MPhil/PhD Studentships in the School of Social Sciences (2026) University of Westminster in United Kingdom

[Full home fee waiver and annual stipend of £22,780 for 2025–26 (including London weighting), rising annually in line with UKRI increases, for three years. International students must pay the difference between home and overseas fees. Award holders receive professional development, training, and mentoring.]

The University of Westminster’s School of Social Sciences is offering three MPhil/PhD studentships for prospective doctoral researchers starting in September 2026. Situated in central London, the School is renowned for its vibrant research culture and its commitment to decolonising and diversifying higher education. The School houses three major research centres: the Centre for the Study of Democracy (CSD), the Centre for Social Justice Research (CSJR), and the Westminster Centre for Psychological Sciences (WCPS), each with an active community of PhD researchers and an international reputation for excellence, as confirmed by the 2021 Research Excellence Framework.

Each studentship provides a full home fee waiver and an annual stipend of £22,780 for 2025–26 (including London weighting), with the stipend rising annually in line with UKRI increases for three years. Award holders will also benefit from a comprehensive professional development, training, and mentoring programme delivered through the University of Westminster Graduate School. The School is committed to fostering a supportive, inclusive, and equitable learning environment, and particularly welcomes applications from students from underrepresented backgrounds.

Research areas span a wide range of topics, including contemporary democratic theory and practice, critical international relations theory, energy security and resource political economy, governance and public policy, politics of identity, gender, race, sexuality, technology, postcolonial politics, nationalism, Asian geopolitics, security, development, rights, diplomacy, violence, education, critical pedagogies, prisoner education, family studies, juvenile justice, gender and queer theory, leisure and public space, media activism, migration, border regimes, terrorism, trafficking, organised crime, prisons, probation, criminal justice, race and racism, policing, religion, social class, sex education, sexual harm, stress, health and wellbeing, learning and development, brain, cognition and perception, identity, self and society, and forensic and investigative psychology.

Applicants should normally hold at least a 2:1 Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent), and preferably a Master’s degree. Those whose secondary education was not in English must demonstrate English proficiency, typically IELTS 6.5 overall (minimum 6.0 in all components). Overseas applicants are welcome, but the fee waiver covers only the home fee rate; international students must pay the difference between home and overseas fees.

Applicants are strongly advised to discuss their proposed project with potential supervisors before submission, as supervisor support is required for shortlisting. Applications should be submitted via the research centre most relevant to the proposed project, and must include “SSS Studentship” in the application header. Guidance on writing a PhD research proposal is available on the university website. The application deadline is 5:00 p.m., Friday 13 March 2026, and interviews will be held online in mid-May.

For further details and to access the application portal, visit the University of Westminster’s official studentship page.