phd student edinburgh university

• Schools & departments

What is the Doctoral College?

The University of Edinburgh Doctoral College is a coordinating structure for all postgraduate researchers, supervisors and relevant staff at the university, designed to enhance and support the postgraduate student experience. 

For information and resources for research staff, please see the Research Staff Pages:   https://www.ed.ac.uk/researchers

A Doctoral College Welcome Event for all Postgraduate Researchers was held on 12th September 2023. A recording of this event is available to watch here -  https://edin.ac/3PIYbYv 

A Town Hall Event for all Postgraduate Researchers ran on the 23rd January 2024 - A recording of this event is available to watch here - Recording

PhD stories

Our extraordinary PhD students come from all walks of life and all backgrounds. In this collection of short videos, some of them share their experiences -   PhD Stories

Vision and strategy

The purpose of the Doctoral College, our vision and strategic objectives.

People and structure

About the Doctoral College leadership and management structure, and the wider Doctoral College team.

Personal and professional development and training

Information about professional, careers and personal development training and opportunities for  UoE   PGR  students.

Wellbeing, community and representation

Information on student representation, wellbeing services and opportunities for engagement.

Support for PGR supervision

Information and guidance for staff who supervise research students.

Doctoral training centres

Information on funded PhD training programmes and support for directors and administrators of these programmes.

Essential information for postgraduate researchers

Code of Practice for Supervisors and Research Students (PDF)

College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences - PGR pages

College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine - PGR pages

College of Science and Engineering  (EASE log in required)

Information for prospective postgraduate research students

New student pages

Postgraduate study degree finder

• Schools & departments

• What happens next?
• Life as a PhD Student
• School of Mathematics
• Studying Here
• Postgraduate Research Studies

How to apply for a PhD

PhD Student Applications

PhD Applications

The postgraduate research degree offered at the School of Mathematics is the PhD.  The PhD programme is three years in length with an additional year to write up and submit your thesis should it be needed. However, please note if you are offered a fully funded place, you will receive four years of funding (stipend and all fees). The students admitted typically have an MSc degree, or 1 st  class honours degree (or its international equivalent). From the start of their studies, they are assigned a main supervisor with whom they work closely throughout their degree programme and a second supervisor who provides additional help and pastoral support. Applications are invited for PhD studies for September each year. Occasionally students are admitted at other times of the year by special arrangement.  To request the possibility of admission at another time of the year, please  email  the Graduate School with further details of your request. 

All applications received by  22 January 2024 will receive full consideration for funding.  Later applications will be considered until all positions are filled.

If you are applying for EDCS or the China Scholarship, please ensure you check the relevant application deadline. These scholarships do require a separate application.  The deadline for EDCS applications is 19 February 2024.

We accept applications from students who have secured external funding at all times of the year - Please make this clear on your application, and if you are in contact with a potential supervisor.

How to Apply

Step 1: meet our entry requirements.

Our minimum entry requirements are a 1 st  class Honours degree (or its international equivalent) OR a 2:1 Honours degree (or its international equivalent) plus a Masters degree (or its international equivalent) in a relevant subject. Typically, candidates have a good understanding of the field they propose to study, and some research experience.

Students applying for a research degree should identify their research interests and determine in which  research group  they wish to carry out their work. They are encouraged to contact staff members prior to their application in order to identify possible research projects and supervisors. However, it is not essential for you to have secured a supervisor before submitting your application. You can note proposed supervisor(s) on your appliction form.

Non-UK candidates may be required to provide a evidence of proficiency in the English language. For full details on English language requirements, please see this page . Applicants must have one of the following qualifications as evidence of their English language ability:

an undergraduate or masters degree, that was taught and assessed in English in a majority English speaking country as defined by UK Visas and Immigration ( UKVI list of majority English speaking countries ) 

• IELTS Academic: total 6.5 with at least 6.0 in each component
• TOEFL-iBT : total 92 with at least 20 in each section
• PTE(A) : total 61 with at least 56 in each of the Communicative Skills scores
• CAE and CPE : total 176 with at least 169 in each paper
• Trinity ISE : ISE II with distinctions in all four components

Degrees taught and assessed in English must be no more than 3.5 years old at the date of the beginning of your degree programme. English language test certificates must be no more than 2 years old at the beginning of your degree programme, or 3.5 years for CAE & CPE.

