PhD students
Funding opportunities for PhD candidates in the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures.
Postgraduate study can be expensive, and the funding available is highly competitive.
Some scholarship schemes are open to candidates on PhDs in any subject in the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures (LLC). Others are only open to candidates in specific subjects. See individual scholarship listings for details.
Application processes and deadlines vary from scholarship to scholarship and you should carefully check the Terms and Conditions of any funding sources.
Generally speaking:
- the scholarships we have listed on this page are for applicants starting in September 2025 and January 2026.
- students who commence their programme in January 2025 will not be eligible for scholarships offered to applicants starting in September 2025 and January 2026.
- to increase your chances of being eligible for a range of scholarships and other awards, you are strongly encouraged to apply for your PhD by early December the year before you wish to start your PhD. Applications open in October each year.
Where a deadline has passed, we have indicated this in our listings and tried to give you an idea of when the next application window will open. We have also indicated where a link to further information takes you to an external website, or to a different part of the University's website.
What's available?
The University of Edinburgh is part of a consortium of Scottish institutions awarded funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) via the Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities (SGSAH) to support postgraduate studentships and training in the Arts and Humanities in Scotland. The award on offer is a fully-funded PhD with stipend, a robust three-and-a-half year training programme, and access to Scotland's resources through SGSAH’s strong links and national networks.
The application window for 2025 entry is likely to open in late September 2024 and close in mid November 2024.
We're part of the Scottish Graduate School of Social Science (SGSSS), a consortium of 16 universities funded by the ESRC to support postgraduate studentships and training in the Social Sciences in Scotland. PhD studentships are typically available for candidates on our Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies PhD and Chinese PhD programmes within the SGSSS Language Based Area Studies and International Development Pathway.
The application window for 2025 entry is likely to open in late September 2024 and close in mid November 2024.
This scheme funds a limited, and highly competitive, number of awards in Literatures, Languages and Cultures covering full tuition fees with an annual stipend (set to the UKRI level) for a maximum of three years.
The application window for 2025 entry is likely to open in late November 2024 and close in early February 2025.
Find out more about the College Research Student Awards [University website]
Awarded by the University of Edinburgh, these scholarships are for UK and overseas candidates applying to start their first year of on-campus PhD study. The scholarship covers tuition fees and provides a stipend for between three and four years as agreed by the School/Deanery (or pro-rata for part time).
The application window for 2025 entry is likely to open in late November 2024 and close in early February 2025.
Find out more about the Edinburgh Doctoral College Scholarships [University website]
This award of £2,300 per annum is for PhD research in any Romance literature, language or dialect. Candidates must be a student or graduate of the University of Edinburgh. Preference may be given to those working in language studies: we can typically supervise research in French, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian.
The application window for 2025 entry is likely to open in October 2024 and close in early May 2025.
Find out more about the John Orr Research Award [University website]
For entry in September 2025 or January 2026, we hope to offer one student paying home (Scotland/UK) rates a scholarship covering full tuition fees for two years of PhD study.
There are also likely to be scholarships for up to two students (PhD and MSc) covering £3,000 of tuition fees in the first year of study – home and international/EU rates.
These scholarships have been made possible by the Academy of Korean Studies (AKS).
The consideration window for September 2025 and January 2026 entry is likely to open in October 2024 and close in early May 2025.
Contact us about scholarships for PhD students
Take me to more information about PhDs in literatures, languages and cultures
What else is out there?
The University publishes details of other funding sources that may be of interest, including UK Government Loans and studentships sponsored by external organisations.
Find out about UK Government loans and other funding sources on the University's webpages