Scholarships and funding

The University of Edinburgh will offer scholarships for students starting their PhD research at the University in the 2027-28 academic session. One of these scholarships will be offered through the Edinburgh Law School. 

In order to attract the best and brightest PhD students, the University seeks to offer not only unparalleled research facilities and superb supervision, but also to provide development opportunities which will support our research students as they progress beyond their PhD, through this exciting scholarship scheme.

Access

The University of Edinburgh has been working for some time to embed equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in its activities and to widen participation (WP) for students from disadvantaged and underrepresented backgrounds. The Doctoral College is committed to embedding EDI in all of its policies and processes, and by widening access to postgraduate study to traditionally underrepresented groups, including minority ethnic students and those from the most deprived communities in Scotland and the rest of the world. The Doctoral College wishes to attract the greatest diversity of applications to this scheme and will ensure that recruitment processes are robust and unbiased. 

Award

Each scholarship covers the University tuition fee as well as an annual stipend in line with UKRI rates (approximately £21,805 per annum). The stipend will be paid for a maximum of 3.5 years, subject to satisfactory progress. Awards will be paid pro-rata for part-time candidates.

Eligibility

Candidates for this scholarship must be seeking to start their first year of full-time or part-time PhD study, on campus in the Edinburgh Law School, within the academic year 2027/28 (i.e. September 2027 or January 2028 entry). UK and international students are eligible to apply. Please note that international students are not eligible for part-time study.

These awards cannot be held concurrently with other fully-funded scholarships but can be held with partially-funded scholarships and will be reduced pro-rata.

Applications are welcome in law, socio-legal studies, criminology and other law-related subjects.

Criteria

Applicants must be of outstanding academic merit and research potential. To be considered for this scholarship, you must meet our standard minimum entry requirements. Other factors such as financial status and nationality are not taken into account.

Application Process

Eligible applicants should apply for admission to the PhD Law programme. You can find further information on how to apply for admission to the programme at How to apply | Edinburgh Law School.

You should then complete an online scholarship application form which is located in EUCLID.  Please note that you will not be able to access the online scholarship form until you have applied for admission to the PhD Law programme. 

The scholarship deadline is 2nd February 2027. Please note that the application to the PhD Law programme must be submitted at least five working days prior to the scholarship application deadline.

When logging in to MyEd, you will need your University User Name and password (which will be provided once you have applied for the programme). If you require assistance, please go to our support page.

Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application by the end of April 2027.

Contact Information

Please contact phd.law@ed.ac.uk if you have any questions about this scholarship. 

Edinburgh Law School offers two full PhD studentships, one of which is provided through a generous bequest from alumnus Ewen Cameron in his name.

These scholarships will pay tuition fees and an annual stipend in line with UKRI rates (approximately £21,805 per annum). The stipend will be paid in equal monthly instalments for a maximum of three years, subject to satisfactory progress. Awards will be paid pro-rata for part-time candidates.

Eligibility

Candidates for these scholarships must be seeking to start their first year of full-time or part-time PhD study in Edinburgh Law School within the academic year 2027/28 (i.e. either September 2027 or January 2028 entry).  UK and international students are eligible to apply. Please note that international students who require visa sponsorship are not eligible for part-time study.

To be considered for these scholarships, you must meet our standard minimum entry requirements. The successful candidates normally exceed these requirements, having obtained the highest classification in at least one of their degrees, and provide a strong research proposal which has a close fit with research within the School.

When making our decisions we will consider the applicant’s academic achievements, research proposal, fit with our research expertise, and the degree of support provided by references. We will not take into account factors such as financial status and nationality.

These awards cannot be held concurrently with other fully-funded scholarships but can be held with partially-funded scholarships and will be reduced pro-rata.

Applications are welcome in law, socio-legal studies, criminology and other law-related subjects. 

Application Process

Eligible applicants should apply for admission to the PhD Law programme. You can find further information on how to apply for admission to the programme at How to apply | Edinburgh Law School.

Once you have applied for the programme you should then complete an online scholarship application form which is located in EUCLID. Please note that you will not be able to access the online scholarship form until you have applied for admission to the PhD Law programme. 

