UCL SSEES PhD Funding Opportunities
View our current PhD Funding Opportunities at SSEES.
Applications are now open. Applicants wishing to apply for funding are strongly advised to approach supervisors well in advance of below deadlines.
Scholarships relevant to this department are displayed below. For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.
Not available for 2026-2027. This will be available again for 2027 entry.
Candidates who are applying to study a full time MPhil/PhD research programme within University College London’s (UCL) School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES) are eligible to apply for an SSEES Foundation Scholarship. The scholarships are awarded to academically excellent applicants.
Value: Payment of tuition fees at the Home rate, plus an annual maintenance stipend at the standard UKRI rate (£20,622 for a full-time student in 23/24, including London Weighting), for three years. Overseas applicants are eligible for the scholarship but will need to self fund the difference between Home and International tuition fees.
Eligibility: UK and overseas (including EU) students
Criteria: Based on academic merit. Applicants must indicate on the UCL application form that they wish to be considered when applying and send a sample of written work (up to 10 000 words) to the Programme Administrator (ssees-research@ucl.ac.uk) with their student number to advise they wish to be considered. Current students who are applying for this scholarship are advised to send to ssees-research@ucl.ac.uk a sample of written work (up to 10 000 words) AND an updated CV and updated research proposal (updated with information on work completed to date and a future plan of work).
Deadline: The deadline to submit a preliminary application is Monday 10 November (23:59 GMT) and the deadline for those invited to submit a full application will be by 2 February 2026.
Value: Tuition fees at the UKRI rate plus an annual stipend. For 2025/26 an UBEL studentship will cover tuition fees of £5006 and a minimum stipend of £22,780. This figure includes the London Allowance
Eligibility: UK and overseas (including EU) students (subject to eligibility requirements)
Criteria: Based on academic merit
Deadline: Friday, 9th January 2026
Value: Full fees (Home/Overseas); maintenance stipend for the standard length of the research portion of the programme of study, or remainder thereof; research costs
Eligible fee status: UK and Overseas (including EU) students
Available to: Prospective students
Selection criteria: Academic merit, research potential, suitability of project proposal for the supervisors available and disciplinary need
Additional eligibility criteria: At least 2:1 at undergraduate (or equivalent)
Deadline: 9th January 2026
Value: UK / home rate tuition fees, a maintenance stipend, conference costs and professional development package
Available to: Prospective students (this means students who will begin on or after the academic year 2026/27 first permitted MPhil/PhD start date of 1 October 2026)
Selection criteria: Academic merit, research potential, and financial need
Eligible fee status: Home fee and ordinarily resident in the UK for the last 3 years
Additional eligibility criteria: UK-permanent resident from certain BAME ethnic group (subject to eligibility requirements)
Not available in 2024-2027.
Value: £10,000 (3 years)
Eligibility: UK and overseas (including EU) students
Criteria: Based on academic merit. Topic must be related to Ukrainian Studies.
More scholarships are listed on the Scholarships and Funding website.
Deadline: Friday 16 January 2026 (SSEES internal deadline)
Awards are for students beginning their doctoral study at the start of the academic year 2026/27. Candidates do not apply directly for the Wolfson Scholarships, but must be nominated by the department. Candidates should inform the Programme Administrator (ssees-research@ucl.ac.uk) that they would like to be considered for the Wolfson Scholarship.
Nominations should include the following:
- an indication of the subject discipline most relevant
- the full UCL PhD application form, excluding written samples and including:
- academic transcripts
- CV (if available)
- academic references in support of the application
- personal statement
- an outline of the research project of no more than 2 pages, which does not need to contain references or a bibliography.
- a sample of written work (up to 10 000 words).
- a letter from the proposed supervisor confirming that they are willing to supervise the specific project outlined.
Value: For students starting in 2026/27, the Wolfson scholarship consists of full tuition fees (either Home or Overseas) plus a maintenance stipend for 3 years (or up to six years part time). For 2026/27, the year 1 stipend rate is £29,650 for full-time study (rates are calculated 'pro rata' for part-time students). For 2027/28 and 2028/29, the stipend rate is to be confirmed
Criteria: Based on academic merit.
Deadline: Friday 9 January 2026 (SSEES internal deadline)
Value: UK/ home rate fees, a maintenance stipend (£22,780) for 2026/27*
Duration: Three years
Available to: Prospective students
Selection criteria: Financial need as assessed by UCL** and academic potential
Eligible fee status: UK/ home
Eligible degrees: Research degrees in relevant research areas (see below) with principal supervisor based in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities
*Estimated values, confirmed annually, usually in Spring by UKRI and UCL
**UCL uses a financial assessment tool which considers household income and other influencing factors such as exceptional household expenditure.
Value: The total value of the scholarship is three years’ worth of fees (at the UKRI Home rate) plus an annual maintenance stipend at the standard UKRI rate (including London Weighting).
Eligibility: UK and overseas (including EU) students working on the history, politics, or economics of Albania or Albanians. Applications are welcomed from applicant students and Year 1 full-time or Year 1 and Year 2 part-time students already working at SSEES.
Criteria: Based on academic merit and the fit of the applicant’s research proposal with the work of the School. Topic must be related to Albanian Studies.
Application process: Current applicants should inform the Programme Administrator (ssees-research@ucl.ac.uk) that they would like to be considered for the Nash Scholarship. Existing students should consult the PhD student Moodle for instructions about how to apply. Applications are due by 16 January 2026.
Deadline: Friday 9 January 2026 (SSEES internal deadline)
Value: Full tuition fees, a maintenance stipend (UKRI rates) and research training support grant. UKRI rates are estimated values and are confirmed annually, usually in the Spring by UKRI and UCL.
Tuition fee status: Home, International.
Duration: 3.5 years, up to 7 years part-time.
Eligibility: Prospective students applying to one of the eligible departments in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities and the Faculty of Social and Historical Sciences listed below.
Mode of study: Full-time or part-time (minimum 50% of full-time equivalent).
Selection criteria: Academic excellence and research potential. Consideration will also be given to applicants’ personal and educational circumstances, where relevant to widening participation in doctoral study.
Application process: Applications for the AHRC Doctoral Landscape Award are submitted via the department of the chosen doctoral programme.
Applicant Deadline: Check departmental websites for details of local processes and deadlines.
Deadline: Friday 6 February 2026 (SSEES internal deadline)
Value: UK/ home rate fees plus a maintenance stipend (UKRI rates) for 2026/27 OR UK/home rate fees only
Duration: Three years full time, six years part-time
Available to: All UK-domiciled (home fee status) SSEES PhD applicants, regardless of academic discipline, are eligible to apply.
Eligible fee status: UK/ home
Eligible degrees: Research degrees in Arts & Humanities departments
Mode of study: Full-time or part-time (minimum 50% of full-time equivalent)
Selection criteria: Academic excellence and research potential. Consideration will also be given to applicants’ personal and educational circumstances, where relevant to widening participation in doctoral study.
Application process: Applications for the UCL Arts & Humanities PhD Scholarships should be submitted directly to Departments of the chosen doctoral programme.
Tuition Fees (2025/26)
Please refer to the central UCL fees page here.
Key Contacts
Head of Graduate Research: Dr Michal Murawski
Research Programme Administrator: Lana Smirnova (ssees-research@ucl.ac.uk)
SSEES Admissions Office: maadmissions@ssees.ucl.ac.uk