A fast-track to the skills and knowledge needed to work with traditional buildings for early career architects, surveyors and engineers. 

The Scholarship is the perfect post-graduate training for those with ambitions to shape the repairs and interventions to historic buildings, set specifications and oversee their implementation. It focuses on the importance of properly understanding and appreciating old buildings before beginning work on them.

This intensive nine-month programme gives Scholars the chance to travel the country together learning on site from specialist craftspeople and building conservation experts. 

Many Scholars are now among the leading conservation experts in the UK and overseas, looking after a wide range of historic buildings and sites in a variety of roles.

Applications will open in early August for 2026 Scholarships. From that time please download and read the Scholarship Information Pack for details.

7 October 2025                Live online Q&A with past Scholars 

21 October 2025              Closing date for applications

Programme

The Scholarship is a full-time programme running from March to December.

The programme is bespoke and flexible each year, based on the opportunities available and Scholars’ needs and interests. Learning takes place through site visits, first-hand experience and informal discussion rather than formal lectures or submissions. 

Scholars travel the country to meet leading conservation professionals. They visit architects, surveyors, engineers, conservators, analysts and craftspeople at building sites, offices, workshops, yards, quarries and foundries to see repair work and gain hands-on experience where possible. Scholars will also spend some time traveling with the SPAB Fellows (craftspeople). 

This is a full-time, intensive programme, including some weekend work, so cannot be combined with other work or study.

Supervision and Assessment

There are no formal lectures or submissions. Instead, Scholars will submit a selection of pages from their sketchbooks at the end of the programme. Scholars will also report on their progress to the SPAB team at various points throughout the programme, and share updates for the SPAB’s communications channels.

The programme is run by Scholarship Officer Catharine Bull and overseen by the SPAB’s Education and Training Committee. 

Funding

There is no course fee. 

2026 Scholars will receive a non-taxable bursary of £14,800 paid in monthly payments from March to November. This bursary is a contribution towards costs and will not cover full expenses. Additional funds beyond the bursary payments will be required, normally between £4,000 and £6,000.

Applications and Recruitment

Three or four Scholarships are awarded each year. 

Applications are welcome from early-career architects, building surveyors, structural engineers and other conservation professionals seeking to be decision-makers in historic building repairs. Please see the Scholarship Information Pack for eligibility criteria.

The SPAB recruits Scholars on merit and is committed to eliminating discrimination and encouraging diversity in the sector. We particularly welcome applications by people from backgrounds under-represented in building conservation (such as those from disadvantaged socio-economic background, women and black and minority ethnic communities).

Please note that the offer of a SPAB Scholarship is subject to the applicant providing evidence of their right to live and work in the UK. The SPAB is not a registered sponsor body for the purpose of visa applications.  Applicants from outside the UK and Ireland should check their eligibility for a UK visa before applying to the scheme. Please check the UK government website for more information.

Candidates selected for interview will be given the names of one or two recent past Scholars to contact. It is important that applicants contact, and ideally meet, at least one past Scholar to gain an accurate impression of the Scholarship and what it entails personally, professionally and financially. For more information about interviews, please check the information pack. 

Further Information

You can find out more about past and current Scholars on our blog.

SPAB Scholars: echoes of the past

Jen Langfield reports on her final weeks

Exploring Irish Traditional Building Vernacular

Getting Hands-on at Hop Pole Inn

Thatch, the Climate Crisis and the Chance to Bring Heritage Crafts Back From the Brink