Advertised PhD research projects and other opportunities

PhD projects are defined pieces of research that a university, research council or other institution wants to explore. A project may be fully funded, but not all advertised PhD projects or opportunities have funding associated with them.

Types of projects

Not all projects are the same.  

Some projects are funded by studentships or scholarships. Studentship funding is attached to a specific project, whereas scholarships are usually awarded to an individual student.  

Other projects may be defined but do not have funding attached and you will need to find funding for them. 

Regardless of funding, all projects will have a lead researcher who supervises PhD students working on the project. Lead researchers are sometimes referred to as the ‘principal investigator’.

Funded projects 

Funded projects might be either: 

  • directly funded, usually by a research council or institute
  • in competition with other projects for funding and funding is usually awarded to the project with the most qualified applicant (this is sometimes referred to as ‘competition funded’) 

Projects you need to find funding for 

If you apply to a project that does not already have funding allocated and are successful, you will be responsible for arranging your own funding. There may be scholarships or other sources of funding you can apply for. 

How to find funding

Other advertised research opportunities

As well as projects, we also advertise funding available for research to be conducted in a discipline or area which meets the research aims of one of our schools, research centres, groups or institutes.  

If you find one of these opportunities, you will need to propose your own research.

Proposing your own research

Projects and opportunities in your subject

Projects which are fully funded tend to be in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) and medicine subjects. Research in these subject areas often requires specialist equipment and facilities. This makes the cost of this type of research higher and means the lead researcher will need to secure the necessary funding for it.  

However, if you are interested in pre-defined research in a non-STEM subject, it’s still worth checking what types of projects or opportunities are available.

Where to search for projects and opportunities

Projects and other opportunities can be advertised in different places, including the websites of schools or Doctoral Training Centres.  

The majority will be listed on FindaPhD.com and displayed in the search tool below.  

If you cannot find any projects or opportunities in your area of interest using the search tool, then you could also try:

How to apply for a project or research opportunity

Application processes vary, so you should check the advert for the project or opportunity you are interested in for specific details.

Check application deadlines

Funded projects tend to have early academic year deadlines. You should be prepared to apply before January in the year before you plan to start your studies.

If you need to apply for funding separately, you should also be aware of any deadlines set by funding bodies you apply to.

How to find funding

What you need to apply

Some projects or research opportunities require you to submit a research proposal or contact a supervisor as part of your application. Other projects do not ask you to do this. 

You should check the advert for the project or opportunity you’re interested in for specific details of what you need to include in your application. 

How to submit your application 

Once you have identified a project or opportunity you'd like to apply for, you will usually submit your application through:  

  • our degree finder
  • an application form provided by the project
  • both of the above 

If you are not sure how to submit your application, you should check the applying details in the advert for the project or research opportunity.  

Find a PhD project or research opportunity

Use this tool to search for advertised projects and other research opportunities.

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