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University Research Studentship Award (URSA)

Find out about the University Research Studentship Award for new doctoral students and check if you are eligible.

If you are applying for doctoral study in humanities, management, engineering or science, you may be eligible for the University Research Studentship Award.

Studentship value

Find out how much funding is available.


You could receive funding for up to:

  • three years for Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences students
  • three years for School of Management students
  • three and a half years for Faculty of Science and Faculty of Engineering & Design students

Funding includes:

  • Home tuition fees
  • training support fund of up to £1,000 each year
  • maintenance stipend of £18,622 each year (2023/24 rate)

Eligibility criteria

Find out if you are eligible for this funding.



How to apply

Find out how to apply for URSA funding. You need to follow a different process depending on which faculty or School runs the PhD you're applying for.


Faculty of Engineering & Design students

Find an available project or projects on our FindAPhD feed. You'll find application instructions in each project advert.

We also welcome applications from exceptional students with research proposals of their own design.

One URSA studentship per year is reserved for an applicant holding Refugee, Humanitarian Protection, or Asylum Seeker status as the Doctoral Sanctuary Studentship in Engineering and Design.

Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences students

In Humanities & Social Sciences only, the URSA competition is run in tandem with the ESRC SWDTP competition.

Guidance on applying for the ESRC SWDTP competition will be available once the scheme opens.

School of Management students

We welcome applications from exceptional students with research proposals of their own design.

Find an available project or projects, with application instructions, on our FindAPhD feed.

Read about applying for ESRC SWDTP, URSA, and GRS funding.

Faculty of Science students

Find an available project or projects on our FindAPhD feed. You'll find application instructions in each project advert.


Application deadlines

Find out when you should submit your application.


Faculty of Engineering & Design students

Scheme opens

Scheme now open. URSA project adverts will go live on our FindaPhD project feed in early December 2022.

Application deadline

Applications close on Sunday 29 January 2023 at 23:59 GMT.

Doctoral Sanctuary Studentship in Engineering and Design deadline is Sunday 22 January 2023 at 23:59 GMT.

Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences students

Scheme opens

Now open for applications for entry in the 2023/24 academic year.

Application deadline

Applications close on 13 January 2022 at 12:00 (midday) GMT.

School of Management students

Scheme opens

Now open for applications for entry in the 2023/24 academic year.

Application deadline

Applications close on Friday 31 March 2023 at 23:59 GMT.

Faculty of Science students

Scheme opens

Scheme now open. URSA project adverts will go live on our FindaPhD project feed on an ongoing basis until the end of November 2022.

Application deadline

Applications close on Sunday 22 January 2023 at 23:59 GMT.

Contact us

If you have any questions about doctoral funding, get in touch.