Edinburgh Doctoral College Scholarships

About the project

The University will offer PhD scholarships for students starting their PhD research at the University in the 2027-2028 academic session.

Background

In order to attract the best and brightest PhD students, the University seeks to offer not only unparalleled research facilities and superb supervision, but also to provide development opportunities which will support our research students as they progress beyond their PhD, through an exciting scholarship scheme.

Access

The University of Edinburgh has been working for some time to embed equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in its activities and to widen participation (WP) for students from disadvantaged and underrepresented backgrounds. The Doctoral College is committed to embedding EDI in all of its policies and processes, and by widening access to postgraduate study to traditionally underrepresented groups, including minority ethnic students and those from the most deprived communities in Scotland and the rest of the world. The Doctoral College wishes to attract the greatest diversity of applications to this scheme and will ensure that recruitment processes are robust and unbiased.

Awards

Each scholarship covers the University tuition fee as well as a stipend equivalent to the UKRI stipend rate (for 2026-2027 this is currently £21,805), subject to satisfactory progress, the scholarships are awarded for between three and four years as agreed by the School/College (or pro-rata for part time).

Eligibility

The awards are open to UK and overseas students applying to start their first year of study for an on-campus research degree in 2027-2028.

Applicants must have already applied for admission to a first year of full-time or part-time on campus or distance PhD study at the University. We encourage applicants who wish to apply for this scholarship to make contact with their academic school regarding any admission deadlines.

Please check the Entry Requirements for your proposed programme of study for details of other acceptable English language qualifications.

You may apply for the scholarship prior to obtaining the necessary English language test results but the results should be uploaded as soon as possible.

These awards cannot be held concurrently with fully-funded scholarships but can be held with partially-funded scholarships and will be reduced pro-rata.

Criteria

Applicants must be of outstanding academic merit and research potential. Candidates must have, or expect to obtain, a UK first class or 2:1 honours degree at undergraduate level or the international equivalent.

Other factors such as financial status, nationality and the proposed field of study are not taken into account.

The University will not generally consider candidates who have already obtained a PhD, or formal equivalent, as a result of direct research training.

Training

Undertake a package of training and development which will help you to develop skills to support your career choices and offer you a breadth of development opportunities in areas that may include teaching, public engagement, entrepreneurship, data science, and research.

Applying

Eligible applicants to any of the Schools within the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, and for applicants to the School of Engineering, Geosciences, Chemistry or Mathematics, should complete an online scholarship application.

In order to gain access to the scholarship application system, applicants must have applied for admission to the University of Edinburgh. Please note that, following the submission of an application for admission, it can take up to five working days for all system checks to be completed and access to be granted.

We highly recommend you apply for the scholarship well in advance of the scholarship deadline date should you encounter any technical difficulties with your application which need resolved .

The online scholarship application form is located in EUCLID and can be accessed via MyEd - our web based information portal at: https://www.myed.ed.ac.uk

When logging in to MyEd, you will need your University User Name (UUN) and password. If you require assistance, please go to: http://www.ed.ac.uk/student-systems/support-guidance

Further guidance on applying for scholarships as a registered student can be found here: Applying for a scholarship | Student Systems | Student Administration

The table below indicates the number of awards available per school and the scheduled closing dates for scholarship applications. Scholarship application deadlines will vary by School and are listed in the table below. Please note that there will also be PhD admission deadlines within each School.

Further information about each School and PhD admission deadlines can be found by clicking on the School web link below.

Please note : If you are applying to the School of Informatics or the School of Physics & Astronomy , you will automatically be assessed on your suitability for an Edinburgh Doctoral College Scholarship upon applying for admission. There is no separate scholarship application process for these schools.

Applications for the School of Biological Sciences should be made directly to the school. Applications cannot be made via MyEd in EUCLID for this award. Please click on the Biological Sciences link in the table below for further information.

Frequently Asked Questions & Terms and Conditions:

Application deadlines will vary by School and are listed in the table below. Further information about each School can be found by clicking on the School web link below.

School | Number of Scholarships Available | 3 1/2 Year Tenure | 4 Year Tenure | Closing Date

Biological Sciences | 1 | No | Yes | 23:59 (UK Time) 16th November 2026

Business School | 1 | Yes | Yes See Below | 23:59 (UK Time) 2nd February 2027

Chemistry | 1 | No | Yes | 23:59 (UK Time) 11th January 2027

Divinity | 1 | Yes | No | 23:59 (UK Time) 2nd February 2027

Economics | 1 | No | Yes | 23:59 (UK Time) 2nd February 2027.

Edinburgh College of Art | 1 | Yes | No | 23:59 (UK Time) 2nd February 2027

Engineering | 1 | No | Yes | 23:59 (UK Time) 14th January 2027

Geosciences | 3 | Yes | No | 23:59 (UK Time) 25th January 2027

Health in Social Sciences | 1 | Yes | No | 23:59 (UK Time) 2nd February 2027

History, Classics and Archaeology | 1 | Yes | No | 23:59 (UK Time) 2nd February 2027

Informatics | 1 | No | Yes | 23:59 (UK Time) 30th November 2026

Law | 1 | Yes | No | 23:59 (UK Time) 2nd February 2027

Literatures, Languages and Cultures | 1 | Yes | No | 23:59 (UK Time) 2nd February 2027

Mathematics | 1 | No | Yes | 23:59 (UK Time) 1st February 2027

Moray House School of Education and Sport | 1 | Yes | No | 23:59 (UK Time) 2nd February 2027

Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences | 1 | Yes | No | 23:59 (UK Time) 2nd February 2027

Physics and Astronomy | 1 | No | Yes | For applicants to the PhD in Astrophysics, the deadline will be 23:59 (UK Time) 4th January 2027. The deadline for applicants to all other PhD programmes will be 23:59pm (UK Time) on 22nd January 2027.

Social and Political Science | 1 | Yes | No | 23:59 (UK Time) 2nd February 2027

College of Medicine & Veterinary Medicine | 6 | Yes | No | TBC

For the Business School Only - Four year EDCS funding is only available for applicants to the 4 year integrated PhD programmes. Applicants on 3 year PhD programmes are eligible for 3.5 years of EDCS funding but the award holder would be funded by the Business School for an additional 6 months

Selection procedure

The University will use the information you provide on your scholarship application form together with the information contained in the supporting documentation (reference and academic transcript) which you submitted as part of your application for admission to administer and assess your scholarship application and to select successful applicants.

Shortlisted candidates should expect to be invited to attend an interview which will take place either in person or by telephone.

Notifications

All applicants will be notified of the outcome by the relevant school/college. For further information, please contact the school/college directly.

Important

The University reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to amend or withdraw any of the advertised scholarships, without further notice.

This article was published on 2024-07-29

Research areas