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 awards, 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 in minority ethnic groups, from ethnically diverse backgrounds, and/or those who are of mixed heritage who are currently underrepresented within the LISS DTP.
We currently offer ringfenced 9 studentships for home students from underrepresented 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.
For more information on the LISS DTP Core Principles and Vision please go to our webpage here.
We offer steered studentships in the following priority areas:
● Data skills
● Advanced quantitative methods
● Interdisciplinary research which straddles other research council remits
Please also refer to the Training Requirements page, to better understand the kind of well-rounded social science training expected by the ESRC for its funded students.
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 £22,780 (2025/26 rate) 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, placement costs, overseas fieldwork and institutional visits and difficult language training is also available. Please note that LISS DTP awards do not cover student visa and travel costs to UK.
You may submit only one application for each annual competition. Students who are unsuccessful one year may apply again another year.