phd at edinburgh university

• Schools & departments

What is the Doctoral College?

The University of Edinburgh Doctoral College is a coordinating structure for all postgraduate researchers, supervisors and relevant staff at the university, designed to enhance and support the postgraduate student experience. 

For information and resources for research staff, please see the Research Staff Pages:   https://www.ed.ac.uk/researchers

A Doctoral College Welcome Event for all Postgraduate Researchers was held on 12th September 2023. A recording of this event is available to watch here -  https://edin.ac/3PIYbYv 

A Town Hall Event for all Postgraduate Researchers ran on the 23rd January 2024 - A recording of this event is available to watch here - Recording

PhD stories

Our extraordinary PhD students come from all walks of life and all backgrounds. In this collection of short videos, some of them share their experiences -   PhD Stories

Vision and strategy

The purpose of the Doctoral College, our vision and strategic objectives.

People and structure

About the Doctoral College leadership and management structure, and the wider Doctoral College team.

Personal and professional development and training

Information about professional, careers and personal development training and opportunities for  UoE   PGR  students.

Wellbeing, community and representation

Information on student representation, wellbeing services and opportunities for engagement.

Support for PGR supervision

Information and guidance for staff who supervise research students.

Doctoral training centres

Information on funded PhD training programmes and support for directors and administrators of these programmes.

Essential information for postgraduate researchers

Code of Practice for Supervisors and Research Students (PDF)

College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences - PGR pages

College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine - PGR pages

College of Science and Engineering  (EASE log in required)

Information for prospective postgraduate research students

New student pages

Postgraduate study degree finder

This article was published on 2023-12-07

• Schools & departments

Why study at Edinburgh?

How to apply for a phd, what funding is available for your phd study, visiting research students.

• News & Events

Graduate School contacts

• Useful Links
• School of Mathematics
• Studying Here
• Postgraduate Research Studies

Research Degrees (PhD)

Our Graduate School is supervised by internationally-leading researchers spanning a wide spectrum of topics, making our School a world renowned centre of excellence in mathematics.

Watch a recording of the School of Mathematics' Graduate School Virtual Open Day 20-21

The School of Mathematics welcomes applications to our Visitors Programme from research students who are registered at another university.

MAC-MIGS CDT

MAC-MIGS is a prestigious EPSRC-funded PhD programme in Mathematical Modelling, Analysis and Computation, run jointly by Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt universities, as part of the Maxwell Institute Graduate School, that offers fully-funded scholarships.

MAC-MIGS website

The Maxwell Institute Graduate School in Analysis and its Applications (MIGSAA) is a Centre for Doctoral Training that provides high quality instruction in analysis and the applications of analysis to a wide range of areas. MIGSAA has been made possible by a grant from the UK's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the Scottish Funding Council.

MIGSAA website

Graduate School staff

School of Social and Political Science

Phd international development, introduction.

The deadline to apply for September 2024 entry is Monday 1 July 2024.

We warmly invite candidates to apply for a PhD degree in International Development

The University of Edinburgh is host to a thriving and cosmopolitan community of researchers working on global development challenges. We are home to internationally renowned academics working at the intersection of international development policy and health, science and technology, religion, migration, energy, urbanisation, mining and human rights, as well as centres of regional expertise in Africa, South Asia and Latin America.

We strongly encourage and support interdisciplinary research, and welcome students who are keen to develop doctoral research projects in collaboration with third parties (NGOs, multilateral/bilateral agencies, campaign groups, or media organisations).

Usually undertaken full-time over three years, or part-time over six years, the PhD in International Development is a research degree in which students make an original contribution to knowledge by pursuing an extended and focused piece of research on a topic of interest to them.

You will also be invited to join research workshops and regular open research seminars held by subject areas across the School of Social and Political Science, where you will enjoy special opportunities to meet development policy makers, practitioners, diplomats, and internationally recognised academics.

Interdisciplinary research is strongly encouraged. While based in the School of Social and Political Science, in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, International Development doctoral students will have opportunities to draw from expertise across the University's different Schools and Colleges for the purposes of supervision and research collaboration.

Research training

A wide range of training facilities are available to PhD students. The Graduate School provides a range of ESRC-recognised research training courses for social science students across the University. You are encouraged to participate in taught Masters level courses to assist your intellectual development and support your research. 

The University’s Institute for Academic Development provides a range of courses and events to assist with methodological training and career development.

• Institute for Academic Development

Finally, you will participate with your peers in the bespoke course, International Development Exchanges and Advanced Skills, to improve your research abilities. These combine to enable you to acquire a broad set of academic and transferable skills during your time with us.

Besides the training activities and academic opportunities discussed in the programme overview, you will receive regular one-to-one thesis supervision from two supervisors with expertise in your research areas.

The supervisors will offer expert advice through the entire research process, including the choice of research training courses, refining the research design, conducting field research, data analysis, writing up the thesis, publishing the findings and moving on to the next stage in the student's career. You will meet with your supervisors on a regular basis to discuss the progress of your thesis, but will also find support from the wider academic community and peers, who you will engage with at regular seminars.

