Planning submission of your PGR application

For all our research degrees this is normally a 2:1 Honours degree (or international equivalent) or above in a discipline relevant to the programme for which you are applying.

If you have questions regarding the specific programme you are interested in, you should go to the Degree Finder to check the specific entry requirements as they differ between programmes. You must also meet the English language requirements as detailed on the Degree Finder pages of each of our programmes. If you have booked an English Language test and have yet to take it or receive your results, you can apply and provide this information at a later date (if selected you could receive a conditional offer in the meantime).

If you are applying for a specific project, additional entry requirements might be detailed in the project description.

If you are applying for a Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT), you must check the requirements for application on the Degree Finder and CDT website as there may be additional documents required to assess your suitability and motivation to join a CDT cohort.

Degree Finder

Project-related PhD studentships

Centres for Doctoral Training

A research degree mostly consists of independent supervised research, so you will need to have a research project that you can develop during your studies. This can be based on your idea, on a suggestion from your supervisor, or it could be jointly developed between the both of you.

If you are interested in a specific project that is advertised on the page below, you should contact the supervisor indicated in the project description to signal your interest and discuss your suitability as a candidate.

Project-related PhD studentships

Whether you would like to work on a self-designed project or have an initial project idea but not a fully worked out project plan, you must get in touch with members of staff to find a potential supervisor.

There is a lot of useful information about the different research institutes and prospective research topics on our page listing research degrees and we highly recommend you start by exploring these. You must identify at least one potential supervisor in your application. 

Research degrees

Finding a supervisor

Writing a research proposal

Please note that applications to Institute-led MScR and PhD programmes where no supervisor is named are unlikely to be successful and it may take longer for you to hear back from us. 

Once you have ascertained your eligibility to apply, and have a project and supervisor secured (or have decided which CDT to choose), you can prepare and submit your application via the link provided in the Degree Finder page of the relevant programme. The guidance below should help you navigate our online application platform.

Support and guidance for applicants

After you submit an application, our admissions team will screen it to determine whether we have received enough information to send it to our Academic Selector. We receive a high number of applications so you will not be notified by email of any missing documents and you must proactively make sure you check your Applicant Hub regularly for any updates.

As part of the application you will need to provide all the following elements:

• Personal statement (of no more than 500 words) highlighting the relationship between yourself and your proposed project. You will find guidance at the link below. The personal statement should be typed directly into the online application form. You will also have a section of the form to write about your Relevant Knowledge and Training.​​​​​​

Writing a personal statement

• A self-worded project proposal (unless stated otherwise on the project or CDT application guidelines): Please read the guidance on how to write a research proposal at the link below. This should be uploaded as a document (in the ‘Uploads’ tab of the application form). We recommend keeping the research proposal two to five pages long. If a CDT is instead requiring a statement of suitability or other documents in place of a research proposal, this should be uploaded to the ‘Research proposal’ field. 

Writing a research proposal

• Your Curriculum Vitae/resume: This should be uploaded as a document (in the ‘Uploads’ tab of the application form).  
• Academic Transcripts (you will also need translated versions in case they have not been in issued in English) from all your previous studies, and a recent interim transcript (less than 6 months old) if you are currently studying. 
• Copies of your degree(s)/ diploma certificate(s), if you have already completed your qualification (you will also need translated versions if they have not been in issued in English). These should be uploaded.  

Please note that you may be able to upload only one transcript and one certificate at a time when you complete the application form. We recommend either combining all your certificates and all your transcripts into one single document, or waiting until our admissions team reopens the upload field after initial screening. 

If you do not hold all transcripts and certificates from all your studies to date, please make sure you obtain them before submitting an application.

Submitting an incomplete application will result in delays and you may not be considered for admission if you do not provide evidence of your qualifications.

Contact details of two Academic referees: please provide these when making your online application, your referees will receive automated emails requesting a reference for you and providing guidance about how it can be uploaded to our system. Note that references should come from professional emails (i.e. not Gmail or Yahoo, etc.).

If you upload reference letters yourself then these should be on headed paper, signed, and dated no more than one year from the start of the programme for which you are applying.

Proof of English Language proficiency (if required): the English language requirements vary between different degrees, please consult the Degree Finder to find out what documents are accepted, and consult the English language requirements page linked below for further information.

English Language requirements 

There are a number of ways to start a PhD or MScR project with us.

Please consult this page to find out about opportunities currently available via the School of Informatics and the University of Edinburgh:

PGR funding opportunities

You can also consult this website:

Scholarship search

You also have the option to undertake your research degree as a self-funded student. Note that if you are planning to self-fund your studies, we recommend you only embark on this journey if you can afford to fund the entirety of your programme of study and costs of living from start to finish.

Postgraduate Research tuition fees

Cost of living costs