Scholarships and funding
A list of funding opportunities for PhD applicants in the Information School.
There are a number of scholarship competitions you can enter to gain funding to study a PhD in the Information School for entry in October 2025.
Contact the School through the email ispgr@sheffield.ac.uk as soon as possible if you are thinking of applying, as the application process is complicated and we are able to support you.
There are a number of different schemes listed below. These are all highly competitive and you will need to tailor your application to the criteria for that particular scheme. Depending on your topic, however, you may be able to apply to more than one scheme. Before you apply, please check the award details and eligibility criteria for the scheme.
Most scholarships cover tuition fees and provide a stipend (student living allowance), plus a Research Training Support Grant to cover research costs and consumables. However, you should check the details of each scholarship when you apply.
The Information School department deadline for all scholarship applications is the 13th December 2024. Please be advised the department is not accepting WRoCAH applications for 2025-26 entry.
1. ESRC White Rose DTP (WRDTP)
https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/postgraduate/phd/scholarships/esrc
These are for studies in the Social Sciences linked to pathway themes for the WRDTP, several of which are relevant to the Information School, but particularly “Data, Communication and New Technologies (DCT)”.
2. AHRC White Rose College of the Arts & Humanities (WRoCAH) Awards - Not Open
https://wrocah.ac.uk/funding/prospective-students/
These are in the Arts and Humanities, including library and information studies (which falls under the WROCAH Creative Arts and Media cluster).
3. Chinese scholarship council
Information about this scholarship will be available in late November
4. University of Sheffield - Not Open
https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/postgraduate/phd/scholarships/faculty
The Faculties of Engineering, Health, and Social Sciences are accepting applications as part of an open University of Sheffield Research Scholarship competition for all applicants to their departments.
Project funding
In addition to these open scholarships, sometimes we have a specific project which already has funding attached. You need to demonstrate that you are better qualified to complete the project than other applicants.
You will not usually be asked to write a complete research proposal, but you may be asked to write a short personal statement, or provide a description of how you would approach the project.
Funded projects can be announced at any time of the year. You can sign up for alerts for these projects at jobs.ac.uk.