School of Media and Communication PhD Scholarships 2026/2027

Three highly competitive scholarships are available in the School of Media and Communication and provide full fees with a maintenance allowance which rises annually in line with UKRI rates (currently 20,780 GBP in 2025/26) for 3.5 years. <br /> <br /> These scholarship opportunities are open to UK and international applicants. One award will be for a Home/UK candidate and two awards for International candidates. <br /> <br /> These scholarships are available for a 1 October 2026 or a 1 February 2027 start date.<br />

<p>These fully-funded PhD places provide exciting opportunities to pursue postgraduate research in a range of fields relating to media and communication. </p> <p>The School of Media and Communication invites applications from prospective postgraduate researchers who wish to commence study for a PhD in the academic year 2026/27.</p> <p>The awards are open to full-time or part-time candidates (UK only) who have been offered a place on a PhD degree at the School of Media and Communication. We especially welcome applications that connect to the School's core research areas of global communication, journalism, political communication, media industries and cultural production, gender and media, race and media, digital cultures, and visual media and communication.</p> <p>The School of Media and Communication's research is multidisciplinary, theoretically innovative and socially relevant. A vibrant community of PhD students is an essential part of our research culture.</p> <p>Researchers at the School are involved in extensive networks of collaboration with academic institutions, the public sector and media industries, both within the UK and across the world.</p> <p>We are a top Media and Communication School and 88% of our research outputs is considered "world leading" or "internationally excellent", according to the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF). The School is one of the leading media and communication studies institutions, ranked 4th in the QS ranking 2022 of institutions in the UK (22 world-wide) and ranked 6th in the UK for communication and media studies by the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2021. Since 2016, Media and Communication is one of nine Schools in the newly constituted Faculty of Arts, Humanities, and Cultures. Research in the School has been organised into eight themes: global communication, journalism, political communication, media industries and cultural production, gender and media, digital cultures, and visual media and communication. We combine social science and humanities approaches, and bring together economic, political, historical, cultural and technological perspectives. </p> <p>Our thriving PhD community is fully integrated into the School research culture. PhD students are treated as much as possible as academic colleagues, acting as co-convenors of Research Groups, attending and contributing to job presentations, and sharing kitchen/social space with academic staff. Our PhD students consistently present their work at national and international conferences (including ICA, IAMCR, and ECREA). The School organises weekly seminars during semesters addressing the full range of social science and historical research methods. These are delivered by School academic staff, allowing PhD students to become familiar with the approaches of a range of academics beyond their supervisory team, and across the School’s Research Themes. PhD students participate fully in research group meetings, presenting their work, suggesting readings, engaging in debate and discussion, and in some cases acting as co-convenors. PhD students organise an annual academic conference, with support and mentoring from academics. This allows them to learn organisation and networking skills, and for those taking part to develop presentation and communication skills.</p>

<p><strong>Duration and Value of the Award</strong></p> <ul> <li>The award provides full academic fees and a maintenance grant (£20,780 in Session 2025/26) for full-time study, part-time will be pro-rata. This amount increases per annum in line with the UKRI rate. Full-time awards provide full fees for 3 years and a maintenance award for 3.5 years (Part-time awards are pro-rata).</li> <li>Please be aware that any expenses related to the relocation of international students to the UK (visa, insurance, NHS fees, flights, etc) would be their responsibility and is not covered by this award.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Eligibility Criteria</strong></p> <ul> <li>Applications are open to either International or Home (UK) applicants. One award will be for a Home/UK candidate and two awards for International candidates.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Other Conditions</strong></p> <ul> <li>These scholarships are available for a 1 October 2026 or a 1 February 2027 start date.</li> <li>Candidates who have previously been awarded a PhD or are currently registered on a PhD are excluded from applying. Those who were previously studying for a PhD but did not complete may be considered.</li> <li>The awards are available for new Postgraduate Researchers undertaking full-time or part-time research study leading to the degree of PhD. </li> <li>Applicants must live within a reasonable distance of the University of Leeds whilst in receipt of this Scholarship.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Selection Process </strong></p> <ul> <li>The deadline to be considered for the School of Media and Communication scholarship is <strong>Friday 13^th March 2026</strong>. Before you can apply for this scholarship, you will need to apply for your study place and have your 9-digit student identification number. We strongly advise you to <strong>submit your study application at least 2 weeks before the scholarship deadline</strong> to allow the Admissions team time to process your application. </li> <li>All scholarship applications will be considered after the deadline. Only complete applications will be considered.</li> <li>The final list of awards are based on academic merit and no other factors such as financial hardship are taken into account.</li> <li>Applicants will be e-mailed within 8 weeks of the deadline to confirm the outcome.</li> <li>The University may publish the names of the successful applicants within the University and externally on the University website within 8 weeks of the relevant scholarship closing date.</li> <li>Please note that whilst you may be successful in securing an academic offer for any project specifically linked to this funding opportunity, this does not mean that you have been successful in securing an offer of funding. Funding is awarded on a competitive basis.</li> </ul>

