The 2026 Collaborative Studentship Competition will launch in March 2026.
The Welsh Graduate School for the Social Sciences Collaborative Studentship competition will be launching in late-March 2026. Prospective students looking to apply for ESRC studentship funding to undertake a pre-defined collaborative PhD research project (starting in the academic year 2026/27) will be invited to submit an application by the deadline . Application deadlines are detailed in the individual WGSSS Collaborative Competition adverts. Available collaborative projects will be advertised on this page in late-March/early-April 2026.
As part of the assessment of applicants, WGSSS is very interested in you as a whole person. What this means is that rather than solely looking at your academic achievements (for example, it is not necessary to have a first-class degree to be assessed as an excellent PhD student and to receive funding), we will consider what you can bring to a PhD through your work and life experiences too (which should be detailed in your application in your application form and CV).
The Collaborative Competition is supervisor-generated; you choose from an existing catalogue of projects. This differs from the General Competition. The General Competition is applicant generated; you must propose your own PhD project.
2026 Collaborative Studentship Competition Timeline
| Mid-March 2026 | Collaborative Competition Applications open Available projects will be advertised on this page in late March/early April. |
| April/May 2026 | Application deadline Deadlines are detailed in the individual project adverts Following the deadline; applications are assessed by schools and pathways. Shortlisted applicants are invited to interview shortly after the deadline. |
| May/June 2026 | Shortlisted applications are sent to WGSSS Applications from students for specific projects are reviewed by a panel of the WGSSS Management Board Competition Sub-Group. |
| May/June 2026 | Awards agreed Student applicants will be contacted by WGSSS to provide them with a studentship decision. |
| June 2026 | iDNA Completed WGSSS will arrange a meeting with WGSSS Training Lead to process a Initial Development Needs Analysis (DNA) which will determine the the length of study. |
| June 2026 | Formal offers processed |
| June 2026 | Formal funding letter issued |
Documents required for an application
All applicants are required to provide the following documents to support their application. These documents are required by the individual application deadlines.
If your application is missing any document, it will be considered incomplete and will not be progressed for shortlisting.
WGSSS Studentship Application form
This form must be completed in full and detail your project and personal information.
Academic CV
2 pages maximum
Two academic or professional references
Candidates must approach referees themselves and include references with their application. The reference must detail the applicant’s research strengths.
Degree certificates and Transcripts
Including translations if applicable.
If relevant, proof of English Language Competency
See Institutional requirements for entry
Application process
Step 1 – Choose a project
Available projects will be advertised below, not all universities and pathways within WGSSS will have Collaborative projects available. It advised to contact the lead supervisor for the project you are interested in to express your interest.
Step 2 – Apply to an institution
If there is a project that you are interested in, please make a formal application using the instructions in the advert. Please ensure that you include all the required information and documents in your application. All documents must be sent by the application deadline, incomplete applications will not be accepted.
Step 3 – Application is reviewed
Your application is reviewed by the department/university where your potential supervisor is located. This is to allow them to decide on offering you a PhD place.
Step 4 – Interview and nomination
If you are successful and are shortlisted, you will be invited to an interview by a pathway panel. If your interview is successful, your application will be nominated by the pathway lead to the WGSSS Management board for review. Your potential supervisor will also complete an Initial DNA to assess your training requirements. You will then be contacted by the WGSSS to confirm receipt of your application.
Step 5 – Outcome
Following review by the management board, the WGSSS will then provide the outcome to all nominated candidates. If you are successful, you will be sent a confirmation of funding letter which you will need to accept or decline within 2 weeks. Once you have accepted the offer, you will then be asked to attend a meeting with the WGSSS Training Lead to complete your full DNA.
Step 6 – Full DNA
Successful applicants will meet with the WGSSS Training Lead who will use the initial DNA to help review your existing training and complete a Full DNA to establish the length of award.
Step 7 – Formal offer
Once the Full DNA has confirmed the length of award, you will then be sent your formal award letter and funding letter by the institution you have applied to.
Equality and Diversity Form
All applicants are required to complete the ESRC Equality and Diversity Monitoring form.
The information collected from this form will be used for statistical and monitoring purposes only. It will not be used as part of the assessment process. The information will be used to generate anonymised statistics for the ESRC.
2026 Collaborative Projects
Available collaborative projects will be advertised on this page in late-March/early-April 2026.