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What we offer:

• £20,780 per year, tax free for 3.5 years (rising each year in line with the UKRI base rate)
• full UK fees
• a £1,200   training and support grant each year
• access to a vibrant interdisciplinary research community
• opportunities for public engagement, policy influence, and collaboration with civic partners
• support from Public Policy Southampton, a team dedicated to creating policy impact at the University.  You'll benefit from initiatives like their Policy Associates scheme, placements and secondments/publicpolicy/support-for-policymakers/secondments-home.page and dedicated training.
  

To be eligible for this scholarship you must have:

• a 2.1 or first class bachelors degree, or a master's at merit level

Candidates must hold a conditional offer of admission to the University of Southampton commencing their studies in September 2026.

If you have been working before you apply to study for a PhD, you will need to meet the University's criteria and good practice guidelines for accreditation of prior experiential and/or certificated learning.

We welcome applications from individuals from all backgrounds who are committed to using research as a tool for positive change. If your work seeks to make a real-world difference, we want to hear from you.

Before applying, you should read our guidance on How to apply for a research degree.

1. ¸£Àû×ÅƬ a potential PhD supervisor, view current PhD projects or create your own PhD proposal.
2. Apply for your chosen PhD course

Deadline to apply for the social impact scholarship: Friday 27 March 2026.

This is a competitive process - not all applications will be successful. 
There are 3 stages to the shortlisting process: 
 

1. Eligibility: we check your application to make sure you meet the eligibility criteria.
2. Applications: we review your research degree and funding applications, to gain a complete picture of your academic qualifications and your motivations for undertaking a PhD.
3. Faculty selection panel review: our dedicated selection panel reviews your application and allocates funding.

The decision of the scholarship panel is final.