Step 2: Apply online

Make an online application to the appropriate PhD programme(s) (see below) . You will be asked to upload documents at the start of the application process. 

The documentation that we require you to upload to your application is:

• Interim or final transcript(s)  - (depending on what stage you are at in your studies) of your Undergraduate Degree, and Masters Degree, if applicable.
• Final degree certificate(s) - for your Undergraduate Degree, and Masters Degree, if applicable.
• Two academic references to be provided directly by referees. Enter their names and email addresses in the required areas, and an automated email will be forwarded to them requesting a reference upload. We will not accept references uploaded by applicants.
• A CV - You can upload this in the place of a research proposal, which is not required for your application.
• English Language Test Certificate (where applicable) - please see here . 

Where you are asked for your project proposal, you may ignore that request, the School of Mathematics does not require a research proposal . Although the EUCLID application system will request that you upload one, you can just ignore this request. The reason that you will be asked for one is that the system applies to all Schools throughout the University and some Schools do require a research proposal. In the place of a research proposal, please upload an up to date CV. There is no need to upload any certificates for the degree you are currently studying (if you have not been issued one) - instead, official interim transcripts will be required.

Official translations of any documents not in written English are required. 

On the application form, where it asks for funding information - please enter 'School of Mathematics'. Each application will automatically be considered for one of our scholarships. Please indicate any other potential source of funding you have, have applied for or are intending to apply for (see Step 3).  If you have secured external funding, please provide evidence of the funding along with your application.

Step 3: Funding

Please review and apply for all applicable sources of funding noted on the What funding is available for your PhD  page.

Please apply via the research pages below:

• Algebra PhD
• Analysis PhD
• Applied and Computational Mathematics PhD
• Geometry and Topology PhD
• Mathematical Physics PhD
• Optimization and Operational Research PhD
• Probability & Stochastic Analysis PhD
• Statistics PhD
• Mathematics Education

School of Social and Political Science

Phd social and political science, introduction.

The deadline to apply for September 2024 entry is Monday 1 July 2024.

On this PhD programme you will carry out independent research, resulting in an original contribution to knowledge in your chosen area.  

Our expertise and interests range across the following subject areas:   

• African studies  
• global health policy  
• international development  
• medical anthropology  
• politics and international relations  
• social and public policy  
• social anthropology  
• social work  
• sociology  
• socio-cultural studies  
• South Asian studies 
• sustainable development

On our PhD programme, you will be able to choose from a range of courses that provide research training in social science methods, including qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods.  

You can also take courses addressing aspects such as research ethics and positionality, as well as substantive taught courses in the School of Social and Political Science as relevant for your thesis. 

The given period of study for a full-time PhD is three years, and your thesis will be submitted towards the end of your third year. 

As a Social and Political Science PhD student, you will learn to design and generate original research. You will gain knowledge of principal research methods, and practice in ways that are reflective, self-critical and based on research and evidence. 

You will have access to a suite of professional development courses and workshops offered by the University’s Institute for Academic Development and the School’s Student Development Office. 

You will also be part of the  Scottish Graduate School of Social Science , meaning you can participate in all its offered courses, events, and initiatives such as internships. 

Your application must clearly state the potential supervisor you have contacted.  

While you are studying on the PhD programme, you will be under the supervision of at least two members of academic staff. 

On completion of this PhD, you will have gained many graduate attributes that are highly regarded in the field of social and political science.

Among other things, you will be able to: 

• demonstrate substantial authority and exercise a high level of autonomy and initiative in academic and equivalent activities  
• manage complex ethical and professional issues  
• display critical, detailed and leading knowledge and understanding of literature at the forefront of the specialist research area  
• use critical judgement in both your own work and the work of other scholars in the field  
• communicate to a range of audiences through your published academic work 

Applying for this PhD

• Identify potential supervisors suited to your research interests
• Write a draft research proposal
• Contact the Postgraduate Advisor with your research proposal and list of potential supervisors
• Once discussed with the Postgraduate Advisor, formally submit your application on EUCLID

Postgraduate Advisor

Current research students

We currently have around 100 PhD students studying with us with topics covering an extensive range of legal and criminological subjects.

You can view our current research students' PhD topics by visiting their University of Edinburgh profile pages.

