Applications are invited for Royal Historical Society / Social History Archive Partnership — which runs for the first time from September 2026. This programme provides researchers, at all career stages, with free access to online primary source materials that are otherwise not available to them via an existing institutional affiliation or subscription.
About this programme
Successful applicants will receive 6 months’ free access to The Social History Archive, for personal use on a defined research project. Each call for applicants will award access to up to 30 eligible researchers at a time.
This partnership is between the Society and The Social History Archive, published by DC Thomson. The Archive is a comprehensive online archive of British, Irish, and former empire historical resources for academic research and teaching.
For more on The Social History Archive, and its contents please see the Royal Historical Society’s programme page and the Social History Archive itself. A full listing of current content available in The Social History Archive (Summer 2026) is available here (opens as an excel sheet).
Two calls for this new scheme will be made each year:
- Applications are now invited, from eligible applicants*, for access to The Social History Archive between 1 January and 30 June 2027.
- The next call for applications will open in March 2027 for access from 1 July to 31 December 2027
*Applicants must be current Fellows, Associate Fellows, Members or Postgraduate Members of the Society, without existing access to the Archive via an institutional affiliation and who demonstrate a need for access to pursue a research project.
How to submit an application
For this programme applicants must:
- submit their application via this portal before the stated deadline.
- be current members of the Society (Fellows, Associate Fellows, Members, or Postgraduate Members).
- provide a brief 1-2 page CV (max) and a statement (250 words max) on their research project and Archive content required to pursue this research.
- declare that they do not currently have access to the Archive via a personal or institutional affiliation.
- state their willingness to write a blog post on their project, on completion of the partnership, for promotion by the Royal Historical Society / Social History Archive, if requested.
Applications for the Call 1 should be submitted via the Society’s Applications Portal before the closing date of 23.59 on Friday 30 October 2026.
Term of access and applications
Successful applicants will be provided with personal login for The Social History Archive, to run for a limited 6-month period, for which the start and end dates will be made known; extensions to this access will not be permitted and login details must not be shared with others. Failure to comply with these requirements will result in termination of access.
Applicants who are current recipients of Archive access may submit one follow-on application to extend an existing period of access, or may reapply for access for a second 6-month term in a later call (i.e. enabling a maximum term of 12 months’ access to the resource).
Recipients are asked to acknowledge the support of The Social History Archive and Royal Historical Society in any publications resulting from access to TSHA content. Selected recipients will be invited to communicate their research, and use of the Archive, for example via the Royal Historical Society blog and on the DC Thomson website.
Questions about the RHS / Social History Archive Partnership, and applications in 2026-27, may be sent to: administration@royalhistsoc.org.
RHS / Social History Archive Partnership
Applications are invited for Royal Historical Society / Social History Archive Partnership — which runs for the first time from September 2026. This programme provides researchers, at all career stages, with free access to online primary source materials that are otherwise not available to them via an existing institutional affiliation or subscription.
About this programme
Successful applicants will receive 6 months’ free access to The Social History Archive, for personal use on a defined research project. Each call for applicants will award access to up to 30 eligible researchers at a time.
This partnership is between the Society and The Social History Archive, published by DC Thomson. The Archive is a comprehensive online archive of British, Irish, and former empire historical resources for academic research and teaching.
For more on The Social History Archive, and its contents please see the Royal Historical Society’s programme page and the Social History Archive itself. A full listing of current content available in The Social History Archive (Summer 2026) is available here (opens as an excel sheet).
Two calls for this new scheme will be made each year:
- Applications are now invited, from eligible applicants*, for access to The Social History Archive between 1 January and 30 June 2027.
- The next call for applications will open in March 2027 for access from 1 July to 31 December 2027
*Applicants must be current Fellows, Associate Fellows, Members or Postgraduate Members of the Society, without existing access to the Archive via an institutional affiliation and who demonstrate a need for access to pursue a research project.
How to submit an application
For this programme applicants must:
- submit their application via this portal before the stated deadline.
- be current members of the Society (Fellows, Associate Fellows, Members, or Postgraduate Members).
- provide a brief 1-2 page CV (max) and a statement (250 words max) on their research project and Archive content required to pursue this research.
- declare that they do not currently have access to the Archive via a personal or institutional affiliation.
- state their willingness to write a blog post on their project, on completion of the partnership, for promotion by the Royal Historical Society / Social History Archive, if requested.
Applications for the Call 1 should be submitted via the Society’s Applications Portal before the closing date of 23.59 on Friday 30 October 2026.
Term of access and applications
Successful applicants will be provided with personal login for The Social History Archive, to run for a limited 6-month period, for which the start and end dates will be made known; extensions to this access will not be permitted and login details must not be shared with others. Failure to comply with these requirements will result in termination of access.
Applicants who are current recipients of Archive access may submit one follow-on application to extend an existing period of access, or may reapply for access for a second 6-month term in a later call (i.e. enabling a maximum term of 12 months’ access to the resource).
Recipients are asked to acknowledge the support of The Social History Archive and Royal Historical Society in any publications resulting from access to TSHA content. Selected recipients will be invited to communicate their research, and use of the Archive, for example via the Royal Historical Society blog and on the DC Thomson website.
Questions about the RHS / Social History Archive Partnership, and applications in 2026-27, may be sent to: administration@royalhistsoc.org.