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Apply for a UCL EPSRC DTP studentship

The UCL EPSRC DTP 2024/25 Round 2 is open. Round 2 is for Home status candidates only, and applications will only be considered if there are remaining places after all round 1 offers have been made.

 

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The UCL EPSRC DTP 2024-25 Round 2 is now open, for Home status candidates only.

The UCL EPSRC DTP aims to recruit 70 outstanding students to undertake fully-funded four-year PhD (including EngD) studentships at UCL.  

Round 2 Application deadline: 13:00 UK time on 06 May 2024 

Round 2 is for Home status candidates only. Details of eligibility status are below, but in most cases to be eligible you need to be in one of these categories: UK nationals; Irish nationals resident in Ireland or UK; EU nationals with pre-settled or settled status; those with indefinite leave to remain or enter the UK.

Applications will only be considered if there are remaining places available after all round 1 offers have been made.

Summary

The UCL EPSRC DTP (Doctoral Training Partnership) has 70 fully-funded four-year studentships available for 2024/25. The DTP is also offering several Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) CASE conversion studentships. These studentships give you the opportunity to work with an industrial partner, undertake at least 3-months placement(s) at the partner's premises, and be allocated an industrial supervisor.  

Prospective students may apply to any of the projects available in the project catalogue.  

Note: Where unavoidable, the UCL EPSRC DTP reserves the right to withdraw projects from the catalogue before or after the application deadline of 08 January 2024. Candidates who have applied to a project that has been withdrawn will be informed as soon as possible.

 Browse the project catalogue

Studentships are open to both Home and International fee status students, however EPSRC caps the number of International students at 30% so a maximum of 21 International students can be recruited and competition for these places will be particularly strong. Note that round 2 is for Home status candidates only.

Studentships are expected to start on 01-Oct-2024 unless exceptional circumstances require an alternate start date. Exceptional circumstance include, but are not limited to, disability and caring responsibilities.

[Additional information for UCL staff on the requirements for accepting and processing students' applications - UCL staff login required]

An application consists of 4 parts. Please make sure you read all of the guidance on this page before applying.

Key Facts

  • Value: Fees, Stipend (at least £21,622 per year), Research Training Support Grant
  • Duration: Up to 4 years (thesis to be submitted within funded period)
  • Eligible Fee Status: Home only in round 2
  • Study Mode: Full or Part time (at least 50% FTE) [Note: Part time is not available to International students]
  • Primary Selection Criteria: Academic merit
  • Available To: Prospective students only
  • Round 2 Application Deadline: 13:00 UK time on 06 May 2024
  • Important note: Applications in round 2 will only be considered if there are remaining places available after all round 1 offers have been made.

Funding available

All studentships are fully funded for 4 years. They provide: 

  • 4 years fees (Home rate) (International students will receive a UCL award to cover the home/international fee difference) 
  • Maintenance stipend at the UCL EPSRC DTP enhanced rate (ie £1,000 above the UKRI London-weighted rate; this was £21,622 in 2023/24, and rises each year) 
  • Research Training Support Grant (RTSG) of £4,800. This is to cover additional costs of training eg courses, project costs, conferences, travel 

Students will be registered for 4 years and are expected to submit their thesis within the 4 year funded period. The project should be designed and supervised to facilitate this. 

For part time students the stipend and duration will be adjusted pro-rata (e.g. a 50% FTE student will receive 50% of stipend for up to 8 years). 

Student Eligibility

  • You must fulfil the academic entry requirements for UCL
  • You must fulfil any additional academic entry requirements for the department you will be hosted by
  • These studentships are open to those with Home and International fee status (including EU); however, the number of students with International fee status which can be recruited is capped according to the EPSRC terms and conditions so competition for International places is particularly strong. Round 2 is for Home status candidates only.

An official fee status assessment by UCL admissions will be required for all successful candidates. However, the following guidance is provided to help you determine whether you will be Home or International category for EPSRC funding:

  • UK nationals are Home category, provided they meet residency requirements.
  • EU nationals with settled status are Home category.
  • EU nationals with pre-settled status are Home category, provided they meet residency requirements.
  • Irish nationals living in UK or Ireland are Home category
  • Those who have indefinite leave to remain or enter are Home category.
  • All others are classified as International category.

