library’s decarbonisation story
For full details on the placement projects and how to apply, see the British Library web pages.