Desmond Agyekumhene   'Is online music streaming akin to radio, digital download or a derived hybrid? An evaluation of musicians' rights in a changing digital music consumption landscape'

Aina Arif 'Substantive Equality in Malaysia and the United Kingdom: A Comparative Analysis of The Legal Framework of Sex Discrimination in Employment'

Emily Asgari 'An Examination of Deepfakes’ Impact on Truth Through a Legal Comparative and Historical Study of Visual Media Manipulation'

Ayça Atabey   'Fairness, vulnerability and AI-driven technologies'

Grayson Bartels Exploring harms - transition, autonomy, and recovery in life after prison

Colin Bathgate 'Exclusionary Rights in Scots Law'

Lilli Wolland Blomberg 'Norwegian Nurses in the Service of the Third Reich: A Criminological Study of Atrocity Perpetration and Claims to Victimhood'

Thomas Broderick   'Examining the need for legal regulation of data-driven and digital journalism'

Sara Canduzzi 'Legitimacy without legality: towards a theory of global and supranational authorities'

Pablo Carvacho 'Penitentiary system evolving logics in Chile’

Martina Cerna ‘ Liability for Failures in Blockchain Transaction under Private Law: Comparative Analysis’

Zekun Chang (Eric) ' (Working title) Hedge fund activism in corporate governance reality'

Pedro Cisterna Gaete Environmental justice and urban adaptation to climate change: the case of slum communities

Chioma Dibia 'Racism and the Reform of Mental Health Laws in England and Wales'

Kajsa Dinesson  'Defining the law: on police and prosecutorial decision-making under broad and vague terrorism offences'

Mihail Dishev 'The patentability of CRISPR-Cas9-mediated gene editing in human embryos: Time to “edit” the European patent law landscape?'

Rania Amalia Djojosugito 'Crash of the Satellite: An analysis of the regulation of atmospheric re-entry of spacecrafts/space debris in Outer Space Law'

Tahir Erdogan  Penalty Clauses in Civil Law and Common Law: A Comparative Analysis with Special reference to harmonisation

Juan Pablo (JP) Fassnidge   'Moral Scepticism and Criminal Law: a Theory of Criminalisation'

Mirjana Gavrilović Nilsson   'From State Ideology to Individual Criminal Action: Testimony and Evidence from the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda'

Lamprini Georgiou   'The impact of blockchain technology and machine contracting on investor protection and bank integrity laws.'

Claudia González-Márquez ‘Neurohacking and the Law: Examining the Adequacy of Legal Frameworks in Safeguarding the Neurocognitive Domain from Interference with Implantable Neurotechnologies’

Zahra Haji Jaffer   'Public interest : a diluted justification?'

Holly Hayes ' Dignity in Human Rights Law: The Ultimate Essentially Contested concept'

Robert Holland  'Intersections of Security: Rhythms of Security and Governance in a Major City Transport Hub'

Yi-Chen Huang 'Contested Pathways to Citizenship: A Comparison of Taiwan’s Investor Residence Scheme and the UK BNO Visa Scheme for Hong Kongers'

Cara Hunter  'The dynamics of penal change in Scotland since 1990'

Fransiska Ari Indrawati 'Legal Aspect of Central Bank Digital Currency (Indonesia and other Relevant Countries)'

Maria Ithurria   'Historical - dogmatic study of the responsibility for redhibitory vices.'

Matthew Jewell   'Dissent in the smart city: Contesting cyber-physical architectures'

Kholyn Ruran Jonathan ' Federal and state relationship under Malaysia Agreement 1963 : A case study of Putrajaya & Sarawak'

Christian Paul Jones   'Fundamental political freedoms, privacy, free speech and election regulation: The legal challenges of political marketing in the modern era'

Ahmedul Kabir Police Reform in Democracies: Readiness for Safeguarding Human Rights

Lynn Kennedy   'Medical Futility and Experimental Treatment'

Gokce Kolukisa ' Genome Editing in International Law'

Leo Kritikos 'Carving out space for queer* subjectivities beyond the fear/safety binary'

Dongjoon Lee 'Challenges to the Non-Discrimination Principle in Digital Trade'

Fangyi Li 'Post-Conflict Justice, International Law, and Regional Particularism in Southeast Asia: An Analysis Focused on Victims’ Right to Justice'

Ruiting Liu ‘Protecting and Promoting Media Pluralism in the Online Environment: An assessment of European Union policies and regulatory responses to enhance pluralism of professionally-generated content on online platforms’

Xinyu Lyu 'Competition Law and the Platform Economy：Could Business Users be "Consumers" Under the Consumer Welfare Standard?'

