UBEL Logo

ESRC Studentships Main Competition

The UBEL DTP’s fully funded ESRC studentships cover full payment of tuition fees per year and an annual maintenance stipend.

What’s on offer

  • UBEL DTP studentships cover tuition fees at the UKRI rate and an annual maintenance stipend. For 2025/26 an UBEL studentship will cover tuition fees of £5006 and a minimum stipend of £22,780. This figure includes the London Allowance.
  • We offer a wide range of disciplinary pathways, in 6 groupings across 6 London institutions. Each pathway provides a range of study routes (+3.5; 1+3.5 +4.5) with MRes, MSc and MA programmes attached and accommodates both full-time and part-time students. 
 
Apply here

Academic qualifications

  • You should normally have (or expect to achieve by 30 September 2026) an upper second or first class honours degree or a Master’s degree from a recognised UK university, or the equivalent qualification if gained outside the UK.
  • For +3.5  award you must normally have (or expect to achieve by 30 September 2026) a Master’s degree with an appropriate level of research training.

Eligibility criteria

  • All UKRI studentships are open to both home and international students.
  • To be classed as a home student, candidates must meet the following criteria:
    • Be a UK National (meeting residency requirements), or Have settled status, or
    • Have pre-settled status (meeting residency requirements), or
    • Have indefinite leave to remain or enter
  • If a candidate does not meet the criteria above, they would be classified as an International student. Please read the UKRI Eligibility guidance document (pdf) for full details on residency requirements. 
  • UBEL cannot cover visa costs for international students. For any visa or immigration advice, please speak to your institutions visa compliance team.
  • UBEL is allowed to make no more than 30% of the total number of studentships (across competitions) to international students – this is an ESRC condition and cannot be waivered. (For 2025 Entry, UBEL could award only 10 international studentships out of 485 international applicants)

Guidance for applying

This video provides application guidance and answers key questions, led by the UBEL DTP Management team. 

Deadlines for 2026 Entry

15 September 2025Survey Monkey Apply opens for Preliminary applications. See guidance and FAQs available on webpage.
10 November 2025Deadline for Preliminary applications at 23:59
12 December 2025Pathway teams give decisions to DTP
15 December 2025Full Application Stage Opens for candidates who have been successful at the Preliminary stage.
2 February 2026Deadline for Full applications at 23:59
w/c 20 April 2026DTP Board confirms studentship awards for 2026 entry. 

Useful documents

Guidance for Supervisors

Contact us

Get in touch with the team.
Email: Ubel-dtp@ucl.ac.uk

Email logo

The ESRC has introduced a new PhD model from 2024/25. The new standard model for an ESRC studentship is 3.5 years.

Instead of the traditional three years of funding for a full-time PhD, ESRC studentships will include an extra three months of time (and stipend) to allow extra time for training throughout the PhD.

In addition, it is expected that ESRC studentship holders should have the opportunity to
complete a high-quality placement in academia, policy, business or civil society organisations as
part of their training. Students who participate in a placement will receive an extra three months of time (and stipend). This extra funded time would be in addition to the time periods indicated below and apply to all routes (i.e. 1+3, +3, 2+3 and +4, 3.5 and 3.25).