Residency requirements for UK nationals:

  • living in UK, EEA, or Switzerland on 31-Dec-2020 and lived in UK, EEA, Switzerland, or Gibraltar for at least 3 years immediately before the studentship begins
  • lived continuously in UK, EEA, Switzerland, or Gibraltar between 31-Dec-2020 and the start of the studentship

Residency requirements for EU, EEA, or Swiss nationals with pre-settled status:

  • living in UK by 31-Dec-2020 (a requirement to receive pre-settled status)
  • living in UK, EEA, Switzerland, or Gibraltar for at least 3 years immediately before the studentship begins

Note: These studentships are open to those with Home and International fee status (including EU); however, the number of students with International fee status which can be recruited is capped according to the EPSRC terms and conditions.

Projects Available

Students can apply to any of the projects listed in the project catalogue. You may apply to a maximum of 5 projects.  

Note: Where unavoidable, the UCL EPSRC DTP reserves the right to withdraw projects from the catalogue before or after the application deadline of 06 May 2024. Candidates who have applied to a project that has been withdrawn will be informed as soon as possible. In round 2, applications will only be considered if there are remaining places available after all round 1 offers have been made.

View the 2024/25 project catalogue

How To Apply

An application to the UCL EPSRC DTP consists of 4 parts:

  • Part A: Complete once. This must be submitted before parts B, C and D can be completed. 
  • Part B:  Complete once. This must be submitted by 13:00 UK time on  06 May 2024. 
  • Part C:  Complete for each project you are applying to. You can apply to a maximum of 5 projects. This must be submitted by 13:00 UK time on 06 May 2024. 

For Referees:  

  • Part D: To be completed by your two nominated referees. Both references should be submitted by 13:00 UK time on 06 May 2024 for an application to be considered complete. If your references are not received by this deadline it will not prevent your application being reviewed, but your application may be at a disadvantage.

Late, incomplete, or incorrect applications will not be considered. An application is considered complete when parts A, B, and C, and both references have been submitted.  

Successful candidates will also need to complete an application via the UCL admissions portal

Step 1: Part A

Complete application - Part A 

You must complete this form only once (unless you make an error in your email address and have to re-do it, as per instructions below). 

This form collects personal data which will not be shared with the review panel. More information on the diversity data collected is shown below.

Other information collected in this form includes:

  • Your intended study mode - full time or part time (minimum 50% FTE) 
  • If needed, your justification for a delayed start date (note that studentships are expected to start on 01-October-2024 and delayed starts will only be considered under exceptional circumstances (this includes, but is not limited to, disability and caring responsibilities) 
  • Any adaptations required for you to be able to attend an interview (to be held online)
  • How you heard about this opportunity
  • Details of 2 referees

Referee details required:

  • Name
  • Institution/organisation
  • Email address

Important: We cannot accept referee email addresses from a personal service (such as gmail, yahoo, hotmail, 123.com, qq.com). You must provide their institution/organisation email address. 

 Referee 1 must be an academic reference (if your most recent academic qualification was more than 5 years ago this can be substituted by a reference related to research experience gained during employment). Your referees cannot be part of the proposed supervisory team for the doctoral study you are applying for.

Before completing part A of your application, make sure you have permission from your referees, and are confident that they will be able to submit a reference within the timeframe. 

Please note that none of the above information will be used for the selection process. 

  • You must complete and submit part A before you can complete parts B and C. After submitting part A an email will be sent to the email address you provided with your "Applicant ID" and personalised links for parts B and C of your application. You must use the links in your email to apply - they will automatically complete your applicant ID details correctly. Do not share your links with anyone else.
  • If you do not receive the email within 24 hours of submitting, check your spam/junk folder. If you still can't find it, there may be an error in the email address you provided – please simply redo part A. [Note: 123.com and qq.com email addresses frequently cause errors in the system; it is recommended that you try using an alternative email address from a free service such as gmail, yahoo, hotmail.]
  • An email will also automatically be sent to each of your referees using the email address you have provided, asking them to provide a reference. Important: you must provide their institution/organisation email not a personal one (such as gmail, yahoo, 123, qq, etc.). If personal email addresses are detected by our system your part A submission will be rejected and you will need to re-do it with appropriate referee email addresses (you will receive an email notifying you if this happens).

