Awards and recognition schemes for those within the doctoral community

Details of the various award schemes for doctoral students and staff.

Doctoral Awards

Find out about the various award schemes open to doctoral students and staff who support doctoral students.

Awards for doctoral students

Doctoral Recognition Awards
Godfrey and Sue Hall Doctoral Researcher Prize

Awards for staff who support doctoral students

Doctoral Recognition Awards
Excellence in Doctoral Supervision

Doctoral Recognition Awards

The Doctoral Recognition Awards, organised by the Doctoral College, recognise students and staff who have contributed to enhancing the doctoral student experience.

From over 200 nominations, 58 doctoral students received an award in 2026. They were recognised for their commitment to quality research practice, positive contributions to the research community, and the real-world impact of their research.

In 2026, 26 staff members received an award for their valuable contributions to the doctoral community. They were recognised for their dedication enhancing doctoral research culture and experience and their commitment to student support and development.

Find out about our 2026 winners

Doctoral Recognition Award Student Winners

Excellence in Doctoral Supervision Prizes

The Excellence in Doctoral Supervision Prizes are awarded to supervisors or supervisory teams who have demonstrated exceptional performance in doctoral supervision.

In 2026, the University prize was awarded to Dr Hannah Leese, Department of Chemical Engineering

There were also 4 Faculty and School Prizes:

Faculty of Engineering and Design Winner: Dr Katharine Fraser, Mechanical Engineering
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Winner: Prof Ana Cecilia Dinerstein, Social and Policy Sciences
Faculty of Science Winner: Dr Marina De Vos, Computer Science
School of Management Winner: Prof Dan Davies, Management

See previous winners

Image of University award winner Dr Hannah Leese

Godfrey and Sue Hall Doctoral Researcher Prize

The Godfrey and Sue Hall Doctoral Researcher Prize, previously known as the Ede and Ravenscroft Postgraduate Research Student Prize, is an annual award for the best doctoral researcher. The winner receives £1,000 from Godfrey and Sue Hall.

A huge congratulations to our 2026 winner Faye Sanders, PhD student in Department of Psychology, for her research titled The Health We Build: How Housing and Cities Impact Our Wellbeing.

Congratulations to our four finalists: Robbie Mears, Physics Vibhor Mathur, Social and Policy Sciences Fadoua Govaerts, Education Kareem Abdalaziz Abushama, Architecture and Civil Engineering

Find out more about our winner

Recognising our community

All recipients of awards were invited to celebrate at the annual Doctoral Research Celebration Evening. Take a look at some pictures from this year's event, which took place on 10th June 2026.