The John Hamilton Scholarship

Overview

Penguin has created a new scholarship at The Glasgow School of Art, named in honour of its long-time Art Director John Hamilton, who died in 2019. The John Hamilton Scholarship offers £3,000 to one student per year, to support them for one year of study, as well as a paid internship in the art department at Penguin Random House UK. It is open to UK and EU postgraduate students living in Scotland and studying for a Master of Design in Graphics/Illustration/ Photography or a Master of Design in Communication Design at The Glasgow School of Art.

Born in Glasgow, John Hamilton studied illustration at The Glasgow School of Art between 1982 and 1986, and his degree show consisted of a series of covers for imaginary books. After joining publisher William Heinemann shortly after graduating, he moved to Penguin in 1997 as Art Director for Penguin General Adult Publishing – later also becoming the Art Director for another of the Penguin publishing houses, Michael Joseph. During his twenty-two years with the company, he worked with many of Penguin’s bestselling authors, including Jamie Oliver, Zadie Smith, Nick Hornby and William Boyd.

Key information:

Value of the scholarship: £3,000 per year, plus a Penguin Internship*
Duration of the scholarship: 1 year
Use: Fees and maintenance
Number of scholarships available: 1

Eligibility criteria:

Subject eligibility: M.Des Graphics/Illustration/Photography or M.Des Communication Design
Domicile eligibility: The award is open to all UK/EU candidates who have been resident in Scotland for more than 12 months prior to application.

Additional eligibility requirements:

Awarded based on academic excellence and priority will be given to those who can demonstrate financial need.

* The Penguin Scholarship recipient will be offered an internship at Penguin’s London offices. The timing is to be agreed between the student, their supervisor at the GSA and Penguin. The internship will be offered at Penguin’s discretion and it reserves the right to withdraw the internship as necessary.