Social Macroeconomics PhD Scheme and Scholarship

The UCL Institute for Global Prosperity's PhD scheme Social Macroeconomics and scholarship with our research network Rebuilding Macroeconomics and the Global Solutions Initiative.

Seven students sitting on the steps at the UCL Student Centre

About the Social Macroeconomics PhD scheme

The UCL Institute for Global Prosperity’s new PhD scheme in Social Macroeconomics aims to advance research on new approaches to the economy and the development of a new economic paradigm. The Institute for Global Prosperity (IGP) based at UCL and the Global Solutions Initiative (GSI) are interdisciplinary organisations committed to achieving shared prosperity for people and planet in the 21st century. Rebuilding Macroeconomics (RM) is a research network within the Institute for Global Prosperity which aims to make macroeconomics relevant to meet these challenges.

This scheme is part of the Institute’s Global Prosperity MPhil/PhD programme. Joining our programme allows you to become part of a community of exceptional people striving to think bigger, challenge conventional orthodoxy and engage in exciting and thought-provoking research.

As part of this new scheme, you will have the opportunity to work and support research on various key themes which will also be linked to a new hub on Social Macroeconomics. We interpret the macroeconomy as a system to create and use knowledge in the context of fundamental uncertainty.

Social Macroeconomics PhD Scheme Scholarship

Number of available scholarships

One 

Value of scholarship

£6,400 per year, equivalent to full tuition fees at the Home/UK fee rate 

For admissions in

October 2026

Duration

Full-time (3 years) or Part-time (5 years) MPhil/PhD

Eligible students

All prospective students (UK Home & Overseas)

Eligible programmes

Global Prosperity MPhil/PhD

Location

Institute for Global Prosperity, UCL based in London

Applications open

Applications are now open for the Social Macroeconomics PhD Scheme.

Apply now.

Deadline

Monday, June 29, 2026, 23:59 BST

Main themes

  1. Rethinking macroeconomics embracing fundamental uncertainty
  2. Knowledge as a distributive and evolving system
  3. New empirical measurements of human and planetary flourishing
  4. Network and Agent Based Models to address complex macroeconomic issues
  5. Industrial policies for in an era of challenges to security and sustainability

The research will be under the guidance and supervision of Professor Angus Armstrong (Professorial Research Fellow and Director of Rebuilding Macroeconomics at IGP), Professor William Hynes (Honorary Professor at IGP and Senior Climate Economist at the World Bank) and Professor Dennis Snower (Honorary Professor at IGP and Founder and President of the GSI). It will advance the next phase of Rebuilding Macroeconomics’ work on Social Macroeconomics.

The hub supports interdisciplinary research and thinking to develop a new approach to the economy and a new paradigm to influence policy-makers and decision-makers including the G7 and G20 and corresponding Think7 (T7) and Think20 (T20) engagement groups.

Our approach to PhD training

The Global Prosperity MPhil/PhD programme will give you:

  • A strong focus on innovative interdisciplinary research on new economic thinking that can advance global prosperity.
  • Practical skills training via the Bartlett and the UCL’s Doctoral School.
  • Encouragement to collaborate with your peers, colleagues from other disciplines and various citizen participants and stakeholder organisations.
  • The leverage of our extensive network of internal and external contacts, including our foremost partners within UCL, policy-makers, think tanks, academia, the social impact sector, as well as overseas partners.

More information

The UCL Institute for Global Prosperity (IGP)

The IGP is a world-leading trans-disciplinary research institution with a central mission to rebuild and redefine prosperity for the 21st century. Professor Henrietta L. Moore is the Founder and Director of the IGP. The Institute works globally in many regions including Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East collaborating with multiple stakeholders to think about new approaches to the economy and to co-create dynamic and sustainable pathways towards quality of life, secure livelihoods, and economic and social wellbeing for people and planet.

Rebuilding Macroeconomics

Rebuilding Macroeconomics (RM) is a research network part of the IGP. Rebuilding Macroeconomics aims to transform macroeconomics into a policy relevant social science by putting direct human interaction in response to fundamental uncertainty at the centre of analysis. Professor Angus Armstrong is the Director. Professor Henrietta L. Moore and Professor Dennis J. Snower are part of the management team.

Global Solutions Initiative 

The GSI is a global collaborative enterprise comprised of a network of world-renowned thinktanks. It proposes policy responses to major global problems, addressed by the G20, the G7 and other global governance fora. The GSI was founded during the 2017 German G20 Presidency by the Initiative’s President Dennis J. Snower. The GSI is a stepping stone to the T20 and G20 Summits and supports the Think20 process for think tanks.

How to apply

Step 1: The Institute offers 1 fully-funded PhD Scholarship (tuition fees only) for students on the Social Macroeconomics PhD Scheme. 

Please see the key information on the scholarship to apply. You do not need to have secured an offer of a place at UCL in order to apply for the scholarship.

Check whether you meet the admissions criteria.

Step 2: Consider how your research topic relates to the themes included in the new PhD scheme led by the Social Macroeconomics Hub.

If you have any queries regarding the themes, please contact  via email bartlett.phd-ecidi@ucl.ac.uk.

Step 3: Write your proposal 

Your PhD research proposal is the central component of your application. We encourage you to invest significant time in making it as strong as possible. 

Your proposal should: 

  • Consist of a target length of 2,000 to 2,500 words.
  • Include your aims, core research questions, a discussion of the relevant theoretical literature you will contribute to and develop, the methodological approaches you intend to use, details of how the research will be accomplished practically and a concise bibliography.
  • Make clear the foremost scholarly discipline(s) you wish to contribute to, and the nature of your intended contribution.
  • Explain in detail how your research topic relates to the Social Macroeconomics scheme and the corresponding themes led by the Social Macroeconomics hub.
  • Include one or two sentences about how you intend to fund your degree (see step 6 below). 

Step 4: Submit your pre-application

If eligible, apply for the IGP Social Macroeconomics Scholarship PhD Scheme. The pre-application process for this studentship consists of:  

  • Submission of your CV and Research Proposal by email to bartlett.phd-ecidi@ucl.ac.uk mentioning the studentship “Social macroeconomics PhD Scheme Scholarship’ in your email subject header.
  • Filling out the application form.

Please note, you must complete all three requirements, submitting your CV & Research Proposal and completion of the application form, to be considered for this studentship. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.

Contact us

If you have any queries about the Social Macroeconomics PhD scholarship or scheme, please contact us via email: bartlett.phd-ecidi@ucl.ac.uk