The Bartlett Promise PhD Scholarship

The Bartlett Promise aims to enable students from backgrounds which are underrepresented in The Bartlett, to pursue postgraduate research studies at The Bartlett, UCL’s Faculty of the Built Environment.

Candidates must:

• be UK domiciled with home fee status or a forced migrant (as defined by UCL)¹ in the UK
• have an offer of admission to a Bartlett PhD programme to start in September 2026/27 and
• must not have completed a PhD at UCL or anywhere else previously

In addition to these mandatory criteria, candidates must meet at least one of the additional criteria:

• be in financial need as assessed by UCL²
• be from a Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic background³
• be from a Gypsy, Roma or Traveller community⁴
• have a disability⁴
• be a care leaver⁴
• have care responsibilities
• be first generation in family to attend university at undergraduate level
• be first generation in family to attend university at postgraduate level

¹ You can apply for a Bartlett Promise UK PhD scholarship if you are UK domiciled with Home fee status and have refugee or asylum seeker status with the right to remain in the UK for the full duration of your master’s course. You also need to have a right to study (i.e. you must not have a ‘no study’ bail condition on your Bail 201 letter). In order to assess your UK domicile status and right to study, our Visa Compliance team will check your Asylum Claim documents and request your permission to do a UKVI Immigration History Check after the closing date of the scholarship (15 May 2026).  
² With an assessed household income of less than £42,875
³ We define BAME as those of a non-white heritage and individuals of mixed-heritage who self-identify as coming from a BAME background
⁴ Underrepresented groups in Higher Education

1. Plan your scholarship application

Read all the information and FAQs on this page carefully and note the deadlines. Make sure that you meet The Bartlett Promise eligibility criteria.

2. Choose a Bartlett School and MPhil/PhD programme which you want to study

Once you know the time frame that you have, you must identify the MPhil/PhD programme that you want to study. Our nine schools other a wide range of MPhil/PhD programmes in the built environment. You can search for a programme by school or by looking at the Bartlett Faculty MPhil/PhD programmes.

3. Check the entry criteria for your MPhil/PhD programme

Make sure that you understand the entry criteria for the programme you have chosen and are likely to meet them. All the entry requirements are on the programme webpages. Read these carefully before you apply and gather all the supporting documentation you need to upload for your application.

4. Apply for your chosen MPhil/PhD programme

When you have confirmed the programme that you want to study follow the How to apply instructions on your programme’s webpage.

5. Wait for an offer of admission from your school

Candidates for a Bartlett Promise MPhil/PhD Scholarship can only be considered if they have secured an offer of admission to a Bartlett MPhil/PhD programme. You will be asked to submit your UCL offer of admission letter when you apply to The Bartlett Promise.

6. Apply to The Bartlett Promise MPhil/PhD Scholarship

Once you have an offer of admission to a Bartlett MPhil/PhD programme you can apply for The Bartlett Promise MPhil/PhD Scholarship. 

The selection panel will assess your application based on information provided on your scholarship application form and the information you provide in your one-to-one dialogue with the Windsor Fellowship6.  Assessment of applications will be made in relation to the eligibility criteria.

6 The Windsor Fellowship is supporting The Bartlett in conducting the one-to-one dialogues that form part of the application process. The Bartlett will share the data of applicants with the Windsor Fellowship for the purposes of conducting these dialogues. By submitting your application, you agree to The Bartlett sharing your information with the Windsor Fellowship. 

The Bartlett Promise works in partnership with donors who share our vision of a more diversified built environment to provide additional scholarship opportunities. 

Once you have received an offer of admission from a Bartlett school for a PhD programme to start in September 2026, you can submit your application for The Bartlett Promise. The application form will be available from 1 February 2026. Candidates must complete an application by 15 May 2026 at 23:45 BST. We will consider your educational, personal and financial circumstances. You will need to demonstrate these in your application form.

As part of the application process, shortlisted candidates will be asked to engage in a one-to-one dialogue with the Windsor Fellowship to discuss anything else which you feel might support your application. This will not include describing or detailing your academic abilities and/or research plans. Dialogues will be conducted electronically via an appropriate method agreed between the Windsor Fellowship and the applicant e.g. telephone, Zoom etc. They will be scheduled by the Windsor Fellowship after the application deadline.

The selection panel will assess your application based on information provided on your scholarship application form and the information you provide in your one-to-one dialogue with the Windsor Fellowship. The assessment of applications will be made in relation to the eligibility criteria.

Yes, the deadline is 15 May 2026 at 23:45 BST. 

The successful applicants will be notified by email by 25 June 2026. 

