University of Edinburgh - College postgraduate studentships

College Postgraduate Studentships at the University of Edinburgh

You will receive your full UK/EU tuition fees paid, plus a yearly living allowance of £21,805 (about 25,400 EUR) at a rate of 2026/2027. The funding lasts for 3 years, or for 4 years in the case of some integrated PhD programmes, such as the 4-year PhD programme in Economics or the integrated PhD programme at the Business School. The level of funding is in line with the rates set by the UK research councils, and some scholarships also cover research costs. The colleges of the University of Edinburgh fund these scholarships for students commencing a PhD programme.

Who can apply

• Degree level: You are starting the first year of your PhD programme. Master’s programmes with a research focus (MSc by Research) are not permitted.
• Field of study: Open to all departments within the arts, humanities, social sciences, as well as medicine and veterinary medicine. The Faculty of Arts and Humanities awards scholarships in the fields of economics, theology, literature/languages/cultures, and philosophy/psychology/linguistics. The Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering does not offer these scholarships.
• Grades: As a rule, you will hold a bachelor’s degree with a ‘First Class’ or ‘Upper Second Class’ classification (or an equivalent international qualification) or a master’s degree awarded with ‘distinction’. Selection is based solely on academic merit.
• Nationality: Applicants of all nationalities are welcome to apply. The scholarship covers tuition fees only for students from the United Kingdom and the EU. Therefore, if you are an international student, you must either be awarded an ‘Edinburgh Global Research Scholarship’ in addition to this, or demonstrate that you are able to cover the full tuition fees for international students yourself.
• Study mode: Depending on the university, full-time, part-time and distance-learning courses may be available.

How to apply

First, submit your complete application for admission to the PhD programme via the University’s online system at least five working days before the scholarship application deadline. You should then submit your scholarship application online by 2 February. For the Faculty of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, please contact a supervisor or a research centre directly instead; the deadlines depend on the specific project.

How realistic are your chances?

These scholarships are highly sought-after and are awarded solely on the basis of academic merit. The programme in the arts and humanities, in particular, attracts many applicants for a limited number of places. If you can demonstrate a very good degree classification of ‘First Class’ or ‘Upper Second’ and a well-reasoned research proposal, you have a genuine chance, but the bar is set high. If you submit your application in good time before the deadline, you will have the best prospects.