Focused supervision in International Development is generally drawn from academic staff associated to:

• the Centre of African Studies
• social anthropology
• social policy
• politics and international relations

However, in line with the emphasis on interdisciplinary research, supervision teams may comprise faculty from across the University.

You are strongly advised to contact potential supervisors before submitting your application. If the University lacks staff who are able to supervise your project, your application may be declined.

You should examine the research interests of staff in the School of Social and Political Science carefully as the first stage in the application process. Once you have completed your draft research proposal you are strongly advised to get in touch with the postgraduate advisor, Dr Aaron Kappeler, to discuss your thoughts on potential supervisors from among the faculty. His contact details are on the right-hand side.

We strongly advise that you only submit the application once you have secured the agreement of at least one prospective supervisor. You must indicate the name of any proposed supervisor who has agreed to the role in the appropriate section of your application. A well-developed research proposal is likely to help your initial engagement with a prospective supervisor. They might also ask you to provide them with written work from your Master's degree (for example, your MSc dissertation, or two long essays, in order to get a sense of your research potential).

You will become part of a vibrant, interdisciplinary research community. Within the School of Social and Political Science there will be a wide range of seminars and events for you to attend and integrate yourself into the research life of the University.

Within the International Development doctoral programme there are additional opportunities to mix with the postgraduate cohort, including the International Development Exchanges and Advanced Skills course taken by first year doctoral students, and a series of organised monthly training and social activities.

Applying for this PhD

• Identify potential supervisors suited to your research interests
• Write a draft research proposal
• Contact the Postgraduate Advisor with your research proposal and list of potential supervisors
• Once discussed with the Postgraduate Advisor, formally submit your application on EUCLID

Postgraduate Advisor

Schools & departments

PhD Study with Edinburgh Neuroscience

Edinburgh Neuroscience currently has about 250 PhD students working on a wide variety of neuroscience-related projects that cover health and disease across the life course, from early development to old age. Our PhD students are an integral part of our dynamic neuroscience community and we are keen to recruit motivated and collaborative students.  There are a variety of PhD opportunities, advertised throughout the year and, in addition to the numerous individual PhD projects offered via our research centres, we have two PhD programmes.

EdNeuro.PhD is our PhD portal

To find out more about studying for a PhD with Edinburgh Neuroscience, currently available funded studentships and how to apply, please visit our dedicated PhD portal  EdNeuro.PhD

Visit EdNeuro.PhD for all our PhD training information

Our PhD Programmes

SPRINT-MND/MS PhD Programme . Led by Edinburgh Neuroscience, Scottish PhD Research & Innovation Network Traineeships in MND/MS’ is a PhD programme in partnership with the Universities of Aberdeen, Dundee, Glasgow and St Andrews and promotes research into all aspects of motor neurone disease and multiple sclerosis.

Wellcome Trust 4 year PhD in translational Neuroscience . Our flagship PhD programme  ‘Translational Neuroscience: Lifecourse influences on human brain health’ is a ‘ training to translate ’ programme for non -clinical students that addresses a current global need by focussing on the advancement of knowledge, expertise and skills in clinical translation, drawing on unique Edinburgh research strengths in diseases across the life-course to achieve this goal.

School of Engineering

> schools & departments, search form.

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING

PhD Opportunities in Chemical Engineering

THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH

• Terms & Conditions
• Privacy Notice
• Privacy & Cookies
• Website Accessibility
• Freedom of information publication scheme
• Website Issue Reporting

• Social Media
•              

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

• View all journals
• Explore content
• About the journal
• Publish with us
• Sign up for alerts
• CORRESPONDENCE
• 02 April 2024

How can we make PhD training fit for the modern world? Broaden its philosophical foundations

• Ganesh Alagarasan 0

Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Tirupati, India.

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

You have highlighted how PhD training assessment has stagnated, despite evolving educational methodologies (see Nature 613 , 414 (2023) and Nature 627 , 244; 2024 ). In particular, you note the mismatch between the current PhD journey and the multifaceted demands of modern research and societal challenges.

Access options

Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals

Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription

24,99 € / 30 days

cancel any time

Subscribe to this journal

Receive 51 print issues and online access

185,98 € per year

only 3,65 € per issue

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature 628 , 36 (2024)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-00969-x

Competing Interests

The author declares no competing interests.

Related Articles

See more letters to the editor

• Research management
• Scientific community

Ready or not, AI is coming to science education — and students have opinions

Career Feature 08 APR 24

After the genocide: what scientists are learning from Rwanda

News Feature 05 APR 24

The neuroscientist formerly known as Prince’s audio engineer

Career Feature 14 MAR 24

Brazil’s postgraduate funding model is about rectifying past inequalities

Correspondence 09 APR 24

Declining postdoc numbers threaten the future of US life science

How we landed job interviews for professorships straight out of our PhD programmes

Career Column 08 APR 24

How two PhD students overcame the odds to snag tenure-track jobs

Adopt universal standards for study adaptation to boost health, education and social-science research

Correspondence 02 APR 24

Junior Group Leader Position at IMBA - Institute of Molecular Biotechnology

The Institute of Molecular Biotechnology (IMBA) is one of Europe’s leading institutes for basic research in the life sciences. IMBA is located on t...

