Funding opportunities
Scholarship opportunities for 2027-28 entry
ESRC White Rose Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership scholarships
The White Rose Doctoral Training Partnership (WRDTP) offers a limited number of fully-funded PhD studentships each year:
WRDTP Pathway Awards
WRDTP Advanced Quantitative Methods Awards
WRDTP Advanced Data Analytics (ADA) awards
WRDTP Stuart Hall Foundation Awards for Black British Students
These are allocated through a two-stage process: (i) application to and nomination by the School of Politics, International Relations and Sociological Studies (SPIR), followed by (ii) assessment at Faculty and WRDTP level. You must apply to the School for a PhD study place and receive an offer from us before you can submit a WRDTP application.
Application for PhD study place: School deadline 1st December 2026
All prospective WRDTP applicants who wish to join SPIR must have submitted a complete PhD study place application via PG Online by 1st December 2026. Applications received after this date will not be eligible for WRDTP nomination by the School in the 2027 competition.
This deadline is to ensure that there is sufficient time for you to (i) address prospective supervisory feedback on your PhD proposal and (ii) be interviewed by the School as part of the application process. Both steps should normally be completed by 18th December 2026.
Once you have been offered a study place, and signal your intention to submit a WRDTP application, you will have until the WRDTP deadline on 20th January 2027 (17:00) to submit the WRDTP Application Form via the University’s Google Form.
We have prepared an advice sheet for prospective applicants that spells out the different steps you need to take which you can access at this link.
For enquiries, please feel free to contact our PGR Hub (spr-pgr-support@sheffield.ac.uk) or our PGR Lead, Dr Matt Bishop (m.bishop@sheffield.ac.uk).