Scholarships and funding

PhD funding competitions include the Edinburgh Doctoral College Scholarships, the School of Divinity PhD Research Scholarships and the AHRC Doctoral Landscape Awards.

Edinburgh Doctoral College Scholarship

The University will offer PhD scholarships for students starting their PhD research at the University in the 2026-27 academic session.

The scholarship covers tuition fee plus stipend equal to UKRI minimum rate for the relevant academic year.

The scholarships deadline is Monday 2 February 2026: you are strongly advised to ensure that you have submitted your application for PhD admission at least five working days before this date, so no later than Friday 23 January 2026.

Please visit the Scholarships and Funding website for information about the application process.

School of Divinity PhD Research Scholarship

The School of Divinity will offer PhD scholarships for students starting their PhD research within the School of Divinity in the 2026-27 academic session.

The scholarships cover tuition fee plus stipend equal to UKRI minimum for the relevant academic year.

Deadline: Monday 2 February, 11:59pm

Please visit the Scholarships and Funding website for information about the application process.

AHRC Doctoral Landscape Awards

Applications for this award have now closed

The University of Edinburgh is delighted to invite applications for fully-funded PhD studentships via the AHRC Doctoral Landscape Award scheme.

We are offering 3 PhD studentships for 2026/2027, open to PhD applicants in the following three Disciplinary Panels:

• Philosophy
• Theology, Divinity and Religions
• Media, Communications, Cultural Policy, Film and TV, Library and Information Studies

The award will cover the PhD tuition fee and a stipend at the UKRI level for a minimum of 3.5 years, plus training options equivalent to a further 6 months of stipend to best support your PhD project and professional goals. These training options include an internship, Visiting Researcher placement, fieldwork costs, and an extension of your funded research time.

The funding is also available part-time and is open to both home and international fee applicants.

The Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities will provide Doctoral Landscape Award holders with additional PhD training and Cohort Development opportunities during the studentship.

The Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 ranked the School first in Scotland and fifth in the UK for its research power in theology and religious studies. The majority of the research activity of our colleagues is classed as world-leading, reflecting the vibrancy of the School’s research culture. Our research community takes advantage of the beautiful setting of New College, with its library, office spaces and seminar rooms. Teaching is research-led, and postgraduates form a key part of our research activities, including regular guest lectures, research seminars and workshops. We pride ourselves on our collegiality and supportive environment, as well as our strong commitment to inclusion and diversity. We study religion in all its manifestations, including beliefs, practices, identities, cultures, ethics, scriptures, institutions, communities, histories and politics. We are a multi-disciplinary group, including textual and literary scholars, historians, theologians, philosophers, ethicists, anthropologists and other social scientists. 

Full guidance about the award and application process – including the relevant application deadlines – is available on the Scholarships and Student Funding website.

The University of Edinburgh offers two tuition fee scholarship schemes for alumni of the University.

The University reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to amend or withdraw any of the advertised scholarships, without notice.