SENSS Student-Led Studentships 2026

SENSS offers fully funded student-led studentships each academic year across our 6 interdisciplinary themes and 8 universities. These studentships help

1. Doctoral researchers work on a research project they have come up with themselves.
2. Provide guidance to researchers via an expert academic supervisory team.

Summary:

1. Application Deadline: 14 January 2026
2. Value: Full tuition fees + maintenance stipend (fully funded studentship)
3. Study Level: PhD (Student-led Studentships)
4. Sponsor: South and East Network for Social Sciences (SENSS)
5. Course to Study: Social Sciences (across 6 SENSS interdisciplinary themes)
6. Eligible Country: All Countries

Eligibility Criteria for SENSS Student-Led Studentships 2026

1. Interesting research ideas that will provide new knowledge in an academic field and may also help to address the major challenges facing the United Kingdom and the world.
2. A good match between applicant researchers and their proposed university and supervisors.
3. SENSS are especially keen to receive applications from those who meet certain criteria as set out in SENSS's equality and diversity policy, such as being from a particular ethnic background, having grown up in a less affluent area, having a disability, being a carer, and/or having been in care as a child. If you qualify as a “Home” student and come from one of these backgrounds, we encourage you to complete our equal opportunities form as part of our online application process. We aim to award a number of studentships to applicants coming from these backgrounds.
4. SENSS positively encourages applications from talented students holding undergraduate degrees only, or the equivalent of an undergraduate degree in terms of professional experience and skills. If you are successful, you will receive financial support to do a Master's as well as your PhD.
5. We are also keen to receive applications which fall under the headings of Data Skills, Advanced Quantitative Methods (AQM), and/or Interdisciplinarity. SENSS ring-fences nine studentships across these three areas each year. Please highlight it in your application if your research project comes within one or more of these headings.
6. Data Skills studentships refer to the use of large datasets, linked administrative datasets (ADR UK - Administrative Data Research UK, which is part of the ESRC) and/or big data methods and associated innovative analytical methods.
7. AQM-steered studentships feature one or more of the following: the development and use of advanced statistical methods, the use of large-scale datasets, and the use and analysis of ‘big data.’
8. Interdisciplinary studentships are those which fall with the remit of the ESRC and at least one of the other UKRI research council remits.
9. For further information on what constitutes a Data Skills or AQM-based application, please click here.

Selection Process

1. Your application will be assessed by your chosen home university. If it is successful at this stage, it will be graded by the SENSS Thematic panel under which your application falls, and ranked in order of merit along with the other applications to that Theme. The SENSS Management Board then meets to make the final awards. You will will be kept informed at each stage whether your application will be going forward to the next round of the competition.
2. You will be notified by mid-April whether you have been awarded a SENSS student-led studentship.

Benefits of SENSS Student-Led Studentships 2026

1. Fully-funded student-led studentship

How to Apply

Are you qualified and interested in this opportunity? Kindly go to South and East Network for Social Sciences (SENSS) on senss.heiapply.com to apply

1. If you have a research topic you want to work on, first identify the academic at the SENSS university with whom you wish to work, making sure that your research topic comes within one of the 6 SENSS Themes. If it does, contact that academic - your proposed supervisor - directly to discuss working with them.
2. If you are unsure about who to approach, get in touch with the SENSS Operational Lead at that university, as they may be able to support you in finding a supervisor. You must provide the Operational Lead with the SENSS theme that your project fits into, your area of research, and your topic in order for them to help identify a suitable supervisor. Once the Operational Lead has provided you with the names of some potential supervisors, it is your responsibility to contact your proposed supervisor before you start an online application with SENSS. Alternatively, our partner universities have staff directories, which can also assist with finding a prospective supervisor, or try Google Scholar as another path for potentially identifying a supervisor.
3. When approaching a prospective supervisor, you should read through their online profile and familiarise yourself with some of their publications and compose a brief introductory email highlighting your familiarity with their research and how your project aligns with their interests. Your email should note your intention to apply for PhD study, your interest in working with them, and should also summarize your proposed research project and any previous research experience you have.
4. If, after talking to your proposed supervisor, they are supportive of working with you, submit your application for a place to study at your chosen SENSS university. The deadline for your application is set by your chosen university. Please check with them to find out what the deadline is.
5. Once you have applied for a place to study at your home university, you will also need to apply for SENSS funding for your studies. To do this, click on the “Apply” button towards the end of this page. This will take you to HEIApply, the SENSS online application platform, where you will need to draft and submit your application by 12:00pm GMT on Wednesday 14 January 2026.

For more details, visit SENSS webpage

Application Deadline

January 14, 2026

Application Link(s)

• Apply for SENSS Student-Led Studentships 2026