University College London (UCL) Research Excellence Scholarship

For the 2025/26 academic year we are offering 40 fully funded UCL Research Excellence Scholarships (UCL-RES) to exceptional applicants from any country. Both prospective and current UCL doctoral students can apply.

Table of Content

• Summary
• Benefits
• Requirments
• Application Deadline
• How To Apply

Summary

• Application DeadlineJanuary 10, 2025
• Study LevelMasters
• SponsorUniversity College London
• City to studyLondon
• School to studyUniversity College London
• Eligible CountryAll Countries

Benefits

The successful candidates can avail of the following benefits:

• Full tuition fees
• Maintenance stipend - GBP 21,237
• Additional research costs - up to GBP 1,200 per year.

Requirements

• Applicants may come from any nationality.
• Applicants must be enrolled in or intending to enroll in a full-time or part-time MPhil/PhD and EngD program at the university.
• Applicants must have scored a minimum of 2:1 in their undergraduate studies.
• Applicants must exhibit excellent academic standing.
• Applicants must demonstrate research potential based on their past research experience to date.

Application Deadline

How To Apply

In order to apply for the UCL-RES, you must complete the following steps: 

Step 1 - apply for admission to UCL

The following instructions apply to prospective students only – current students already enrolled on their research degrees can proceed directly to Step 2. 

You must submit a complete application for admission onto an eligible degree programme by the 10th January 2025. You do not need to have secured an offer of a place at UCL to apply for the scholarship, but you must have submitted a complete admission application.

Step 2 - submit your scholarship application documents to your academic department

The following instructions apply to both prospective and current students.

You must contact your?academic department/institute/division/unit to notify them that you?would like to be considered for?the UCL-RES?and submit the below documents 1-4 to them. Please note that your references (document 5) must be submitted by your referees directly to your academic department by the 10th Jan 25 deadline. You can use our?list of administrative contacts to find out where to submit your application documents.

The mandatory documents are as follows:

1. Research Scholarships cover sheet - download the 

   Research Scholarships coversheet (UCL-RES)

   Research Scholarships coversheet (UCL-RES)

2. CV – Please ensure your CV is up to date and lists all publications, past/current prizes, awards, and scholarships. 
3. A lay summary of your research proposal, in a Word or PDF document (max. 200 words not including title).  When writing your research proposal/outline please note that the selection panel members are not likely to be specialists in your subject. Please describe clearly – in language which can be understood by academics from any discipline – the aim of your research, the methodology you will use, and the potential significance of this study to your discipline. It is extremely important that you pay attention to this summary and write in as clear language as possible as it may significantly affect the outcome of your application. The proposal should be written by you, not your supervisor or any other member of academic department staff.
4. Academic transcripts - Please ensure you submit transcripts from all undergraduate and postgraduate programmes you have attended and that each academic transcript submitted includes clarification on the grading scale/range of grades possible for that degree.
5. 2 References 

• Reference form 1 (Word)

  Reference form 1 (Word)

• Reference number 1 should relate to your most recently completed university programme/degree (or the one you intend to complete, if applicable). This can be the same referee who submitted a reference as part of your admission, however your UCL-RES reference must be submitted on the Reference Form 1.

• Reference form 2 (Word)

  Reference form 2 (Word)

• Reference number 2 should relate to your current or intended research programme/project, for which you are seeking funding. This reference MUST be provided by your research supervisor at UCL. If you are a prospective student and your supervisor has not yet been allocated, please check the webpage of the relevant UCL department you wish to apply to and identify and contact a supervisor who has relevant expertise in your preferred field of interest.

  Please note that Referee 1 and Referee 2 must be two different people. Please find below our PDF of guidance for referees. We suggest you provide your referee with a copy of this document when asking for an academic reference. References must be submitted directly to your academic department by your referee by the 10th January 2025 scholarship deadline.

For more details visit UCL website