FAQs for postgraduate research applicants

You are welcome to apply for several of our PGR programmes, however you must tailor each application to each programme. This can mean writing different application documents (research proposal, personal statement, etc.), identifying different supervisors and ensuring you apply by the correct deadline for each programme, and uploading all the required documents each time.

No. All of our MScR, PhD and CDT programmes are on campus (unless permission has been granted during your studies to do a short period of research away, but this will never be at the point of admission). If you are not ready to move to Edinburgh, then we’re probably not a good match for you.

No. You should read the entry requirements detailed on the Degree Finder entry of the programme you wish to apply for and discuss with prospective supervisors. After you apply, the Informatics Graduate School will check your qualifications, but the academic assessment and final decision will be in the hands of our Academic Selectors and your potential supervisor(s). 

Degree Finder 

Yes, a research proposal is usually required, with the following exceptions: 

• You apply for a CDT and their application guidance explicitly asks you to upload a different document (i.e. cover letter or statement of purpose)
• You apply for a Project-related studentship and the advert explicitly states that you should upload a different document (i.e. cover letter) 

In any other circumstances, a research proposal is required.

In the online application form you will first encounter a ‘Research topic’ field, then you will see in the ‘Documents’ tab that you can upload a Research proposal. We recommend you provide a brief summary of your Research proposal in the Research Topic field, then upload your full Research Proposal to the Documents.  

No. We appreciate that English tests are costly, and encourage you to wait until you have received a conditional offer to get over that hurdle. Bear in mind that you will need the English certificate to be able to start the visa application process so this should not be left too late either.

As explained in the application guidance, identifying a supervisor is a pre-application task. The application system does not allow the Proposed Supervisor field of the application form to be edited after submission of your application, neither by yourself nor by our team.

The answer is that it depends on what funding you wish to be considered for. Our internal funding opportunities do not usually comprise of a separate application for funding, and your application will be considered for a funded place. This applies to our CDTs, Project-related studentships and funding through the Informatics Graduate School. 

It is important however to carefully read the information provided for each funding opportunity to make sure you submit an application that is complete by the correct deadline. 

If you are applying for external funding then you will need to seek guidance directly from your funder. 

There are deadlines for CDTs programmes and these are advertised on their respective pages. 

Centres for Doctoral Training

We also have deadlines to be considered for any of the funding opportunities awarded by IGS. 

IGS PhD funding

Project-related studentships are always advertised with their own deadlines. 

Project-related studentships

CDTs have strict application deadlines, but Institute programmes do not.

However we will not send an offer if we are not confident that there will be enough time for you to get through all the steps required before being able to join us. This includes immigration processes (including ATAS certificates and visa application). 

The latest we will send an offer to an applicant who requires an ATAS certificate is five months prior to the start date of their programme (i.e. no later than April for a September start). 

For students requiring a visa but no ATAS certificate, we send offers at least three months prior to the start date (i.e. no later than June for a September start). 

The above timeframes do not include the screening and selection process, which can easily take an additional 4-8 weeks. You are responsible for applying early enough, and your application will be rejected or deferred to the next entry date if you apply late.

For CDTs, you must be available to start your programme in September due to the taught courses that are part of each programme. There are no exceptions. 

Our entry dates for Institute-led PGR degrees are September, January and May each year. We strongly recommend joining in September if you can as this is our main intake and the best time to join a community of new postgraduate research students, but if your circumstances (personal, funding, other) mean that a different date is more suitable for you we will welcome you at a different time.

Once your application is submitted, you must look out for an email from ‘University_of_Edinburgh’ from an email called ‘EUCLID_Support’ which will contain your login credentials to access your Applicant Hub. This will be sent to the email address you input in the ‘Correspondence email’ field in your application. You may receive it immediately after you submit your application, or at any point up to 5 working days afterwards. Check your spam folder if you cannot locate this email. 

You must log in to create your account and check whether any documents are missing (and read the notes our Admissions Team will write to guide you). 

Note: if you do not complete the step above and your application is unsuccessful, your account will be immediately archived and you will not be able to access it once the rejection has been processed. 

Additionally, you may be required to complete a Fee Status Questionnaire, which will be accessible via your Applicant Hub. For help navigating your Applicant Hub and information about the Fee Status Questionnaire, please consult the links below. 

Post online application help 

Fee Status questionnaire 

When you connect to your Applicant Hub you will see a message that tells you either that we are processing your application, that we have enough details to review it, or that your application was placed on hold. 

You should look at the icons under ‘Documents’ and ‘References’:

• A green tick indicates we have verified your documents or references;
• A triangle with an exclamation mark means that something is missing;
• Three blue dots mean that your documents were received, and there is no action for you to take. The team will often validate only the Research Proposal (or similar) and CV before passing applications to academic selectors for a full assessment, and other documents will remain on ‘pending verification’.

Our team will write down messages for each missing document to let you know what we are missing exactly, please carefully read those.

No. While it is your responsibility to make sure your referees provide their letters of reference promptly enough, we recognise that this is not something you have full control over. 

Your referees will receive a message asking them to upload their reference at the same time as you receive the email with your credentials to log in to your Applicant Hub (see answer above, up to 5 working days after you submit your application) and from that moment we would ideally like to receive references within 5 to 7 working days. 

You can find further help and information about references at the links below. 

References guidance 

References requirements 

The formal outcome of your application will come to you through your Applicant Hub only. If you are made an offer, you will need to log in to accept it. 

The offer letter sent to you in the Applicant Hub is the only official confirmation that you have been offered a place on one of our programmes. The offer letter will also confirm whether you are being offered funding. 

An informal positive word from your supervisor is not enough to confirm a place on our programmes. 

If you are made an offer to join one of the CDT programmes, you will also receive an offer letter from your CDT Team, and this will often reach out before the formal offer of admission via EUCLID.

We usually cannot beyond providing you with an ATAS statement of support (where required). The Informatics Graduate School is not allowed to provide Immigration Advice. For all matters related to ATAS, CAS issuance, visa advice and application, you need to consult the Student Immigration Service website and contact them if you require advice on your specific situation. We are signposting some important pages here: 

Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) 

Applying for a visa 

Bringing your family