St Leonard’s College World-Leading Doctoral Scholarships
- Application period opens
- Monday 16 September 2024
- Application period closes
- Wednesday 22 January 2025
- Notification date
- The week commencing Monday 31 March 2025
- Entry
- 2025
The University of St Andrews is pleased to offer up to six full scholarships funded by St Leonard's Postgraduate College, to support exceptional students undertaking doctoral research on a topic that would contribute to the world-leading theme of the University Strategy.
Doctoral Research at St Andrews
As a doctoral student at the University of St Andrews you will be part of a growing, vibrant, and intellectually stimulating postgraduate community. St Andrews is one of the leading research-intensive universities in the world and offers a postgraduate experience of remarkable richness.
According to the latest UK Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021, more than 88% of research carried out by the University of St Andrews is world-leading or internationally excellent. St Andrews offers research students an intensive research environment, which is a vital step in their journey to a career in research and academia. Pursuing a specialism is a fulfilling path to undertake, and our research degrees are fully supervised and integrated into the research interests of our academic staff. At St Andrews research students will be contributing to the ground-breaking research we produce and making a significant contribution to the development of the respective academic field.
St Leonard’s Postgraduate College is at the heart of the postgraduate community of St Andrews. The College supports all postgraduates and aims to provide opportunities for postgraduates to come together, socially and intellectually, and make new connections.
In addition to the research training that doctoral students complete in their home School, doctoral students at St Andrews have access to a range of research skills development and training opportunities, which are designed to help them make the most of their postgraduate experience. These opportunities range from skills sessions that increase research capabilities to employability workshops and online resources. These support and development opportunities are available to all research students through the University’s GRADskills programme, a free, comprehensive training programme to support their academic, professional, and personal development.
St Leonard’s College and the University’s Careers Centre support all postgraduate students in identifying and achieving their career ambitions. The Careers Centre has dedicated staff and has developed extensive resources and offerings specifically for postgraduate students. Our research graduates go on to further studies and academic positions around the world or a range of professions outside of academia.
Value of award (per year)
Full-fees award and stipend. The stipend will be paid at the current UK Research Council rate (£19,237 in 2024-2025). The stipend will be paid pro-rata to part-time students.
The scholarships do not cover any continuation, extension, or resubmission period/fees, Visa fees, Immigration Health Surcharge, IELTS fees, costs for travel to and from the UK or research training grant or another equivalent award for research expenses.
Duration of award
Up to 3.5 years (full-time) or 7.0 years (part-time). Scholarship holders will be expected to have submitted their thesis for examination by the end of that period.The award term excludes the continuation period and any extension periods.
At what stage of my course application can I apply for this scholarship?
Please apply for the scholarship after you have submitted your application for a place at St Andrews. You do not need to wait until you have received an offer of a place before applying for the scholarship.
Application restrictions
Study level
Available to students studying at:
Subjects
Available to students studying:
Domicile for fee status
Application assessment
Available to
Mode of study
Geographical criteria
Additional criteria
You must have applied for a doctoral/PhD programme at St Andrews.
You must not already (i) hold a doctoral degree; or (ii) be matriculated for a doctoral degree at the University of St Andrews or another institution.
In support of your application, you will be asked to upload the following supporting documents:
- University transcript(s), including interim transcripts for any degrees pending.
- Research proposal
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) or resumé.
How to apply
These scholarships are available through the University of St Andrews Postgraduate Research Scholarships application in the Scholarships and Funding catalogue, in the Scholarships and Funding section of My Application. After submitting this application, you will be considered automatically for any scholarships under this scheme for which you are eligible, based on your answers in the application form.
- After you have applied for your chosen postgraduate course beginning in the 2025-2026 academic year, you must allow at least three working days for processing and issue of your log in details before you can apply for this scholarship.
- If you are a current student at St Andrews, you can access Scholarships and Funding through MySaint. However, you should wait until after you have applied for your intended postgraduate programme before doing so, to ensure that the scholarship application is linked to the correct course.
Terms and conditions
- These scholarships cannot be deferred. Awards will be withdrawn if the student is unable to start their doctoral degree in the 2025-2026 academic year.
- The student must matriculate for a University of St Andrews doctoral degree. Students are not eligible if they are matriculating for a research Masters degree (MPhil, MSc(Res), MSt(Res), etc.), or for a joint degree awarded with another institution.
- The student must not already hold a doctoral degree, or be matriculated for a doctoral degree at the University of St Andrews or another institution.
- The student may matriculate as a full-time or part-time student with the agreement of the School but may be subject to immigration restrictions (part-time matriculation is not normally possible for students who require a visa to study in the UK).
- The student must decline the award if they subsequently are awarded a fully-funded scholarship from an external organisation such as the Fulbright Commission, UK Research Councils, etc.
Please read the University of St Andrews scholarships terms and conditions (opens in new tab)
If you apply to this scholarship, details from your course application may be passed to the selection panel solely for the purpose of merit-based assessment.
When will I know the outcome?
The outcome of your scholarship application will be available on "View my applications" in the Scholarships and Funding section of My Application by late March 2025.
If you are successful, you will also receive an award letter with full details of the scholarship you have been offered.