Scottish Graduate School of Social Science - Economic and Social Research Council Funding

Information about eligibility and the application process

The University of Edinburgh is part of a consortium of 16 Universities in Scotland awarded funding from the Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC) to support postgraduate studentships and training in the Social Sciences in Scotland.

Under this Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) Scheme, which is run by the Scottish Graduate School of Social Science (SGSSS), the consortium will consider applications for doctoral studentship awards. These can be offered as MSc plus PhD (1+3.5) or PhD (+3.5) awards depending on the experience of the applicant.

Further details about the DTP can be found at: Scottish Graduate School of Social Science

Eligibility

Applicants must satisfy the eligibility criteria of the ESRC. Please see the Scottish Graduate School of Social Science for further details.

Scottish Graduate School of Social Science

  • Candidates must meet all ESRC eligibility requirements.
  • Candidates will normally hold a relevant First Class Honours degree (such as BA, BMus, BSc, or LLB) and preferably a similar calibre of Masters degree.
  • PhD students within the eligible subject areas who are currently in their first year of study are eligible to apply if they do not hold PhD funding at UKRI levels already.
  • Awards are available to Home fee applicants and limited awards available for International applicants.
  • To qualify for Home status an applicant must:
    • Be a UK National (meeting residency requirements), or
    • Have settled status, or
    • Have pre-settled status AND meet residency requirement (3 years residency in the UK/EEA/Gibraltar/Switzerland immediately before the start of their programme.) or
    • Have indefinite leave to enter or remain

SGSS Information Sessions

SGSSS Applicant Webinar 

30 September 2026 12pm BST
Teams link 
Meeting ID: 365 832 286 263 014
Passcode: hf3pW7qY

University of Edinburgh Online Information Session

7 October 2026 10am BST 
The Dean of Postgraduate Research is hosting a one-hour online information session about the SGSSS Open PhD competition for prospective applicants. Please join this link for the start time.
https://eu.bbcollab.com/guest/8db5a5592dcf4ec98242a6fd24d9a3f5 

SGSSS Drop-in Session

6 November 2026 12pm BST
Teams link
Passcode: jA9zB9mb

Linguistics Unit of Assessment

Linguistics is one of the Units of Assessment that form part of the ESRC Scottish Doctoral Training Partnership. Potential applicants to Edinburgh should follow the instructions below in order to be considered.

Programmes available at the University of Edinburgh include PhD in Linguistics or Psychology (+3.5 studentships), or 1+3.5 studentships beginning with:

You will still need PhD supervision secured and your PhD project proposal will be assessed as part of the SGSSS marking criteria.

Application process

To be considered, you should:

  • make an application to study one of the approved programmes named above by Monday 9 November 2026.
  • carefully read the SGSSS Open Competition Guidance.
  • register on the SGSSS Apply.
  • complete the SGSSS Open Competition application form and submit it, along with any other materials required by SGSSS, to SGSSS Apply by 5pm on Tuesday 24 November 2026.

It is useful for applicants to email the PPLS Postgraduate Research Administration Office to register their interest in ESRC funding as this will allow us to track your applications effectively.

Deadline

PhD Application: Monday 9 November 2026

SGSSS Apply application: Tuesday 24 November 2026

Students must have submitted an application to study AND applied to SGSSS via their Apply system in order to be considered.  Late applications will not be considered.

Applications will be reviewed and shortlisted by the School. Shortlisted candidates will then need to be selected by the University panel for a University of Edinburgh nomination. Nominated candidates will then upload a final SGSSS application to the SGSSS in February 2027.

Contact

For questions regarding your application to the scholarship, please contact the Linguistics Unit of Assessment representative: Dr Sumin Zhao

For other queries, please contact the PPLS Postgraduate Research Administration Team.

Postgraduate Research Administration Team (MScR/PhD enquiries)

School of Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences

Contact details

Address

Room 1.06, Dugald Stewart Building
3 Charles Street
Edinburgh
EH8 9AD

Availability

Open Monday to Friday:
10.00 am to 12.30 pm
1.30 pm to 4.00 pm

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