Applying to LISS

LISS DTP awards ESRC-funded postgraduate research studentships in the social sciences at our three partner institutions– King’s College London, Queen Mary University of London and Imperial College. 

All LISS DTP studentships, Open and CASE Competition, are available either full or part-time (50%) in either 1+3.5 (1 year Masters degree followed by a 3.5-year PhD) or +3.5 (3.5-year PhD) format. 

Our goal is to recruit outstanding and diverse candidates from UK and international (including EU) students. We encourage applications from UK home students who identify of an ethnicity other than white, and/or those who are of mixed heritage who are currently under represented within the LISS DTP. We currently offer ringfenced 9 studentships for home students from under represented backgrounds, disabled students and students with caring responsibilities (sole or primary caregivers for a child or children under the age of 18 or primary caring responsibilities for an adult family member, including a spouse, sibling, or parent).

Our studentships are informed by three interwoven core principles:   

  • Interdisciplinarity: students should engage with challenge-led doctoral research across topics and disciplinary boundaries, both within and beyond the social sciences. Awarded projects must fall substantially (>50%) within the broad social and behavioural science remit of the ESRC. 
  • Data-driven research: students are encouraged to engage with enhanced data analytics and digital competences to exploit increasingly large-scale and complex data for research purposes whether their foundation is quantitative or qualitative;
  •  Impact: students are encouraged to engage with non-academic collaborators, and co-design research and training with users, practitioners, and potential future employers. 

There are two studentship competitions: 

  • Open Competition research proposals are generated by applicants 
  • CASE Competition research projects must have a non-academic partner, and the research proposal is submitted by the academic supervisor.  

Applicants may only submit one application for each annual competition.  Students who are unsuccessful one year may apply again another year. 

Studentship competitions

Open competition

Where the research proposal is originated by the student. The Open Competition enables students to propose their own research project for funding.

CASE competition

Where research projects must have a non-academic  partner, and the research proposal is submitted by the academic supervisor.

For both competitions we offer funding for either a 1+3.5 studentship (1-year Masters degree followed by a 3.5-year PhD) or a +3.5 studentship (3-year PhD) .  All studentships are available full-time or part-time (50%).    Full-time students receive a stipend of £21,237 per annum, and their fees are paid.  (Fees for International students may not be paid in full.)  Additional funding for research costs of around £940 per annum is also available.

You may submit only one application for each annual competition.  Students who are unsuccessful one year may apply again another year.

Slides from the LISS DTP applicant briefings run in November can be viewed here.