Step 2: Part B 

You must complete this form only once. You must complete the online form using the link in the email you received after completing part A - it will automatically complete your applicant ID details for you.

This form contains an online template which we review in place of a traditional CV. We collect information on transcript details with a full record of modules for awarded and in-progress qualifications, work experience, other achievements/experience, and details of research projects/experience.  

International candidates will need to provide their UK degree equivalency. Please use the UCL’s prospective student webpages  to check your degree results against the information provided for your country of study.  

You must enter all your degree and module grades exactly as shown on your transcript, do not do any conversion. If the data enterred in your part B form does not match what is shown on the transcript, your application will be invalid and you will not be given an official offer via UCL's admissions portal. Information on the requirements for official transcripts is shown below

The host department(s) of the project(s) you are applying to should not request your CV, grade transcript, or any other application documents from you. Please email the DTP manager (epsrc.dtp@ucl.ac.uk) with any concerns and/or if you are asked to provide additional documents/information. 

Step 3: Part C

You must complete this form once for each project you are applying to (up to a maximum of 5). You must complete the online form using the link in the email you received after completing part A - it will automatically complete your applicant ID details for you. You will receive only one link to part C of your application - you can use the same link for each project you apply to (up to a maximum of 5). If you apply for more than 5 projects, we will only accept the most recently submitted 5 forms. If you make a submission in error, you can contact epsrc.dtp@ucl.ac.uk to ask for it to be discarded up to 19 April 2024 (requests after this time cannot be processed in time for you to resubmit before the deadline. Please note that UCL will be closed over Easter from 28 March to 03 April inclusive and emails will not be monitored during this time.)

This form is the main part of your application. It asks questions to assess your aptitude, suitability, and motivation for doctoral study and the specific project.  

The questions in the part C form are provided as a document so you can prepare your answers. However, we cannot accept applications via email. You must submit your application using the online form. 

The host department(s) of the project(s) you are applying to should not request your CV, grade transcript, or any other application documents from you. Please email the DTP manager (epsrc.dtp@ucl.ac.uk) with any concerns and/or if you are asked to provide additional documents/information. 

Step 4 - Information for Referees - Part D

If a candidate nominates you as a referee in their application form, you will receive an email from the UCL EPSRC DTP asking you to comment on the applicant's suitability and ability to undertake doctoral research, including examples where possible. The skills you are asked to comment on are:

  • Critical thinking 
  • Independent and collaborative work 
  • Written and oral communication skills 
  • Ability to organise workload 
  • Data analysis 

Depending on the capacity in which you know the candidate, you may not be able to comment on all of the above skills, but please try to identify specific examples where the applicant has demonstrated the qualities and experience relevant to doctoral research. If you do not think you can comment meaningfully on, or your organisation’s policies limit what you can include in a reference, you will need to inform the applicant so they can find an alternative referee. 

What not to include in the reference  

  • The name of the candidate. The reference must be anonymous so please use "the candidate" or "X" instead of their name.  
  • Protected characteristics (such as ethnicity or gender). Please use they/them/their instead of he/him/his or she/her/hers.
  • Anything else that might identify the candidate.

Please note that references should be submitted by 13:00 UK time on 06 May 2024 for the candidate's application to be complete. If the reference is not received by this deadline it may disadvantage the candidate's application.

Who can be a referee: 

You cannot be a referee if you are part of the proposed supervisory team for the doctoral study the candidate is applying for. Referee 1 must be an academic reference (if the candidate's recent academic qualification was more than 5 years ago this can be substituted by a reference related to research experience gained during employment). 

Diversity monitoring data

The UCL EPSRC DTP is committed to equality of opportunity in our studentship selection processes.

Part A of the application collects diversity monitoring data. By providing this information, you will help us to ensure that our policies and procedures are effective in avoiding discrimination and promoting equal opportunities in making those awards.

You have the option to select “not disclosed” for any of the questions. The answers you supply will be kept confidential. The data will not be sent to reviewing panel members, and the answers you give will have no bearing on the outcome of your application. When analysing the data internally it is aggregated and not considered on an individual basis.

You can view UCL's privacy policy at https://www.ucl.ac.uk/legal-services/privacy/ucl-prospective-students-enquirers-and-applicants-privacy-notice

UCL has an obligation to report the data on all applicants to EPSRC (the funder). The data is aggregated before reporting and will not be linked to individual applicants. Please review their data policy (https://www.ukri.org/about-us/privacy-notice/) - note that EPSRC is part of UKRI which has a single shared data policy.

