You could receive funding for up to:

• three years for PhD programmes in the Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences
• three and a half years for PhD programmes in the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Engineering & Design
• four years for the School of Management

Funding includes:

• Home or Overseas* tuition fees
• a training support fund of up to £1,000 each year
• a competitive annual maintenance stipend

*Please note that our studentships do not cover UK Student visa costs, or the cost of the mandatory UK Immigration Health Surcharge. These costs can be considerable, so we ask all Overseas applicants to check these costs before applying and ensure they would be willing and able to cover these from their personal funds.

Find out more about your tuition fee status.

This studentship is available to both Home and International Students.

International applicants must satisfy all visa and immigration requirements, including successfully obtaining ATAS clearance if their offer of study confirms this is required.

Academic eligibility

You must have obtained, or be expected to obtain, at least an upper-second class (2:1) UK Honours degree, or the international equivalent, in a discipline appropriate to your intended research project. Some research projects may require a first-class UK Honours degree or a Master’s level qualification, or the international equivalent.

English language requirements

If English is not your first language, you must meet our English language entry requirement before the application deadline.

Programme expectations

You are expected to attend in person and be based at the University of Bath from the start of the programme (except during any placements).

IMPORTANT: In all cases, when completing the application form, you must select ‘University of Bath URSA’ from the drop-down menu in the ‘Funding your studies’ section. If you do not follow this instruction, there will be a delay with the processing of your application and it may not be possible to consider your application for funding.

Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences students

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

If you wish to apply for an URSA studentship, you must therefore follow the dates and deadlines outlined on these pages:

Read guidance on the dates and deadlines for ESRC SWDTP

Read guidance on applying for the ESRC SWDTP competition.

Most students will choose to apply for both the ESRC SWDTP and URSA. These students should follow the requirements of the SWDTP competition.

In the unlikely case that you only wish to apply for an URSA studentship, you do not need to provide the Annex A form, but must instead provide a 1000 word research proposal. You must still follow the interview requirements and dates of the SWDTP competition.

School of Management students

The School welcomes applications from exceptional students with research proposals of their own design as well as from students who apply in response to advertised projects.

Find an advertised project, with application instructions, on our FindAPhD feed or choose to apply with your own research proposal.

Students may also consider the ESRC SWDTP. Read about alternative funding for School of Management students.

Faculty of Engineering & Design and Faculty of Science students

Most students apply in response to an advertised project.

Find an available project on our FindAPhD feed. You’ll find application instructions in the project advert.

Both faculties will also consider applications from exceptional students with research proposals of their own design. See our application guidance for doctoral study.

Faculty of Engineering & Design students ONLY: 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

Scheme opens

Applications are accepted from October each year.

Application deadline

Applications for October 2027 entry close on 12 January 2027 at 12:00 noon UK time (GMT).

School of Management students

Scheme opens

Applications are now open for 2027/28 entry.

Application deadline

Friday 26 February 2027 at 23:59 UK time (GMT).

Please note that this is the deadline both for your final application, and for you to have attended an interview with your intended supervisor and for them to have submitted your interview paperwork.

You must therefore make initial contact with your intended supervisor prior to this date, so that they have time to arrange an interview with you before the deadline.

Applications received just before the deadline where a supervisor has not previously been contacted cannot be accepted.

Faculty of Engineering & Design students

Scheme opens

Applications for entry in October 2027 are now open.

Application deadline

Sunday 29 November 2026 at 23:59 UK time (GMT).

Faculty of Science students

Scheme opens

TBD

Application deadline

Application deadlines for advertised projects are quoted in the project advertisement on FindAPhD.com.

Applications from candidates with their own research idea will be considered until all available funding has been allocated. Please apply early to avoid disappointment.

We welcome applications from individuals regardless of their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, age, gender, or disability status.

For more information, please visit the University’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion webpage.

If you have circumstances that you feel we should be aware of that have affected your educational attainment, then please feel free to tell us about it in your application form. The best way to do this is a short paragraph at the end of your personal statement.