Daniela Mardones Bravo   'The Elderly Population within the prison system in Chile: Characteristics and Challenges.'

Clare McDairmant   'In the Workplace in Great Britain : Do the religious exceptions contained in schedule 9 to the Equality Act 2010 go far enough, are they too wide or should they not exist at all?'

Andreea Mihut ‘Stealing Stories’?: Investigating Language, Narrative, and Power in the Contemporary Scottish Criminal Courts

Bethan Morgan  'Examining the Use and Impact of Progress Reviews which Operate Externally to Specific Problem-Solving Courts in Scotland'

Ke Mu An Examination of Evidence Gathering in English Commercial Arbitration and Lessons for China

Sofia Nakou   'Developing the understanding and practice of human rights law in refugee camps through the creation of a sustainable theatre community'

Alex Nevins ' Asexuality and Law: Rights, Recognition and Justice'

Shingo Nishioka 'Strengthening Accountability for Improved Human Rights Compliance: A Case Study of Human Rights in Japanese Immigration Detention'

Kyle Leif Oakes   'Explaining post-human era warfare in the legal nomrs of human era warfare'

Aziz Ozturk Application of the Business Judgement Rule: From US Law, Throughout European Jurisdictions, to Turkish Law

Pravar Petkar ' Transcending British Parliamentary Sovereignty: Constituent Power, Referendums and Normative Political Realism'

Matilde Masetti Placci 'Newly tinted glasses? Revisiting international law's unity (and fragmentation) through the theories of Georg Jellinek, Maurice Hauriou and Santi'

Mochammad Noer Alim Qalby 'The Role of Indonesian Competition Law in Digital Markets'

Ruby Reed-Berendt  'On power and empowerment: an intersectional analysis of mental capacity law in England and Wales'

Rebecca Richards  'Global Health Emergencies, the shortage of healthcare professionals in Low- and Middle-Income Countries, and global justice: analysing the duties of high-income countries'

Valentina Rioseco Vallejos   'Human Rights Law in Chilean domestic courts: Situating Migration and Refugee Issues.'

Deborah Russo Segregation in Scottish Prisons in Comparative Context

Alison Seaman Does the United Kingdom, comprising as it does of the three jurisdictions of England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, need a specialised human rights court in order to afford effective protection of human rights, in particular the fundamental right to life, freedom from inhuman and degrading treatment, and the right to liberty?

Nidhi Sahay Children of a Lesser God: Protecting the best interests of children on the move by building a bridge between international refugee law and international law on the rights of the child

Nadia Isabel Silhi Chahin

Bhavinee Singh 'Fiscal Federalism in India'

Sukru Kagan Surucu 'Involvement of UNHCR in Offshore Asylum Processing'

Kongsatja Suwanapech  'The Legacies of the Codification of Thai Criminal Law: A study of History and Transculturalisation of the Penal Code of Siam'

Kim Taehyeon  ' A Propitious Time for Establishing the Asian Court of Human Rights: Feasibility Analysis of Institutionalising Regional Human Rights Mechanism Within ASEAN Plus Three'

Ammar Tanhan  'Investing in Investment Claims: A Critical Analysis of Third-Party Funding in Context of the Investor-State Dispute Settlement System'

Tsampika Taralli   'Justification and Explanation in Theories of Law'

Lucy Tomkins ' Rights based approaches in International Ocean Governance'

Hilda Tizeba 'Autonomy, Paternalism and the Regulation of Mental Healthcare in Low-Resource Settings: Examining the Case of Tanzania'

Maria Diaz Vidal

Jin Wang 'Third-Party Funding in International Commercial Arbitration - From the Perspective of Access to Justice'

Chloe Young ' Understanding the Environment of the Night Time Economy: Women’s Experiences of Night Time Spaces'

Gaia Zanotti 'What legal standards concerning access to employment and fair labour standards are available to applicants and beneficiaries of international protection in Europe and what is the current level of compliance across European states?'

Yunchong Zhou  'Comparison of Merger Control between China and European Union - Using Internet Firms as Examples'

Please contact us if you have any questions about studying a PhD at Edinburgh Law School.