What happens after applying

Applications will be reviewed in a 3-stage process. Make sure you respond quickly to any correspondence about the application process during this period.

Final outcomes for round 1 are expected to be confirmed by early March 2024, although this may be later in the case of reserve candidates. 

Stage 1: Shortlisting

Parts B, C and D of your application are sent to the host department of the project you have applied for. All applications are anonymised. The department will review and shortlist candidates to be interviewed. 

Stage 2: Interview

Once stage 2 begins, all those students who were not shortlisted in stage 1 will be notified that they were not successful. 

Shortlisted candidates will be contacted by their proposed host department with an invite to attend an interview (held online). If you have any adaptations/requirements to enable you to attend an interview, please make sure you provide these in part A of your application so that supportive arrangements can be made accordingly. 

Stage 3: Nomination to central panel and final selection

Once stage 3 begins, all those students who were not shortlisted after interview in stage 2 will be notified that they were not successful. 

Departments select their preferred candidates from those interviewed to nominate to the central selection panel. As part of this nomination the central panel will receive information on candidate's performance at interview. 

Nominations will be reviewed by a panel of senior academics representing diverse areas of UCL from across EPSRC’s subject area remit. The central panel will make final selections for all 70 awards, ensuring the number of International students stays within EPSRC's cap (an absolute maximum of 21 international students). A reserve list will also operate. The majority of outcomes are expected to be communicated by early March but will be later in the case of reserve candidates. 

Selection criteria: 

Primary criteria 

  1. Candidate’s academic performance and skills to date 
  2. Candidate’s potential for success and excellence in doctoral research and potential for future success 

Secondary criteria / suitability checks 

  1. Fee status - within EPSRC's cap on international recruitment an absolute maximum of 21 international students can be recruited, so competition for international candidates will be particularly strong 

Successful candidates

UCL Admissions portal

If following stage 3 of the process, you have been selected for an informal offer of a UCL EPSRC DTP studentship, you will need to complete an application to study at UCL via the UCL admissions portal. You will need to receive an offer of study at UCL via the formal admissions process to be given a formal UCL EPSRC DTP funding offer letter. Guidance on completing an application in the UCL admissions portal will be provided to candidates when they need to complete it.  

Grade transcripts

You will be asked to submit your official grade transcripts as part of your UCL application to study via the UCL admissions portal. We advise you to prepare these well in advance. Transcripts need to meet the requirements of the UCL admissions office

Successful international candidates

Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) 

Depending on nationality, successful international candidates, might need to apply for the Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS). You are able to apply for the ATAS certificate with a UCL conditional offer of study. The certificate is valid for 6 months, so all international candidates are expected to apply as soon as they receive their conditional offer of study from UCL.  

English Language Requirements  

International candidates might need to provide evidence of their English language proficiency as part of their application via the UCL admissions portal. Please check the UCL English language requirements webpage for more information.   

Student visa 

All successful international candidates will be required to apply for a Student visa.  In order to apply for your visa, you will need your ATAS certificate and an unconditional offer of study from UCL. Students applying for a visa of more than 6 months in duration will be required to pay the immigration health surcharge (IHS) for access to the National Health Service (NHS).  You can find out how much will be expected to pay using the fee calculator on the UKVI website. The full amount of your IHS will need to be paid at the time you submit your visa application.

What happens if you are not selected

There is always strong competition for funded studentships. If you receive a rejection from the UCL EPSRC DTP, it does not mean that you have been rejected by UCL or other funding opportunities you have applied to. You should receive separate outcome notifications from other opportunities you have applied to. You are advised to contact the department you applied to be hosted by to see if there are other opportunities you can apply to.

Appeals and complaints

As applications are reviewed by panels of academic staff in a multi-step process, it will not be possible to request an appeal if you disagree with the outcome of your application on grounds of the academic assessment or judgement made.

However, if you think that the published process (as shown on this webpage) has not been followed, you may contact epsrc.dtp@ucl.ac.uk to raise your concern. Please clearly mark your email EPSRC DTP RECRUITMENT APPEAL in the subject line. Your appeal and application will be reviewed by a panel in light of this new information.