Planning submission of your PGR application

All the information needed to successfully plan the submission of your PGR application.

The School of Informatics offers a range of PGR degrees, which encompasses MScR, MPhil and PhD programmes led by our Research Institutes.

General information on Informatics research degrees

The School also recruits to two combined PGR degree programmes via our Centres for Doctoral Training in Natural Language Processing and Biomedical Artificial Intelligence.

General information on Informatics CDTs

Information on submission times

Institute-led PGR programmes and EUCLID applications

Applicants can apply all year round for the Institute led PGR programmes, as studies can start on the 1st of each month. Applicants wishing to be considered for Informatics PGR programmes are advised to apply as early as possible as these programmes are highly competitive. We recommend applications to be submitted within the following timescales:

• International applicants:  at least three months before the programme start date, as this allows time to complete the necessary Tier 4 visa processes (including ATAS, CAS and visa applications).
• Home/EU applicants: preferably three months, and no later than one month before the programme start date.

There are a range of funding opportunities offered by the School, which include funding from University scholarships, research councils, research grants, or scholarships provided by the School to specific PhD supervisors.  For some of these funding opportunities, eligible applicants will be considered automatically as part of the School’s PGR selection process.

There are, however, PhD scholarships offered by the School that require a separate scholarship application to be submitted within a specific deadline, this includes the Informatics Global PhD Scholarship.  Applicants wishing to be considered for the Informatics Global PhD Scholarship (for September 2021 entry) must submit a EUCLID programme application and a separate IGPS scholarship application via the EUCLID scholarship portal. The deadlines for submitting an application and applying for the IGPS (for entry in September 2021) are:

Round 1

EUCLID application deadline: Fri 27 Nov 2020

IGPS application deadline: Fri 18 Dec 2020

Round 2

EUCLID application deadline: Fri 5 Feb 2021

IGPS application deadline: Fri 12 Feb 2021

Detailed guidance on applying for the IGPS

Centres for Doctoral Training PGR programmes and EUCLID applications

The Centres for Doctoral Training only admit applicants in September of each academic year, therefore, these programmes have specific application deadlines (usually early on in the preceding academic year). Applications for 2021/22 entry will open via the EUCLID application portal on 01 October 2020. The CDT programmes are very competitive so early application is essential; applicants are advised to submit their applications as soon as possible.

CDT-specific application deadlines

CDT in Natural Language Processing

For entry in Sept 2021, deadlines for the CDT in NLP programme are as follows:

• EU and international applicants:  27 November 2020
• UK applicants: 29 January 2021

CDT in Biomedical AI

For entry in Sept 2021, the deadline for the CDT in BMAI programme is as follows:

• Home, EU and International applicants:  14 December 2020

There are a range of funding opportunities offered by each CDT, which eligible applicants will be considered for automatically, as part of the selection process.

Applicants interested in the CDT in Robotics and Autonomous Systems should apply via our Partner Institution, Heriot Watt University.  Please visit the RAS website for more information on how and when to apply.

Edinburgh Centre for Robotics

For entry in Sept 2021, the deadline for the CDT in RAS programme is as follows:

• Home, EU and International applicants:  29 January 2021

School of Informatics PGR scholarship opportunities

Please visit our Scholarships – research students webpage for more information on various PGR scholarship opportunities offered by the School, including the Informatics Global PhD Scholarship.

Scholarships for research students

Some Informatics PhD projects are advertised and have a specific scholarship attached to them.  In addition, some of our supervisors hold research grants or scholarships that they are able to allocate to suitable students of their choice. 

These project specific funding opportunities will recruit throughout the year and will have their own specific deadlines indicated. 

Project specific PhD opportunities on offer and their associated application deadlines

University scholarship opportunities

Funding opportunities available to prospective postgraduates the University of Edinburgh

These University scholarships are likely to require additional application forms to be submitted via the EUCLID portal, and may have their own deadlines (for example, the Principals Career Development Scholarship (PCDS) and Edinburgh Global Research Scholarship (EGRS). Please ensure that you regularly check the details of each scholarship to which you wish to apply and that you are aware of the relevant funding application deadlines.