ESRC White Rose Social Science DTP scholarships
Funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).
The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) is the UK's largest funding agency for research and postgraduate training relating to social and economic issues. At any one time, the ESRC supports over 4,000 researchers and postgraduate students in academic institutions and research policy institutes.
The University of Sheffield is part of the ESRC White Rose Doctoral Training Partnership - a collaboration between the Universities of Leeds, Sheffield, York, Sheffield Hallam, Hull, Bradford and Manchester Metropolitan University - and offers a range of ESRC Postgraduate Scholarships.
The White Rose DTP awards a number of Pathway (Including two Interdisciplinary Research awards and two Stuart Hall Foundation awards for Black British students), Advanced Quantitative Methods (AQM), and Advanced Data Analytics (ADA) awards through a central competition. Funding is also awarded via supervisor-led Collaborative Awards.
The ESRC White Rose DTP has issued the call for nominations for 2026 entry. Please refer to the ESRC White Rose DTP webpages for information about the call for nominations and the award schemes available.
ESRC White Rose DTP Pathway, Advanced Quantitative Methods, and Advanced Data Analytics awards
The University of Sheffield application portal for the ESRC White Rose DTP Pathway, Advanced Quantitative Methods and Advanced Data Analytics awards for 2026 entry will open in early November 2025.
All the awards cover:
- tuition fees
- an annual, tax-free maintenance stipend at the standard UK research rate (£20,780 in 2025/26)
- access to Research Training Support Grant funds to support conference and other expenses
Students may apply for additional funding to support overseas fieldwork, language training and overseas institutional visits.
Applicants must hold at least a UK 2:1 Honours degree or equivalent (a lower classification can be accepted with additional qualifications, for example, a Master's degree).
Applicants applying for a +3.5 award must demonstrate that they have already completed the full research training requirements, either through a Master's Social Science Research degree or equivalent experience.
Applicants whose first language is not English must meet the University's English Language requirements.
Applicants must live within a reasonable distance of the University of Sheffield whilst in receipt of the Studentship (except for time spent on agreed fieldwork).
UK/Home and International (including EU) applicants are eligible to apply for the awards. Further details about the ESRC’s residency requirements can be found on the ESRC website.
How to apply
Applications for ESRC WRDTP Pathway, AQM and ADA awards are submitted through the University's Postgraduate Online Application system. Applicants wishing to apply for an ESRC WRDTP studentship must select a start date of 1 October 2026. This will give you access to the scholarship application portal once it opens in November 2025.
Details about how to submit a studentship will be posted when the scholarship portal opens.
The White Rose DTP application deadline is Wednesday 17:00, 21 January 2026 GMT.
Some Schools have earlier internal deadlines by which they need to have received your application. Please ensure that you have consulted your School so you are aware of their deadline.
ESRC White Rose DTP Collaborative Awards
Selected projects will be advertised from February 2026.
Further information
If you have any queries about the ESRC White Rose DTP Scholarships, please see the DTP website or email pgr-scholarships@sheffield.ac.uk.
For more information about scholarships in general, please visit our Scholarships FAQ page.