The scholarship deadline is 2nd February 2027. Please note that the application to the PhD Law programme must be submitted at least five working days prior to the scholarship application deadline as it can take several days for all system checks to be completed and for access to the scholarship system to be granted.

When logging in to MyEd, you will need your University User Name and password (which will be provided once you have applied for the programme). If you require assistance, please go to our support page.

Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application by the end of April 2027.

Contact Information

Please contact phd.law@ed.ac.uk if you have any questions about this scholarship. 

The University of Edinburgh is a partner university of the Scottish Graduate School of Social Science (SGSSS). The SGSSS awards a number of studentships across Scotland each year through the student-led 'Open' competition. These studentships can be offered as MSc plus PhD (1+3.5) or PhD (+3.5) awards depending on the experience of the applicant.

Eligibility 

The SGSSS provides funding only for research with a social science perspective.  Projects which are mainly about procedure, theory, philosophy or history of Law are unlikely to be eligible for this competition. Projects which are about the social, political or economic aspects or impact of Law, or which are socio-legal or criminological, are likely to be eligible. 

The proposed first supervisor for any proposal must be a research active social scientist, with publications or research funding in an area that demonstrates alignment with a social science perspective. 

If you are unsure whether your project meets these criteria, please discuss with your proposed first supervisor, or the SGSSS Lead, Dr Anna Souhami.  You are strongly encouraged to read the SGSSS guidance to check your eligibility. 

Candidate Eligibility

Candidates will normally hold a First Class Honours degree (or international equivalent) in a relevant subject, e.g. BA or LLB.

For the PhD award, applicants should hold (or be currently studying for) a relevant Masters degree. Applicants who are not eligible for the PhD award can apply on a '1+3.5' basis which starts with a one-year MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice and is then followed by a three-year PhD. Please note that you will still need to have PhD supervision secured and your PhD project proposal will be assessed as part of the SGSSS marking criteria.

Awards are available to applicants with UK fee status and a limited number of awards are available for international applicants.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact our Unit of Assessment Lead, Dr Anna Souhami (anna.souhami@ed.ac.uk), to check eligibility for the competition before applying.

Value

The studentship covers the cost of UK or international tuition fees and provides a stipend at UKRI rates (approximately £21,805 per year).

How to apply

To be considered for this competition, applicants should:

1. Apply for admission through the University’s online application system by 17:00 (GMT) 19th November 2026. (Please note you do not need to have received an offer by this date, you must simply have submitted your application). All applicants must have the support of an academic supervisor before applying.

   Find out more about applying for a PhD in the Law School 
   
   Applicants who need an MSc and are applying for 1+3.5 years of funding must apply by 19th November and can find out more about the MSc Criminology and Criminal Justice programme which is approved by the ESRC. 

   Find out more about applying to the MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice (ESRC track)

2. Register on the SGSSS online application system to apply. Complete and upload the SGSSS Open Competition application form by 17:00 (GMT) 24th November 2026. Copies of transcripts, a CV and two references will also need to be uploaded by this date. 
   
   Queries about registering or logging into apply 
   
   Visit the Scottish Graduate School of Social Science Open Competition website

Applicants must meet both deadlines in order to be considered for this funding. Late applications will not be considered.

Selection process

The Open Competition includes three stages of review, with candidates updated after each stage until either you are awarded or your application is unsuccessful.

• University of Edinburgh Review: this is two-stage with a nomination needed from the Unit of Assessment lead and then selection by the University panel. Interested candidates will be shortlisted by the University.
• Challenge Led Pathway Review: Each of the six challenge pathways will consider applications shortlisted by universities.
• Global Review: An executive panel of University Deans and members of the SGSSS Directorate meet and make the final award decisions.

Award announcement date

The award decision will be communicated to applicants by early May 2027.

One or more scholarships are available for postgraduate research in Scots private law at the University of Edinburgh for a period of one year leading to the degree of LLM by Research (ie by a thesis of up to 30,000 words). The scholarships are offered by the Edinburgh Legal Education Trust, which was formed in 1996 for the advancement of legal education in Scotland. The Trustees wish to award a scholarship or scholarships for study beginning in September 2027.

