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Scottish Graduate School of Social Science

Sgoil Cheumnaichean Saidheans Sòisealta na h-Alba
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Scottish Graduate School of Social Science

Sgoil Cheumnaichean Saidheans Sòisealta na h-Alba
  • About us
    • Governance
    • Challenge-Led Pathways
    • Case studies
    • Our Year in Review
    • Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion
    • Contact us
    • Work with us
    • Complaints
  • Current Students
    • Events
    • Training
      • Summer School
      • Spring into Methods
    • Training Funds
      • ESRC Training Funds
      • Training Event Funds
      • Challenge Pathways Cohort Fund
    • Internships
    • Mentoring
    • Research Impact Competition
    • Student Handbook
    • Meet Our Students
    • Meet Our Fellows
    • Expenses Policy
  • Prospective Students and Fellows
    • Studentships
      • Overview
      • Supervisor-led Studentship Opportunities
      • Student-led Open Competition 2024/25
      • Eligibility
    • Fellowships
  • Supervisors
    • Supervisor Eligibility
    • Steers Competition 2025/26
    • Open Collaborative Competition 2025/26
    • Skills Development Scotland Collaborative Competition 2025/26
    • Spring into Methods
    • Supervisors’ Resource Library
  • Our Partners
    • Internships
    • Collaborative Studentships
    • Training
    • The RSE Mentoring Scheme
    • Our work with Industry
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Open Collaborative Competition 2024/25

SGSSS Open Collaborative Studentship Competition 2025/26

The 25/26 call is now open for eligible applicants.

The Scottish Graduate School of Social Science is delighted to announce the launch of the supervisor-led SGSSS Open Collaborative Studentship Competition 2025/26

In this supervisor-led competition, ‘Collaborative’ is defined broadly and covers studentships that are supported by private sector companies, public sector bodies or third sector organisations. 

Please ensure that you read the guidance carefully before applying and watch the introduction and case study videos below. Interested parties should pay particular attention to the expected financial contributions from collaborative partners and the requirements for recruitment in the guidance. 

 To be eligible to be first supervisor in any SGSSS competition, supervisors must meet the criteria listed in our Supervisor Eligibility page.

Second supervisors may work within any of the SGSSS 16 partner HEIs. We encourage applicants to consider co-supervision with different universities across our network. You can find full information about the SGSSS partner universities online here.

Please submit an application via our application system, SGSSS Apply, by the application deadline, 5pm on 16 October 2025.

Competition Guidance and Documentation

  • 25/26 Open Collaborative Competition Timeline
  • 25/26 Open Collaborative Competition Marking Framework
  • 25/26 Open Collaborative Competition Supervisor Guidance
  • 25/26 Open Collaborative Competition Application Template
Apply Now

Webinar Recording and Slides

SGSSS held a Q&A overview session for this competition on 5 September. 

The slides from the presentation can be found here and a recording is available here.

For any questions on the criteria or process, please email team@sgsss.ac.uk 

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