It has become increasingly hard to get funding for academic research in the humanities. Stephen Hoare looks at the facts and explains why there is so little money available When Mark wreford applied for a doctoral research degree in theology at the University of Nottingham, he faced a tough selection process. Wreford, who hoped to secure full funding for his research, chose as the subject of his thesis “spiritual experience and the creation of Scripture”. Wreford was rewarded with a £17,859 a year studentship from the Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC). Of this, £3,996 per annum goes towards his tuition fee. Now in his first year of study, Wreford says a key part of his success was demonstrating that his research had “impact”, or wider rele