White Rose Doctoral Training Partnership (WRDTP) fully funded ESRC studentships, starting October 2027

The White Rose Social Sciences Doctoral Training Partnership (WRDTP) is an established partnership of the Universities of Bradford, Hull, Leeds, Manchester Metropolitan, Sheffield, Sheffield Hallam and York.

Working together since 2017, we are funded by the ESRC and are delighted to announce funding for up to 42 social science PhD studentships, starting in October 2027.

About our studentships

We fund student-led research projects, across a range of awards:

• Pathway Awards (including our Interdisciplinary Research Awards and our WRDTP/Stuart Hall Foundation Awards for Black British students)
• Advanced Quantitative Methods (AQM) Awards
• Advanced Data Analytics (ADA) Awards

Further information can be found on our website.

Our training

In addition to scholarship funding, we offer a comprehensive suite of training to ensure students acquire high levels of methodological and data literacy skills and are equipped for research leadership.

We are organised around seven interdisciplinary pathways, which bring together researchers from a range of disciplinary backgrounds to identify and develop the added value of social science in addressing pressing societal challenges.

We are committed to preparing students for a wide range of careers, within and beyond academia. All of our awards include a 3-month ‘Research in Practice’ placement.

Our award types

• +3.5 programme: funding for a 3.5-year PhD (typically for applicants with a social science Masters degree, and with 60 or more credits (or equivalent) of M-level social science research methods training)
• +3.75 programme: funding for an integrated PGCert/PhD (typically for applicants who already have a social science Masters degree but have fewer than 60 credits (or equivalent) of M-level social science research training)
• 1+3.5 programme: funding for a 1-year Masters programme, followed by the 3.5-year PhD (typically for applicants without a social science Masters degree – the Masters programme will deliver the core social sciences research methods training requirements)

Eligibility

All awards are available on a full-time or part-time basis and are open to home and international students. Full eligibility criteria can be found on our website.

How to apply?

You do not apply directly to the WRDTP. Instead, your university nominates you for an award.

You should allow sufficient time to liaise with potential supervisors and ensure that you observe any processes or deadlines that the individual department, school or university has in place for assessing applications.

Applicants must submit the following by 17:00, 20 January 2027* in order to be considered for an ESRC WRDTP studentship:

• Application for a PhD study place
• A WRDTP Studentship Application Form

*Some departments/schools may set earlier internal deadlines by which they need to have received your application - please check with them directly to confirm.

What happens if I miss the deadline?

Unfortunately, we cannot consider late applications to our Pathway, AQM and ADA awards. However, if you miss the deadline, alternative funding is available via our WRDTP Collaborative Awards. These projects are designed by academic colleagues at our partner universities and involve collaboration with a non-academic partner. Look out for details on our website in February.

Any questions?

Please contact us at enquiries@wrdtp.ac.uk.