Eligibility

The scholarships are open to anyone who, by the start of the LLM programme, holds an honours degree in law, or an ordinary degree in law plus an honours degree in a different discipline, and who is accepted by the University of Edinburgh for the degree of LLM by Research. Preference may be given to those who intend to progress to the PhD.

Value

The scholarship comprises fees at home students’ rate together with a full maintenance award (currently £21,805).

Choice of topic

Applicants are expected to choose their own topic. The emphasis, however, should be on legal doctrine rather than on, for example, legal theory or socio-legal issues. Historical or comparative perspectives are welcome. Members of staff at the Edinburgh Law School with appropriate research interests will be happy to give further guidance.

Progression to the PhD

The LLM can (but need not) be used as a gateway to further study for the degree of PhD. Indeed it is often possible to treat the LLM as the first year of study for a PhD by switching to the PhD degree during the year spent on the LLM. For students who make this switch, funding for the full three years of the PhD will often be made available by the Edinburgh Legal Education Trust.

Application process and closing date

Candidates must first apply for admission to the Law LLM by Research Programme.

Find out how to apply to the LLM by Research

Once you have applied for admission to the Programme, please complete the Edinburgh Legal Education Trust Scholarship Application Form and send it to phd.law@ed.ac.uk.

Download the Edinburgh Legal Education Trust Scholarship Application Form

Applications should normally be received by 3 May 2027. The Trustees reserve full discretion to offer, or not to offer, a scholarship.

Further information

Further information may be found on the website of the Edinburgh Legal Education Trust.

Visit the Edinburgh Legal Education Trust website

This scholarship is available for part-time postgraduate research in Scots private law at the University of Edinburgh for a period of two years, leading to the degree of LLM by Research (ie by a thesis of up to 30,000 words). The scholarship is offered by the Edinburgh Legal Education Trust, which was formed in 1996 for the advancement of legal education in Scotland. The Trustees wish to award a scholarship for study beginning in September 2027.

Eligibility

The scholarship is open to anyone who, by the start of the LLM programme, holds an honours degree in law, or an ordinary degree in law plus an honours degree in a different discipline, and who is accepted by the University of Edinburgh for the degree of LLM by Research.

Value

The scholarship comprises fees at the home students’ rate. In addition, a limited amount of assistance may be given by the Trust in respect of research expenses. Fees will be paid by the Trust directly to the University of Edinburgh.

Choice of topic

Applicants are expected to choose their own topic. The emphasis, however, should be on legal doctrine rather than on, for example, legal theory or socio-legal issues. Historical or comparative perspectives ate welcome. Members of staff at the Edinburgh Law School with appropriate research interests will be happy to give further guidance.

Progression to the PhD

The LLM can (but need not) be used as a gateway to further study for the degree of PhD. Indeed it is often possible to treat the part-time LLM as two years of study for a PhD by switching to the PhD degree during the years spent on the LLM. For students who make this switch, funding for the full six years of the part-time PhD will often be made available by the Edinburgh Legal Education Trust.

Application process and closing date

Candidates must first apply for admission to the Law LLM by Research Programme. 

Find out how to apply to the LLM by Research

Once you have applied for admission to the Programme, please complete the Edinburgh Legal Education Trust Scholarship Application Form and send it to phd.law@ed.ac.uk.

Download the Edinburgh Legal Education Trust Scholarship Application Form

Applications should normally be received by 3 May 2027. The Trustees reserve full discretion to offer, or not to offer, a scholarship.

Further information

Further information may be found on the website of the Edinburgh Legal Education Trust.

Visit the Edinburgh Legal Education Trust website

The University of Edinburgh offers many scholarships for postgraduate study. You should consult the University Scholarship pages for further information on these and other sources of funding that may be available.

Find out more about the range of scholarships offered by the University of Edinburgh

There are a range of additional sources of financial support that you may be eligible to apply to.

Find out more about additional sources of funding for students