Austria (AT)

IMBA - Institute of Molecular Biotechnology

Open Rank Faculty, Center for Public Health Genomics

Center for Public Health Genomics & UVA Comprehensive Cancer Center seek 2 tenure-track faculty members in Cancer Precision Medicine/Precision Health.

Charlottesville, Virginia

Center for Public Health Genomics at the University of Virginia

Husbandry Technician I

Memphis, Tennessee

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (St. Jude)

Lead Researcher – Department of Bone Marrow Transplantation & Cellular Therapy

Researcher in the center for in vivo imaging and therapy.

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Quick links

• Explore articles by subject
• Guide to authors
• Editorial policies

Fully Funded Biomedical Sciences Education PhD at University of Edinburgh (deadline extended)

The University of Edinburgh is seeking a student who would like to do a PhD on Biomedical Sciences education, specifically on the topic of international and transnational education. The PhD is funded through a partnership with the Zhejiang-Edinburgh Institute in China. The student can have a broad STEM (biology, medicine, sciences) or educational background (or psychology, sociology, etc.), but will be keen to contribute to biomedical education.

The PhD is fully funded, situated primarily in Edinburgh, and open to international students. The original deadline was 3/29/24 but has been extended. Please send any questions about the program to Dr. Jacqueline Dohaney at [email protected]

• Post-Graduation Opportunities
• Scholarships & Funding Opportunities

• Schools & departments

Postgraduate study

Browse the degree finder.

Browse degrees by subject

A-Z of taught degrees

A-Z of research degrees

A-Z of online degrees

Search the degree finder

Your application

Applying to study at Edinburgh.

Checking your application status

How to apply

After you apply

Entry requirements

Our general entry requirements for postgraduate study.

Academic qualifications

English language entry requirements 

Fees and funding

Tuition fees, studying costs and financial support.

Scholarships and loans

Tuition fees

Events and visits

Student-led tours, virtual visit and open days. Join us!

Chat to our students

No matter if you're interested in on-campus or online postgraduate programmes, talk to our current students about their experiences.

Research degrees

Learn about our different types of research degree, how to find a research supervisor, and where to look for funding opportunities.

Taught degrees

Our taught degrees enable you to expand your field of knowledge, or acquire expertise in an area that you haven’t studied before.

Online learning

Study anywhere in the world, at times that suit you, for an internationally recognised postgraduate certificate, diploma or masters degree.

Student life

Accommodation

Academic support

Student views

Advice for ...

International applicants

European Union applicants

Online students

New students

Quick links

Join us on Instagram

Follow us on Facebook

Terms and Conditions of Admissions

Request a postgraduate prospectus

Our postgraduate guide offers an introduction and overview to postgraduate study at the University and includes general information on living and studying in Edinburgh.

Help improve our services

We pay students to take part in a range of research activities to help us work out how best to improve our services. Register your details if you would like to take part.

PhD in Financial Technology

Building on our established PhD in Management programme, we have developed an innovative new doctoral programme in the field of Financial Technology.

PhD in Financial Technology allows students to pursue their own research topic in the area of Financial Technology or apply for specific industry projects, where students will be able to address complex industrial challenges to gain real-world experience.

This programme aims to prepare students for a diverse array of careers in finance. Approximately 50% of students who pursue the industry pathway, can expect to build on the networking opportunities available to them from studying at the international partners' premises during their study and move into a permanent career in that company, or the industry after graduation.

PhD in Financial Technology at a glance

• Study over three years full-time or six years part-time, with an additional 'writing-up' year available to all.
• Develop advanced techniques and in-depth knowledge in the field of Financial Technology.
• Study an independent research topic or participate in fully funded opportunities working with leading industry partners.
• For those on the industry pathway, study both at the University of Edinburgh campus and at an industrial partner's location, with guidance from academic colleagues and industry specialists at all times.
• We encourage our students to aim higher, presenting papers at prestigious conferences and submitting articles for publication.
• Access to a wide range of professional and personal development opportunities during your studies.
• While we invite students from around the globe to join our community, we don't offer this programme online or by distance learning.

Entry requirements

Find out our academic, English language, and application requirements for the PhD in Financial Technology.

Programme overview

View the learning outcomes and a typical training course schedule for a first-year student.

Fees and living expenses

When budgeting please consider associated administration fees and expenses as well as our funding support.

Ready to apply?

Review our application checklist and make your application to the PhD in Financial Technology.

This site uses cookies

We use necessary cookies to make our sites work. We'd also like to set additional cookies to analyse how our sites are performing, to improve the relevance of our ads and to optimise your experience. These will be set only if you accept. To learn more, view our privacy policy .

Privacy Preferences

Necessary cookies.

These cookies are necessary for the website to function normally and cannot be turned off. They are usually set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can block or delete them in your browser settings, but this may affect how the website functions.

Analytics cookies

These cookies allow us to monitor how our websites and services are performing by collecting data about how visitors interact with our sites. The data is collected in a way that does not directly identify anyone.

Marketing cookies

These cookies are set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant ads on other sites. If you disable this setting, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Functionality cookies

These cookies enable us to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages.