University College London 2024 Fully-funded Research Excellence Scholarship, UK

UCL’s Research Excellence Scholarship (UCL-RES) is our new prestigious scholarship which aims to attract outstanding scholars to undertake doctoral research at UCL.

We are offering up to 40 fully funded UCL Research Excellence Scholarships (RES) to exceptional applicants from any country. Both prospective and current UCL doctoral students can apply.

• Table of Content
• About University College London
• University College London Research Excellence Scholarship
• Aim and Benefits of University College London Research Excellence Scholarship
• Requirements for University College London Research Excellence Scholarship Qualification
• Interview date, Process and Venue for University College London Research Excellence Scholarship
• Application Deadline
• How to Apply

About University College London

Founded in 1826 in the heart of London, UCL is London's leading multidisciplinary university, with more than 13,000 staff and 42,000 students from 150 different countries We are a diverse community with the freedom and courage to challenge, to question and to think differently. Through a progressive approach to teaching and research, our world leading academics, curious students and outstanding staff continually pursue excellence, break boundaries and make an impact on real world problems.... continue reading

University College London Research Excellence Scholarship

Aim and Benefits of University College London Research Excellence Scholarship

The UCL-RES scholarship consists of full fees (either Home or Overseas) plus a maintenance stipend which increases each year with inflation. For 2023/24, the rate is £20,622?for full-time study (rates are calculated 'pro rata' for part-time students). For 2024/25, the rate is to be confirmed.

The scholarship also includes additional research costs of up to £1,200 per year for the stated duration of the programme.

Awards are made for the normal length of the programme of study. This is normally 3 years for a full-time MPhil/PhD/EngD degree programme (or 5 years for part-time study), subject to sufficient academic progress. Please note the funding does not cover CRS/writing up year(s).

Where students are undertaking integrated four-year doctoral programmes, the award will be extended to the final year of study.

The funding start date for the start of the academic year or 2024/25 is 23 September 2024.

Requirements for University College London Research Excellence Scholarship Qualification

In order to APPLY, you must:

• have submitted an admission application to, or currently be registered on, an eligible** full- or part-time eligible degree programme at UCL by the scholarship deadline;
• holding or expected to achieve at least an upper second-class Honours UK undergraduate degree or equivalent qualification.

In order to be AWARDED IF SELECTED, you must:

• be in receipt of an offer of admission to, or currently be registered on, a full-time or part-time research degree programme at UCL.

You may apply if you are a current student, but if you are entering your third year of research you will normally only be considered for funding in exceptional circumstances.

** PLEASE NOTE Distance learning, non-resident PhD and professional doctorates (DClinPsy, DDent, DEdPsy (Brain Sciences), DOrth and DPsychotherapy) are not eligible for this scholarship. EngD are not considered Professional Doctorates here and are eligible to apply.

Interview date, Process and Venue for University College London Research Excellence Scholarship

Candidates meeting or predicted to meet the eligibility criteria are reviewed by the Department to which they have applied. Departments select a ranked shortlist of candidates to present to the central UCL Selection Panel for consideration.

The final decisions are made by the UCL Selection Panel. The Pro-Vice-Provost, Doctoral School chairs the panel which includes members of academic staff in a range of disciplines from across UCL.

Candidates are assessed against the following criteria:

• Academic excellence - as demonstrated by past academic results evidenced by transcripts, awards, and referees’ comments  
• Research Potential - as demonstrated by the candidate’s research experience to date, their enthusiasm for research, the research plan and its originality and potential societal impact  

Financial circumstances are not considered for the purposes of this scholarship.

Application Deadline

How to Apply

In order to apply for the UCL-RES, you must complete the following steps: 

Step 1 - apply for admission to UCL

The first step is to apply for admission. You must submit a complete application for admission onto an eligible research degree programme by the specified deadline. You do not need to have secured an offer of a place at UCL in order to apply for the scholarship, but you must have submitted your admission application.

The subsequent steps will be detailed here once we have confirmed the application process. We recommend regularly checking this web page for updates on how to apply.

You must apply for admission and submit the additional information to your department no later than Friday, 12 January 2024. Please be aware that some academic departments set their own deadlines which may be earlier than this date, so make sure you check with them directly.

We also have the UCL's Research Excellence Scholarship for Cross-disciplinary Training (RXD) for current research students who wish to spend a year in another department acquiring new research skills.

Information for departments: Task Library: Nominate a research scholarship applicant (the Task Library will be updated once the guidance for departments is available for RES)

Important note

You must ensure that you submit all scholarship application materials by the deadline irrespective of whether an offer of admission has reached you or not. The UCL Student Funding Office will check UCL systems at a later date to confirm whether you hold an offer of admission and on what date that offer was made.

For more details visit: UCL website.