Economic and Social Research Council - ESRC Grand Union DTP Studentships in Social Sciences

What the Grand Union DTP studentship gives you

You get a tax-free living allowance of £20,780 per year (about 24,000 EUR) at the 2025-26 rate, paid for the full length of your funded doctorate. Your full tuition fees are covered for the whole period, whether you count as a Home (UK) or an international student. You also get access to extra funding pots for research training, overseas fieldwork, language training, study visits abroad, student-led events and work placements. Every award includes a compulsory 3-month 'Research in Practice' placement, where you apply your research skills in a real workplace. The money comes from the UK's Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), through a partnership of Brunel University London, The Open University and the University of Oxford.

How long the funding runs depends on your route: 3 years and 9 months for a PhD with extra training, 4.5 years if a one-year master's is built in, or 5.5 years if a two-year master's is built in. You can study part-time from half-time onwards, with the funding adjusted pro-rata.

Who can apply

• Level: You are starting a PhD in the social sciences. Depending on your route, this can include an integrated master's before the PhD. A master's degree is not always required.
• Field of study: Your project must fit an ESRC social-science area, chosen from 24 subject pathways across five clusters, from sociology and criminology to economics, psychology and migration studies. You do not need a social-science background, as long as the project itself is social science.
• Where you study: At Brunel University London, The Open University or the University of Oxford.
• Nationality: Open to both UK and international applicants.
• Timing: You must apply before you start, alongside your university application. If you have already begun a course, you cannot be funded. The one exception: if you are currently doing a master's, you can apply for the PhD part.
• Standalone master's: Not funded on its own. A master's is only covered if you continue straight into the PhD.
• Part-time: Only possible if you have no visa requirement and can live in the UK.

How to apply

First pick the pathway that fits your project. Then apply to the university that hosts your programme and complete the separate Grand Union DTP application form. Each pathway nominates its strongest candidates to a panel spanning several disciplines. The panel judges them on academic and professional experience, aptitude and potential, the research proposal, and plans for sharing research with users outside academia. The deadline at Brunel is 8 January 2027 for 2026/27 entry. Oxford applicants must meet their course's own funding deadline, and the Open University confirms its deadline separately. Decisions are made around the end of March, and successful applicants are told from early April.

How realistic are your chances?

The partnership awards about 35 studentships a year across 24 pathways, so the pool for any single subject is smaller than the headline number suggests. The multi-stage selection is genuinely competitive. Your prospects rest on a strong, well-focused doctoral proposal and a clear fit with an ESRC pathway, not on grades alone. If your project is a good match, at least 9 places reserved for quantitative methods, data skills or interdisciplinary work can widen the door.