Your UK domiciled and home fee status will be assessed by the admissions teams and your offer letter will state what you fee status is.

Yes, you can apply (by 15 May 2026 at 23:45 BST) if you have received a conditional or unconditional offer of a place on a Bartlett PhD programme to start in September 2026/27.

If you are shortlisted you will be asked to email a copy of your offer letter to Bartlett.promise@ucl.ac.uk by 15 May 2026 to go forward to the dialogue stage of the process. If your offer letter is conditional, you must submit an unconditional offer by 22 June 2026. (You can download your offer letters from the UCL portal).

If you have not received your unconditional offer letter by 22 June 2026, contact The Bartlett Promise team by email at Bartlett.promise@ucl.ac.uk There is no guarantee that we can accommodate applicants who do not meet the requirement of having an unconditional offer by 22 June 2026.

No. Only students starting their PhD in September 2026 can apply.

Your academic merit will be assessed by the school you have applied to. You must have received an offer from one of The Bartlett schools to start a PhD programme in September 2026/27 to be able to apply for a Bartlett Promise scholarship. The Bartlett Promise team will not assess your academic ability further. 

Candidates applying for a PhD scholarship from The Bartlett Promise must have received an offer of admission from one of The Bartlett schools to start a PhD programme in September 2026/27. This guarantees your academic merit. You do not need to have accepted the offer in order to apply to The Bartlett Promise.  

If you are shortlisted, you will be asked to email a copy of your offer letter to Bartlett.promise@ucl.ac.uk byto go forward to the dialogue stage of the process. If your offer letter is conditional, you must submit an unconditional offer letter by 22 June 2026 (You can download your offer letters from the UCL portal).

If you have not received your unconditional offer letter by 22 June 2026, contact The Bartlett Promise team by email at Bartlett.promise@ucl.ac.uk There is no guarantee that we can accommodate applicants who do not meet the requirement of having an unconditional offer by 22 June 2026.

The PhD scholarship is for a maximum of 4 years duration if studying full-time and pro rata for part-time study.

There is no additional funding to cover relocation.

The maintenance stipend for 2026/27 is £22,780.

The fees will be paid directly by The Bartlett Promise to UCL fees. The maintenance stipend can be paid monthly or in three termly instalments (October, January and April). 

There is an additional annual allowance of £1,000 for research costs. In addition to this, All Bartlett PhD students can apply to the Bartlett Doctoral Funds but funding is not guaranteed. Applicants should also check their department for any department-specific funds.

The award may be held in conjunction with other scholarships or bursaries, as long as the total value of all the additional scholarships you hold does not exceed £5,000. This cap is set by a proportional calculation of the total value of the award. This figure may therefore change in the future in line with any changes to programme fees and average living costs in London. You must inform The Bartlett Promise team if you hold other awards.

No. Studying full-time you will be funded until you are awarded your degree by UCL Student Records. This must be within 4 years of starting your degree. If you study part-time, the funding of your programme will be pro rata

As part of The Bartlett Promise, we will provide tailored support services to award holders throughout the life of their programme and career support beyond. We will achieve this by bringing in expertise from across UCL to create appropriate packages of support for individual scholars. In addition to this, you will be joining The Bartlett Promise Community of current and previous scholars, benefactors, supporters and friends. This community will support you during your studies and forms a network to guide and sustain you throughout your career.

Your Postgraduate Research Administrator will advise you on the support available in your school.  You can consult the Doctoral School Code of Practice to understand the support you can expect from your supervisor.  The Doctoral Skills Development Programme is designed to help you to expand your research and transferrable skills in order to support your research, professional development and employability.  

You can also you find a wealth of support for your wellbeing from UCL student services and from the Student Union. 

The Bartlett Promise covers fees and a maintenance allowance to allow scholars to study full time. If your circumstances change significantly and changing to part-time study is necessary, it may be possible to keep your Bartlett Promise scholarship but this is not guaranteed. Please discuss with the Promise Team before making any decisions.

Limited, occasional amounts of part time work may be possible. You should discuss this with supervisor. Bartlett Promise scholars are expected to study full time and complete their PhD within 4 years.

No. The scholarship offer cannot be deferred. You must take up your place in September 2026.

Please consult the Changes to your study pages to understand the process for interrupting your studies. You must then consult your supervisor and The Bartlett Promise team (Bartlett.promise@ucl.ac.uk) before making any decisions.  Each case will be assessed on its own merits.

Please consult the Changes to your study pages to understand the process for withdrawing from your studies. You must then consult your supervisor and The Bartlett Promise team (Bartlett.promise@ucl.ac.uk) before making any decisions.  Each case will be assessed on its own merits.