Eligibility

Eligibility

*Funding Application Deadline 12 Noon (GMT) Friday 9th January 2026*

The UKRI fees and stipend rates for academic year 2025/2026 are

Stipend: £20,780, Fees: £5,006  

We also recommend you research rental and other associated living costs in the city to which you are applying so you can assess their affordability. Reference to online cost of living tools may be of help such as Cost Of Living Comparison 

Scope of research

We do not set restrictions on the types of research that are eligible for funding (e.g. quantitative or qualitative, empirical or purely theoretical), but they must meet the remit of the social sciences. In case of doubt, we will refer to the definitions at What is social science? – UKRI and at What is Social Science? – Academy of Social Sciences (acss.org.uk). We will not, for example, fund a research project in psychology or in our health, wellbeing and society pathway that is wholly a series of medical experiments without establishing the links to social science. We also will not fund a project in geography or in our Climate Change, Sustainability and Society pathway that is purely about developing a computational or mathematical model for hydrological forecasting. This does not preclude the possibility of research that is interdisciplinary in nature, but it must always have a clear, identifiable and substantial social science component. All proposals must be at least 50 per cent social science. 

Home student

To be classed as a home student, candidates must meet the following criteria:

– Be a UK National or,

– Have settled status or,

– Have pre-settled status or,

– Have indefinite leave to remain or enter or,

– Be an Irish National.

If an applicant does not meet the criteria above, they would be classed as an International student.

International Students

We are pleased to accept applications from International students, but we are not permitted to allow our percentage of international students per annual intake to exceed 30 per cent. Because of this, we have to place restrictions on the number of international students each pathway is allowed to nominate at each stage of the shortlisting process.

Please note that the ESRC will fund international students only at the home fee and stipend rate. Whilst we anticipate that the difference between the UK rate and the international fee will be waived by our partner institutions at no cost to you, we recommend that you seek confirmation from the institution that this will be the case. The SWDTP is not liable for and is unable to pay the difference should it arise.

Please also note that we are not permitted to pay for travel costs, visa fees and other costs associated with moving to the UK to study (e.g. the immigration health surcharge to access the National Health Service) and that there may be restrictions on who can travel with you to the UK, especially if you need to study for a Masters year. We recommend contacting the institution to which you are applying if you have queries about this, here.

We also recommend you research rental and other associated living costs in the city to which you are applying so you can assess their affordability. Reference to online cost of living tools may be of help such as Cost Of Living Comparison.

Applying again if you have applied before

If you have not yet started a PhD either within the SWDTP partnership or elsewhere then you are welcome to apply.

Applying if you have already started a PhD

The default rule is to not allow applications from candidates who have already started a PhD programme, either presently or in the past. This includes starting an MPhil that leads directly into a PhD (subject to a successful progress review, for example)

If you are unsure about whether you qualify to apply or feel you have a case for which an exception might be made, then this must be discussed with the SWDTP Director well in advance of preparing an application by contacting swdtp-enquiries@bristol.ac.uk. Please note that the circumstances would have to be exceptional (for example, one week into a PhD, you were forced into an unexpected caring responsibility and had to immediately withdraw from the programme).

It is important that applicants also refer to the specific entry requirements/application process for their programme of study at their home institution.