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 doctoral students pursuing research in the social sciences.
Key facts
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 DTP offers a range of studentship awards each year for students to undertake a 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, and numerous training and development opportunities.
Pathways
Awards are allocated to pathways within the DTP, and each pathway represents a particular discipline or subject area within the social sciences. We recommend that you get in touch with the relevant Stirling pathway representative to discuss applying for ESRC funding early. Awards are competitive. You will need to identify a potential supervisor and discuss your proposal and application with them in the first instance.
The University of Stirling's pathway representatives (see table below) can help you identify a supervisor for your proposed research project.
| Pathway | Pathway representative |
| Accounting, Finance, Business and Management (AFBM) | Dr Dionysia Dionysiou |
| Economics and Social History | Dr Alison Cathcart |
| Economics | Dr Hector Rufrancos |
| Education | Dr Gregory Mannion |
| Health, Families, Relationships and Demographic Change | Dr Purva Abhyankar |
| Human Geography, Environment and Urban Planning | Dr Tony Robertson |
| Psychology | Dr Dimitrios Kourtis |
| Social Work and Social Policy | Dr Sandra Engstrom |
| Socio-Legal Studies and Criminology | Dr Diana Miranda |
| Sociology | Dr Marina Shapira |
| Science, Technology and Innovation Studies and Information and Communication Studies | Professor Iain MacRury |
For information about the University of Stirling's areas of research 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).
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.