St Andrews/Bibliotheca Hertziana Joint Doctoral Research Position.

The Lise Meitner Group “Decay, Loss, and Conservation in Art History” at the Bibliotheca Hertziana – Max Planck Institute for Art History in Rome (BHMPI) and the School of Art History at the University of St Andrews are pleased to offer a joint doctoral research position for a suitable candidate who wishes to enrol in the School of Art History at the University of St Andrews starting in September 2025 to work under the joint supervision of Dr Francesca Borgo and Dr Elsje van Kessel. The doctoral project is partly executed in Rome and partly in St Andrews. While in residence in Rome, the candidate will join the Lise Meitner Group as a predoctoral fellow.

The doctoral project must address European and colonial art histories from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century. The project must centre on the broad theme of art and war. Loot, plunder, piracy, and their legal ramifications are potential desirable topics in the candidate’s project, along with their opposites (repair, restitution, and peace-making).

We welcome applications from aspiring doctoral students in every field within the history of art, technical art history, conservation history, and museum studies, with preference given to projects crossing traditional disciplinary boundaries. Excellence in research, commitment to pursuing new insights through original scholarship, and willingness to become part of a group of rising, international scholars are essential.

Please check our funding page for further information.