Postgraduate research studentships and funding opportunities
EPSRC DTP scholarships
Introduction
EPSRC Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) Awards are to fund research studentships in any areas of engineering and the physical sciences with relevance to the EPSRC remit.
Department EPSRC DTP scholarship
This is a supervisor-led scheme and therefore requires you to identify a potential supervisor and discuss your research intentions with them.
The department has been awarded one 4-year (or 6 years for part-time candidates) EPSRC DTP studentship for 2022/23. This award provides fees (at the home rate), stipend and an RTSG (research training support grant) allowance for the full four years. International students are also eligible to apply. Funding and eligibility criteria are listed on the UCL EPSRC Doctoral Training pages.
The application process
The application steps are as follows:
- You will need to identify a supervisor. A list of academic staff is available here.
- Your potential supervisor will guide you through the internal application process. Your potential supervisor will need to meet an internal deadline of 17:00 on 5 May 2022.
- You also need to apply for the PhD programme via UCL Select, naming your potential supervisor. This must be in sufficient time to enable the UCL Admissions team to complete the initial eligibility checks prior to the internal deadline of 17:00 on 5 May 2022.
- The current turnaround time for these checks is 2-3 weeks (the Easter closure will increase this). You should ensure your references have been returned promptly and will be able to check the status of your application via the Applicant Portal. You should include your UCL SELECT application number in the DTP Studentship Student application form that will be provided to you by your potential supervisor.
How applications are considered
The department operates a fair and transparent selection process. All applications are scored by members of the Schlolaship Committee which comprises the Department Graduate Tutor, Director of Research, Chair of the Scholarship Committee, Head of the EngD Centre and at least five other members of the department spanning all research interests. Applications are scored against the following criteria:
- Student educational background
- Student academic and research excellence
- Student work experience including informal work or volunteering
- Motivation for PhD research and fit of skills to the research project/disciplinary area
Top ranked students are then invited for interview and assessed for their communication, motivation and engagement. The interview panel comprises the Department Graduate Tutor, Director of Research, Chair of the Scholarship Committee and at least one other member of the scholarship committee. The candidate's proposed supervisor is also there as an observer. In line with UCL HR policy, at least 25% of the interview panel are female.
If one of the interview panel members has a conflict of interest, then an alternative member of the scholarship committee will take their place.
Interviews are scored against the following criteria:
- Presentation skills
- Critical thinking and engagement with proposed project
- Committment and enthusiasm for PhD studies
EPSRC DTP CASE scholarship
This is an industry sponsored programme.
The department has been awarded one 4-year (or 6 years for part-time candidates) EPSRC DTP CASE studentship.
This award provides fees (at the home rate), stipend and an RTSG (research training support grant) allowance for the full four years with students expected to spend at least three months on a placement with their industrial partner. International students are also eligible to apply.
If you are interested in this route, you will need to identify a supervisor and contact them to discuss further. A list of academic staff is available here.
If you are an industry professional interested in collaborating with the department to support a scholarship, please contact an academic member of staff in an area relevant to your field. A list of academic staff is available here.
Open EPSRC DTP scholarships
UCL also runs a student-led open competition. Full details on this are available on the UCL EPSRC Doctoral Training website.