Sgoil Cheumnaichean Saidheans Sòisealta na h-Alba
As part of the assessment of applicants, SGSSS are very interested in you as a whole person. What this means is that rather than solely looking at your academic achievements (for example, it is not necessary to have a first-class degree to be assessed as an excellent PhD student and to receive funding), we will consider what you can bring to a PhD through your work and life experiences too (including challenges and resilience). We want you to be able to demonstrate and articulate your potential to undertake and complete a PhD, to flourish as a result of PhD funding and to be a proactive contributor to a positive research culture. As part of your application you will be asked to tell us about your preparedness to undertake and complete a PhD and to flourish as a result of PhD funding and how you will contribute to a positive and diverse PhD community.
For further details on how applications will be assessed using a ‘whole person approach’, please see the SGSSS Studentship Marking Framework (see “Competition Guidance 2024/25”). Please note, applications will be anonymised when reviewed.
SGSSS students come from all walks of life and all types of backgrounds. Click here to view some short videos where some of our current and past PhD students share their PhD stories and advice, which we hope you will find helpful.
New from 2022/23, Scotland’s two national graduate schools, SGSAH (Scottish Graduate School for Arts & Humanities) and SGSSS, are delighted to be working in partnership with the Stuart Hall Foundation to offer up to six Stuart Hall Fellowships starting in October 2025.
Both SGSAH and SGSSS are committed to the public function of education and to addressing the barriers which exist to accessing higher education. The Fellowships, inspired by the life and work of Professor Stuart Hall and his research legacy in the areas of race, ethnicity, cultural and structural inequalities, will be used to provide opportunities for students from non-traditional and disadvantaged backgrounds.
Applications for these Fellowships are sought from UK candidates from non-traditional or disadvantaged backgrounds who are under-represented at graduate level in the Arts and Humanities and the Social Sciences in Scotland, and with a preference for those whose planned research aligns broadly with one of Stuart Hall’s many areas of interest: cultural studies, race, ethnicity and inequalities. Each Graduate School will award up to three Stuart Hall Foundation Fellowships, which will be attached to funded studentships (covering fees, stipend and a research training grant). The Fellowship can be held within disciplines across the social sciences, arts and humanities at selected Scottish HEIs (Higher Education Institute) which form part of the relevant Graduate School.
Recipients of these Fellowships will benefit from access to the Stuart Hall Foundation Scholars and Fellows network programme, which includes regular events and opportunities to develop their career and research profile.
If you would like to be considered for this opportunity, please indicate so within your application (there is a specific question relating to these Fellowships within the online application form, located via SGSSS Apply).
The studentship awards made through the Scottish Graduate School of Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership (SGSSS-DTP) Student-led Open Competition are co-funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and partner universities (institutions) and are governed by the ESRC Postgraduate Funding Guide. Of the 16 institutions in Scotland that are partners of SGSSS, 14 are eligible to receive ESRC funding across 21 Units of Assessment (UoA). Each UoA is analogous to a subject area / discipline. Not all 14 institutions are eligible to hold studentships in all UoAs.
A comprehensive list of the eligible institutions and UoAs can be found on the SGSSS website here. The two institutions who are not eligible to apply for funding are eligible for any training programming offered by SGSSS. Where a university has high quality social science supervision capacity in a UoA then they will have a designated PGR lead (here). Before applying to the Student-led Open Competition we ask that you contact the relevant PGR lead, as well as your potential PhD supervisor(s).
You should discuss your research proposal with them and inform them that you wish to apply for an ESRC studentship via SGSSS. Please note, you must have engaged with your proposed supervisor(s) before applying to the Open Competition. Confirmation of this is required at application stage and your supervisor will also need to complete parts of the application themselves.
You may apply for an ESRC studentship through only one of the 14 SGSSS institutions.
Information for our next webinar will be made available in August 2026
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