English Heritage and its university partners are currently on the hunt for three collaborative PhD studentships, with the three-year studies to commence in October 2014.

The openings are to be funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) through the Collaborative Doctoral Partnerships (CDP) scheme.

The first of the three PhD studies – Westminster on Sea: the political and cultural significance of Osborne House – will look at the visitor attraction in the Isle of Wight to understand the relationships between place, politics, culture and the monarchy, through analysis of the social networks that were created at Osborne House.

The second heritage study – English Office Buildings c.1900 - 1939 – is to make a contribution towards developing contexts in which English Heritage can assess the significance of office buildings of the period c.1900-1939 as a basis for future designation or planning guidance and the appeal of those buildings as potential visitor attractions.

The third study – Ploughzone archaeology - : interpreting loss of data from metal artefact decay – will analyse decay in artefacts, a major threat to the archaeological record.

The CDP scheme allows English Heritage to set the agenda for the type of research being undertaken, providing the body with focused information advancing the protection of the historic environment and heritage through the National Heritage Protection Plan (NHPP).