Self-funders or those with external funding sources are welcome to apply via our standard route at any time of year.
We are offering fully-funded PhD studentships in all areas that fall within the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences for September 2025 entry. This includes the following seven Schools:
All nationalities are eligible for these 3-year studentships which cover tuition fees and living expenses. Part-time applicants and current first-year students are also eligible to apply.
There are additionally up to two awards for UK students who identify as BAME. Full details are within the below documents.
There is an additional award funded alongside the Stuart Hall Foundation. See below for eligibility criteria.
Applications for 2024 entry are open now. The HSS Principal’s Doctoral Research Studentships for Academic Year 2024-25 closing on 22nd January 2025.
The studentships cover all tuition fees, and provide a grant for living expenses at UK Research Council rates for London (c. £20,622 p.a. full-time, c. £10,311 part-time).
001 - HSS studentships memo 2024 [PDF 163KB] - Procedures for the HSS Principal’s Doctoral Research Studentships competition (QMPS), timetable and paperwork, criteria for awards at Faculty level.
002 - HSS studentships 2023 general [DOC 35KB] - Studentship, application process, assessment.003 - SNF 2022-23 [DOC 47KB] - Check list for schools, cover sheet, student nomination form.004 - Specification for candidate suitability [PDF 87KB] - Minimum requirements for consideration for studentships.005 - Guidance to applicants 2024-25 [PDF 134KB] - Research proposal, statement of purpose, assessment.
Please note that these awards cannot be deferred.
Fully-funded studentships are available for September 2024 entry across this Faculty in five strategic research themes:
In addition to our general studentship competition, we also offered two studentships for UK BAME applicants.
PhD programmes across all five schools within the Faculty are eligible for the funding.
S&E Doctoral Studentships for Underrepresented Groups in Research:
Applications for 2025 entry are open now. The deadline for applications is Wednesday 29th January 2025.
Follow the step-by-step instructions on the How To Apply page before submitting your online application.
For most funding types there is one single application for admission and for funding. You should note the funding for which you would like to be considered on your application form.
Some Doctoral Training Programmes require an additional application to the funding partner. Please read the instructions on their website carefully and get in touch if you are unsure.
For 2025 entry, Queen Mary University of London will be offering two fully-funded doctoral studentships (tuition fees and stipend at the UKRI London rate) to UK applicants from a BAME background.
This School is organised into seven distinct Institutes and each has their own funding sources. Typically this comes in three forms:
Research Council Grants: These will be advertised, as they become available, throughout the year. Check our list of live adverts now.
Doctoral Training Schemes: Details of each of these can be found on our doctoral training scheme page.
Charity or Industrial Funding: These will be advertised, as they become available, throughout the year.
Self-funders or those with external funding are welcome to submit a speculative application at any time of year. Prior contact with the proposed supervisor and discussion of the project is highly recommended in advance of submitting your application.
In addition to Queen Mary's studentships, we work with numerous international funding agencies to co-fund PhD studentships to support individual students from across the globe. Today, we are home to scholars from more than 50 different international sponsorship bodies.
More information about the scholarships available to you can be found on your individual country page or by using our searchable scholarships database.
The main funding partners we work with for PhD funding are:
Applications for PhD funding for September 2024 entry are now closed. The deadlines for September 2025 entry are as follows:
If you have questions about any of the above, please contact us via the enquiry form or contact the relevant academic School directly.