Birmingham Newman University student wins £32,000 Wellcome Trust Scholarship for history research
Susie will be graduating in History from Birmingham Newman University in October 2024
A Birmingham Newman student in History has been awarded a significant scholarship worth £32,000.
Susie Longstaff, graduating from Birmingham Newman University with a degree in History, secured the Wellcome Trust MA Studentship for the 2024-2025 academic year.
This scholarship will support her pursuit of an MA in History of Medicine at the University of Warwick.
As well as allowing Susie to study medicine from the early modern period through to contemporary society, the scholarship will fund her dissertation research into the exponential boom of deaf cures advertised in the eighteenth-century Burney newspaper collection. Susie believes that an analysis of these cures reveals valuable insights into the historical development of medical ideas and practices which shaped and continues to influence social attitudes towards deafness.
Commenting on the scholarship, Susie Longstaff said: “Due to financial hardship, I could not have pursued further studies without scholarship funding. Now, I am one step closer to my passion for researching deaf and disability narratives within the context of the history of medicine. I hope my research will make a difference for others and that my story will inspire students to see that success is possible, regardless of their background. Birmingham Newman University transformed my life in more ways than I can articulate due to the support I received from the staff and the student support services. Anything is possible with a community.”
Susie has already started her MA at the University of Warwick, a full-time, one-year course. The Wellcome studentship will cover the cost of fees for the MA, a stipend, and a provision for research expenses.
Susie began as a Birmingham Newman student on the Foundation Year course in September 2020 as a contextual admission and progressed onto the History programme in 2021. Susie’s dissertation was on ‘Attitudes Towards Deafness in Early Modern England: Exploring the Influence of Curing Mentalities, 1640-1740′, supervised by Dr Duncan Frankis.
Dr Duncan Frankis, who was Susie’s tutor said: “Susie, throughout her undergraduate degree at Birmingham Newman University, was a model example of a student. She not only produced some of the finest historical analysis I have seen during my time in higher education (especially her dissertation on the experiences of the deaf in early modern England), but also fully embraced the wider university community. She participated in a staff-student partnership with a local cerebral palsy charity, joined the university choir, and was a mentor to new students. Her successful application for an impressive amount of post-graduate funding from the Welcome Trust was fully deserved – and is a testament to what can be achieved when students engage in all services offered by universities, and dedicate time to personal, professional, and academic development. I am so excited to see all of the things Susie will no doubt go on to achieve at Warwick and beyond – thank you for being such a wonderful student, and person.”
Professor Roberta Bivins, Director of the Centre for the History of Medicine at the University of Warwick, expressed her support for Susie’s application: “The panel members were really impressed with the quality of Susie’s application and her potential for the Master’s programme at Warwick. We feel she will be an excellent fit with us, and we very much look forward to helping Susie develop her exciting research questions.”
Birmingham Newman University offers foundation, undergraduate, and postgraduate degrees in subjects ranging from teaching and education to business management, criminology, and law. It will host an Open Day on Saturday, October 5th, 2024, from 10:00 – 15:00.