School of Social Sciences PhD Studentships 2026 Entry
Funding description
Fully-funded studentship available to students undertaking study in criminology, law, philosophy, politics, social anthropology, social statistics and sociology.
Key features of this studentship
- Open to all nationalities.
- Open across all research disciplines in School of Social Sciences.
- Full PhD tuition fees for 3.5 years (full-time or part-time).
- Annual maintenance stipend - (this was £20,780 p/a 2025/26).
- A research training support grant.
How to be considered
Equality, diversity and inclusion
Equality, diversity and inclusion are central to everything we do at The University of Manchester. We know that a diverse research community drives creativity, productivity and research quality, and strengthens our impact on society and the economy.
We actively welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and career paths. We encourage interest from all sections of the community, regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation or transgender status.
This funding is available to all nationalities.
You must meet the academic requirements of your programme. For most programmes in the School of Social Sciences, this is:
- Bachelor's (Honours) degree in a cognate subject at 2:1 or above (or overseas equivalent); and
- Master's degree in a relevant subject - with an overall average of 65% or above, a minimum mark of 65% in your dissertation and no mark below 55% (or overseas equivalent).
Applicants must provide evidence of English language proficiency with their application. If English language is an outstanding condition of your offer, you must meet this by 1 December 2025. If you do not meet this, we cannot include your application in the competition.
Acceptable evidence includes:
- IELTS test minimum score - 7.0 overall, 7.0 in writing, 6.0 in other sections.
- TOEFL (internet based) test minimum score - 100 overall, 25 in all sections.
- To demonstrate that you have taken an undergraduate or postgraduate degree in a majority English speaking nation within the last 5 years.
- Other tests may be considered.
You must submit your online application for a place on your chosen postgraduate research programme by the relevant programme deadline 1 December 2025. Your programme application should contain all necessary supporting documents.
Section 9 of the application asks for your funding intentions. In this section, you should detail fully all the competitions in which you would like to be considered. There is no limit to the number of competitions you may enter, but all must be detailed in your online application form to ensure you are included. Please add a funding source, and populate the fields as below:
- Type of Funding: Uni of Manchester Scheme
- Awarding Body (free text): SoSS School Studentships
- Status of Funding: Intend to Apply
Please note that there is no separate funding application form for School of Social Sciences Studentships. All decisions are based on the online programme application and supporting documents.
Application form: https://www.manchester.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-research/admissions/how-to-apply/
Additional documentation
Your full online application must include;
- A 1,500 word PhD research proposal. Please state the word count on page 1 of the document.
- A copy of your bachelor's and master's academic transcript and certificate. If your master's degree is pending, please provide an interim transcript.
- An up-to-date academic CV summarising your academic record, employment history, publications and highlighting experience demonstrating your research potential.
- The names of two academic referees, including one from your most recent institution. Your referees will be contacted directly via the Referee Portal following the submission of your application form.
- A certificate or evidence demonstrating your English language ability and proficiency.
Successful candidates will be chosen on the basis of:
- Academic merit and preparedness for research
- Quality and feasibility of research proposal
- Consideration of ethical responsibility
This award will cover:
- Fees (home or international) for 3.5 years.
- Annual maintenance stipend (this was £20,780 p/a 2025/26).
This award does not cover:
- Any costs incurred through a visa application (including the immigration health surcharge).
- Any costs incurred through travel or relocation.
Offers of funding are not deferrable. If you cannot start your programme by the date mentioned in your studentship offer letter, the award will be withdrawn. You are permitted to re-apply in future.
Closing date: 1 December 2025
Your complete online application for your preferred PhD programme must be submitted by the dates below:
- Criminology: 1 December 2025
- Law: 1 December 2025
- Politics: 1 December 2025
- Social Anthropology: 1 December 2025
- Social Statistics: 1 December 2025
- Sociology: 1 December 2025
- Philosophy: applications for September 2026 entry onto PhD Philosophy will be accepted until 30 June 2026. All Philosophy applications will be considered for School of Social Sciences PhD Studentships, however, we reserve the right to close the competition at any stage if all awards have been allocated, so we recommend that you apply as early as possible.
Please note that this is a strict deadline and late or incomplete applications will not be included in the competition.
We expect to communicate the outcome to applicants by June 2026.
Unfortunately, we are unable to provide feedback on individual applications, as outcomes are determined by independent panels.
If you have any questions about this studentship, please contact hums.doctoralacademy.admissions@manchester.ac.uk
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