How to Apply For a PhD Studentship

To apply for a Centre-UB PhD studentship you should complete the Centre-UB application form, which you can download here:

Centre-ub-phd-studentship-application-form-2026 (107kB docx)

This form, together with your CV, your EDI survey number, your academic transcript, and two references should be submitted using the online application portal for your chosen PhD project.

Experience shows that students who are engaged in early discussions about the project with the supervisors are more likely to be successful in their application. We therefore encourage you to contact your potential supervisors and ask any questions you may have about the project. 

The deadline for applications is 17^th February 2026 at 5pm.

Centre-UB is committed to enhancing the diversity of the postgraduate research community. To do this, we are working together with The Talent Foundry, an organisation that enhances social mobility in young people from underserved communities. This initiative is exclusively available to UK home students who meet the eligibility criteria.  Applicants who meet the eligibility criteria will be invited to access pre-application support. If shortlisted for an interview, The Talent Foundry will also provide preparation support. To check if you are eligible for this support, please complete this brief survey.  

There are many different routes into a PhD. In this brief video, members of Centre-UB share how and when they decided that they wanted to do a PhD. 

Steps for applying for a studentship

1. Download the Centre-UB application form (above)
2. Select the PhD project you would like to apply to (available projects are listed here)
3. Complete the online application form for your chosen project (link provided in the project description). As part of the online application, you will be asked to upload the following:
   • Personal details
   • EDI survey number
   • Centre-UB application form
   • CV
   • Academic transcript (more than one file can be added)
   • Two references (at least one academic reference)

To support the processing of the applications, please save files as ‘surname_document type’.  If your name was John Smith, you would save the application form as Smith_application, your CV as Smith_CV etc. If you have more than 1 file for the transcripts/references, please add a number at the end (e.g., Smith_reference1).

If you have not yet completed your undergraduate degree, please provide the transcript of the previous years and an academic reference which confirms your expected degree classification.

Centre-UB is required to provide diversity statistics of the applicant pool to the ESRC. All applicants are therefore requested to answer a brief online EDI survey. Any questions on the survey can be answered with ‘prefer not to say’. At the end of the survey, you will be provided with a number to provide in your studentship application. Applications without this survey number will be rejected. Please note the information you enter in the survey will not be available to the panel evaluating the studentship applications or to the supervisors of your project.

The deadline for applications is 17^th February 2026 at 5pm. Please check the expected interview dates in the project description.

If you have any questions about the application process, please contact us on [email protected].

Timeline