[email protected]

Key information

Schools & departments

PhD Study with Edinburgh Neuroscience

Edinburgh Neuroscience currently has about 250 PhD students working on a wide variety of neuroscience-related projects that cover health and disease across the life course, from early development to old age. Our PhD students are an integral part of our dynamic neuroscience community and we are keen to recruit motivated and collaborative students.  There are a variety of PhD opportunities, advertised throughout the year and, in addition to the numerous individual PhD projects offered via our research centres, we have two PhD programmes.

EdNeuro.PhD is our PhD portal

To find out more about studying for a PhD with Edinburgh Neuroscience, currently available funded studentships and how to apply, please visit our dedicated PhD portal  EdNeuro.PhD

Visit EdNeuro.PhD for all our PhD training information

Our PhD Programmes

SPRINT-MND/MS PhD Programme . Led by Edinburgh Neuroscience, Scottish PhD Research & Innovation Network Traineeships in MND/MS’ is a PhD programme in partnership with the Universities of Aberdeen, Dundee, Glasgow and St Andrews and promotes research into all aspects of motor neurone disease and multiple sclerosis.

Wellcome Trust 4 year PhD in translational Neuroscience . Our flagship PhD programme  ‘Translational Neuroscience: Lifecourse influences on human brain health’ is a ‘ training to translate ’ programme for non -clinical students that addresses a current global need by focussing on the advancement of knowledge, expertise and skills in clinical translation, drawing on unique Edinburgh research strengths in diseases across the life-course to achieve this goal.

Visiting students

As a leading research higher education institution, the University actively welcomes and encourages visiting students from other British higher education institutions and from higher education institutions around the world.

Visiting students have the opportunity to take taught courses and/or conduct research at the University for a short period, for less than or up to one year. Credit gained and/or research conducted at Edinburgh will transfer back to the home institution and may count towards the student's final qualification.

Please note that the University of Edinburgh Business School is currently unable to accept any applications for visiting students.

How to Apply

All visiting research applicants must make a formal application to the Postgraduate Research Office. The following documents are required to support your application:

• An official transcript of a postgraduate master's degree (please see below note about entry requirements)
• Official statement confirming you are currently registered as a full-time student on a degree programme elsewhere
• An academic reference from your current programme of study
• A personal statement
• A research proposal
• Agreement from an academic at the University of Edinburgh Business School to be your supervisor when studying here
• Appropriate English language skills or valid test (please see below note about English language requirements)
• A completed application form (the form is available to download at the bottom of this page)

Entry requirements

All visiting research applicants are also required to meet our PhD programme entry requirements, including holding a masters degree from an accredited UK or overseas university with above average academic achievement, including:

• A degree classification with a mark of 65% or more overall (or UK equivalent).
• Normally a masters dissertation at the distinction level (or UK equivalent). Those with an MBA or masters students without a dissertation are welcome to apply but should provide evidence of distinction-level work within their degree.

English language requirements

In addition to the above, all visiting research applicants are required to meet our minimum English language entry requirements. We accept the following English language qualifications as evidence when they meet the minimum grades:

• IELTS (International English Language Testing System) including IELTS Online: 7.0 (at least 6.0 in each section)
• TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) iBT (including Special Home Edition): total 100 (at least 20 in each section)
• C1 Advanced (formerly CAE) and C2 Proficiency (formerly CPE) : total 185 (at least 169 in each module)
• Trinity ISE (Integrated Skills in English) : ISE III with a Pass in all four components
• PTE (Pearson Test of English) : including PTE Academic Online: total 70 (at least 59 in each section)

Your English language qualification must be no more than two years old from the start date of the programme you are applying to study, unless you are using C1 Advanced and C2 Proficiency, in which case it can be no more than three and a half years old.

Ready to Apply?

Download application form

Once you have completed your application form, please email it to: [email protected]

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• Schools & departments

PhD fee structure

How fees are charged for full-time and part-time PhD programmes, as well as PhDs by publication.

Full-time study

For full-time study, you will pay a total of three or four full-time annual fees (as appropriate) for the period of prescribed study under supervision.

Part-time study

For part-time study, you will pay a total of  six or eight part-time annual fees (as appropriate) for the period of prescribed study under supervision. 

Part-time tuition fees are 50% of the full-time fee applicable for the programme of study in each academic session. 

Submitting your thesis early

If you submit your thesis early, you must pay the remaining years’ fees on submission.

PhD by publication

If you submit for a  PhD  by publication, you will need to pay an examination fee on submission.

PhD programme fees

PhD programme fees for each year of study can be found on our postgraduate research fees page.

Postgraduate research fees