The Scottish Graduate School of Social Science is the UK's largest facilitator of funding, training and support for doctoral students in social science. By combining the expertise of sixteen universities across Scotland, the school facilitates world-class PhD research. SGSSS offers fully-funded awards, which provide a maintenance grant, tuition fees, and an annual Research Training Support Grant (RTSG).
SGSSS is a highly attractive environment for doctoral research. Not only do our partner universities offer an excellent research environment, we also offer comprehensive and world-class research training in a number of discipline-specific and interdisciplinary pathways. In addition, the school manages a programme of advanced training courses and an annual summer school which together offers our students further opportunities to develop their research, knowledge exchange and transferable professional skills.
Award Types
SGSSS offers fully-funded awards, which provide a maintenance grant, tuition fees, and an annual Research Training Support Grant (RTSG).
We offer a range of different types of studentship including:
1+3 Year Studentships (48 Months)
These awards provide funding for a one year Masters degree and a three year PhD study. Students who have only completed or are in the process of completing an undergraduate degree should apply for these awards.
**+3 Year Studentships (36 Months) **
These awards will suit applicants who wish to enter directly into a PhD programme and who have already completed a Masters degree, which incorporates 60 credits or more of research methods training.
Part-Time Studentships
Part-time students receive funding for up to eight (8) years, which breaks down as up to two (2) years for Masters training and a further six (6) years for doctoral study.
Collaborative Studentships
Collaborative studentships involve a non-academic partner organisation, such as the Scottish Government, Skills Development Scotland, a local authority, NHS Trust, charity or business, and can take many forms. More information can be found here.
Advanced Quantitative Methods
These awards provide scholarships (1+3, +3, part-time) for students using advanced quantitative methods (AQM) in their PhD. Further information on AQM process and application forms can be found here.
ESRC Data Sets
These awards provide scholarships (1+3, +3, part-time) for students using ESRC Data Sets in their PhD. Further information on ESRC Data Sets and application forms can be found here.
Interdisciplinary Studentships
These studentships are available for students who will be applying and learning methods and concepts from disciplines that cross Research Council boundaries (1+3, +3, part-time). Further information can be found here.
Fees Only Studentships
Fees only studentships are available for all of the above types of studentships when EU students have not been primarily resident in the UK for the past three years.