ESRC White Rose DTP Studentships 2026/27

The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) is the UK's largest funding agency for research and postgraduate training relating to social and economic issues. The University of Leeds is part of the ESRC White Rose Doctoral Training Partnership, forming a collaboration between the Universities of Leeds, Sheffield, York, Bradford, Sheffield Hallam, Hull and Manchester Metropolitan. Through this partnership, the University offers a range of social science PhD studentships available to UK and international applicants. These studentships are available in seven named Thematic Interdisciplinary Training Pathways and can be held full-time or part-time. Various award types are offered: +3.5 Studentships for 3.5-year PhDs (for students with a social science Masters degree and 60+ credits of M-level social science research methods training); +3.75 Studentships for integrated PGCert/PhD programs (3 years 9 months for students with a social sciences Masters degree but fewer than 60 credits of M-level training); and 1+3.5 Studentships for a 1-year Masters programme followed by 3.5-year PhD (for students without a social science Masters degree). A range of studentships are available including WRDTP Pathway Studentships for impactful social science research, up to 2 WRDTP Advanced Quantitative Methods Studentships for cutting edge quantitative research, up to 2 Advanced Data Analytics Awards for researchers using cutting edge data analysis techniques or big data, and up to 2 WRDTP/Stuart Hall Foundation Studentships specifically for Black British students. All WRDTP programmes include an integral 3-month 'Research in Practice' placement as standard. The awards cover fees at standard UKRI rates, a maintenance grant (£20,780 in Session 2025/26 for full-time study, pro-rata for part-time), and a Research Training Support Grant for travel and research costs during the PhD. The award is open to all applicants including international students, though moving costs to the UK are not covered.