ESRC-funded studentship opportunities: Scottish Graduate School of Social Science
The Scottish Graduate School of Social Science's Scottish Doctoral Training Partnership provides studentship awards each year to students to allow them to do a funded PhD in the social sciences.
Key facts
Fee status
Your country/region
Level
Postgraduate (research)
Number of awards
Value of awards
Deadline
The University of Stirling is a member institution of the ESRC Scottish Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP). The DTP is led by the Scottish Graduate School of Social Science (SGSSS), which facilitates funding, training and support for doctoral students in the social sciences.
The open competition for entry in October 2026 is now open. Please see www.sgsss.ac.uk for full information.
The DTP offers a range of studentship awards each year for students to undertake a funded PhD research project of their own design. Successful students benefit from:
- a high-value scholarship package
- a wealth of supervisory expertise across the social sciences;
- numerous training and development opportunities.
SGSSS awards for training pathways
SGSSS awards are made to six training pathways organised around a set of key societal challenges. These challenges represent the kinds of social science research that SGSSS students do and reflect the themes of the Scottish Government’s National Performance Framework and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. They are:
- Communication, AI and New Technologies
- Environment, Migration and Demographic Change
- Governance and Institutions
- Health, Wellbeing and Communities
- Securities: Justice, Economies and Conflict
- Social Inequalities
Before applying to the student-led open competition applicants:
- should have contacted the relevant lead (listed below) for their discipline;
- must have engaged with your proposed supervisor(s).
You can identify and contact a potential supervisor via our Find a Supervisor tool.
You should discuss your research proposal with them and inform them that you wish to apply for an ESRC studentship via SGSSS. Confirmation of supervisory support is required at application stage.
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Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy |
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Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience |
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Business and Management Studies |
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Law |
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Politics |
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Social Work and Social Policy |
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Education |
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History |
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Communication, Cultural and Media Studies, Library and Information Management |
Find out more about our PhD subject areas: visit our research degree pages.
For information on all the pathways supported by the scholarship, visit the Scottish Graduate School of Social Science website.
Eligibility and availability
The ERSC-DTP competition is open to:
- UK and international students who have completed (or expect to complete) a Masters qualification in a relevant discipline from a recognised institution (+3 award).
- UK and international students planning to undertake a Masters qualification followed by a doctorate degree (+3 award).
While international students are eligible to apply for a SGSSS studentship, please be aware that the studentship only covers home fees.
For SGSSS-funded students commencing in October 2026, the University of Stirling will require any international awardee to pay the difference between the home and international fees (in 2025, home PhD tuition fees in social sciences were £5,006 and international PhD tuition fees were £19,500).
Funding will not be available beyond the home fee level already covered. For visa purposes, international awardees will have to demonstrate that they can pay the difference in fees.
For more information on eligibility please visit the Scottish Graduate School of Social Science website.
How to apply
Applying to the ESRC-DTP studentship competition
Please see the Scottish Graduate School of Social Science website for details and dates for each of the various schemes available.
Applying to the University of Stirling
Applications to the University of Stirling and to the ESRC-DTP studentship awards are submitted in parallel. You must apply to undertake either a Masters degree or a relevant PhD programme at the University of Stirling and - if nominated - apply through the SGSSS processes described above in tandem.
Only those candidates with an offer to study at Stirling can receive a studentship through the ESRC-DTP.
Contact us
If you have a query about your proposed PhD project, please contact either your relevant pathway representative (see table above) or ias@stir.ac.uk.
If you need support with your online application for a University place, you can contact postgraduate.admissions@stir.ac.uk.