<p><strong>Stage 1</strong></p> <p>First, apply for a research place of study through the<a href="https://prod.banner.leeds.ac.uk/ssb/bwskalog_uol.P_DispLoginNon"> online application form</a>. Please state clearly that the funding you wish to be considered for is the “School of Media and Communication PhD Scholarship”. You will be expected to meet our <a href="https://ahc.leeds.ac.uk/media-research-degrees/doc/apply-13">eligiblity criteria</a> for PhD candidates. </p> <p>In order to be considered for the scholarship, you must submit all required supporting documents for your application for PhD study. Please see our “<a href="https://ahc.leeds.ac.uk/media-research-degrees/doc/apply-13">How to apply</a>” page for more information.</p> <p>Any study applications that are not accompanied by the documents requested by the deadline will not be considered for the award.</p> <p>We strongly recommend that you apply for your place of study by <strong>27^th February</strong> to ensure you receive your student ID number and the Admissions team can process your application ahead of the scholarship deadline. </p> <p>Once you have received your 9-digit student ID number (SID), please move onto stage 2 of the application process.</p> <p><strong>Stage 2</strong></p> <p>Apply for the School of Media and Communication PhD Scholarships by completing the online<a href="https://app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/leeds/school-of-media-and-communication-phd-scholarship-2026-27"> Scholarship Application Form.</a> You must submit your scholarship application by <strong>17:00 (UK time) on 13^th March 2026.</strong></p> <ul> <li>Please note that an unsuccessful application for this scholarship does not exclude you from applying for other research study opportunities or scholarships offered by the University of Leeds.</li> <li>Please note that, due to the large volume of applications, the University of Leeds will not enter into any correspondence regarding the progress of an application until the outcome is known.</li> <li>If English is not your first language, you must provide evidence that you meet the University's minimum English language requirements (below).</li> </ul> <p><em>As an international research-intensive university, we welcome students from all walks of life and from across the world. We foster an inclusive environment where all can flourish and prosper, and we are proud of our strong commitment to student education. Across all Faculties we are dedicated to diversifying our community and we welcome the unique contributions that individuals can bring, and particularly encourage applications from, but not limited to Black, Asian, people who belong to a minority ethnic community, people who identify as LGBT+ and people with disabilities. Applicants will always be selected based on merit and ability.</em></p>

Applicants to this scholarship in the School of Media and Communication should normally have a first-class or at least a good upper second-class undergraduate degree. A Masters degree is not a requirement but your application is seen more favourably if you have one - ideally you will have achieved a distinction or at least a merit, especially in your Masters dissertation. Applicants who are uncertain about the requirements for a particular research degree are advised to contact the Graduate School Admissions Office prior to making an application.

The minimum English language entry requirement for postgraduate research study in the School of Media and Communication is an IELTS score of 6.5, with a writing component of 6.5 and no component less than 6.0. The test must be dated within two years of the start date of the course in order to be valid.

<p>For further information please contact the PGR Admissions team on ahcpgradmissions@leeds.ac.uk. </p>