XClose

UCL Doctoral School

Menu

Doctoral Training Entities (DTEs)

Funded doctoral programmes, DTEs, offer students specific research skills training and the opportunity to study in a cohort. UCL has extensive experience running many successful DTE programmes.

About Doctoral Training Entities

What are Doctoral Training Entities (DTEs)? 

Doctoral Training Entities, or DTEs, is the umbrella term used by UCL for all its funded postgraduate research training programmes. DTEs offer students programme-specific research training and the opportunity to study in a cohort in addition to being funded.  

Prospective doctoral researchers can apply to DTEs funded by a range of sources, including the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) council-funded Doctoral Training Partnerships (DTPs) and Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs), and Wellcome Trust PhD programmes.    

UKRI Doctoral Training Entities 

UKRI is the UK government funder of research, including doctoral training. Made up of seven research councils, each UKRI council focuses on a specific remit area. 

UCL has been awarded one of the largest numbers of UKRI-funded DTEs of any institution in the UK, boasting a list of over 20. These centres and partnerships, funded by the UKRI’s research councils, offer prospective home and international students the opportunity to apply to a range of unique funding opportunities, whether it be diving into a pre-designed research project or combining their PhD research with skills training in a world-class, multidisciplinary environment. 

Each place a university offers as a result of a UKRI’s council’s funding is called a studentship. UKRI studentships cover fees, living costs and research activities. They also offer prospective students access to training, networking, and development opportunities to help them build a research and innovation career.  

Other funders and their DTEs 

In addition to the UKRI-funded DTEs, UCL offers DTEs funded by, or in collaboration with, a range of charitable, governmental and research organisations. Funders include the British Heart Foundation, the Gatsby Charitable Foundation and Wellcome Trust.  

These DTEs offer home and international students the opportunity to fund relevant doctoral research, whilst benefiting from unique, multi-disciplinary research environments. 

Who can apply for a funded DTE studentship? 

Each funder has its own eligibility criteria, however, the majority of DTEs are open to both Home and International fee-status applicants. Please check individual programmes for their eligibility requirements. 

The majority of DTEs only accept applications from prospective students, (the London Arts and Humanities Partnership and the UCL, Bloomsbury and East London DTP are the two exceptions) – current students interested in sourcing funding can visit the Scholarships finder page for live studentship opportunities. 

UCL’s Doctoral Training Entities 

Below is a full list of UCL’s DTEs. DTEs are often multi-institution partnerships with one institution nominated as the lead. For those DTEs that are non-UCL led, there is a separate section.  

The list is split into: 

  • UKRI-funded DTEs (by council) 
  • UKRI-funded, non UCL-led DTEs (by council)  
  • Other funders of DTEs 

Please note that the below list features all UCL’s DTEs – not all of these are currently recruiting new students. Please click the programme name to view each DTE’s website and recruitment information. 

UKRI-funded DTEs (by council) 

Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) 
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) 
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Economic Social Research Council (ESRC) 
Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) 
Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) 
Medical Research Council (MRC) 
Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) 
Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) 
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) artificial intelligence (AI) 

UKRI-funded, non UCL-led DTEs (by council)  

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)  
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) 

Other funders of DTEs 

British Heart Foundation 
Gatsby Charitable Foundation 
Wellcome Trust