University of Reading International PhD Studentships in UK

The University of Reading is pleased to announce a range of International PhD studentships available to start in October 2027.

The university awards these to highly qualified applicants for research in the areas of science, life sciences, social sciences, arts and humanities, and within the Henley Business School.

Funding for PhD applicants is available from a range of sources on a competitive basis.

• Applications are invited from students who have applied for a place on a PhD programme at the University of Reading to study based at Reading or off campus/by distance.

• Applicants wishing to study off-campus/by distance are only eligible for awards covering tuition fees and the training and development allowance; awards to off campus/by-distance applicants do not include a stipend.

• Applicants are required to have at least a Bachelor's degree with at least a UK equivalent of a 2:1 minimum.

• All applicants must also meet the English Language requirements of the University of Reading.

The studentships offer:

• tuition fees at the International rate

• a £1,000 per annum training and development allowance

• for applicants intending to study based at Reading only, a subsistence grant (stipend) broadly in line with the UKRI minimum stipend. The 2026/27 stipend rate is £21,805.

All awards are for up to four years in duration for full-time study and up to six years in duration for part-time study.

The step-by-step guide for submitting an application is as follows;

1. Contact your School or Department

As a first step, you should check with the postgraduate research administrator in your School or Department that your proposed research can be supervised by the School/Department.

2. Apply for a place of admission

You will need to submit an application for admission to a PhD programme in your chosen subject via our online admissions portal. If you are not sure which programme to apply to, consult with your postgraduate research administrator or with the School's director of postgraduate research studies.

In the "scholarships applied for" box which appears within the funding section of your online application, please quote "International Research Studentship Competition".

If you have already applied and did not quote the competition, do not worry. Please proceed to step three -- completion of the studentship application form. Completing this form will make your School aware of your interest in applying for the studentship.

3. Complete the studentship application form

You will need to complete the short application form for the “International PhD Studentship Competition” which is available here:

International PhD Studentship Application Form

When you submit this form, you will move to a new screen which says, 'your response was submitted'. There is no need to contact us to check whether it has been submitted.

The deadline for applications is Friday 15th January 2027.

The competition process is in two stages. The first selection process takes place within Schools, whereby one candidate from each School is chosen for nomination to the final selection process, which takes place in the Doctoral and Researcher College.