Postgraduate study in the UK

There are several course search engines available (Targetjobs Postgraduate Study, Prospects, FindaMasters, FindaPhD) which you can use to create a longlist of courses.

To narrow down your options:

• Ask relevant academics for their recommendations.
• Use academic literature to identify active research groups for your specialism.
• Look at destinations statistics for each course, which should be available from each institution. Review Oxford University destination data if you are interested in courses at Oxford, and to see the further study that others on your undergraduate course progressed onto. Search the LinkedIn University of Oxford alumni page for more insights.
• Talk to others working in your chosen sector for their view. Try the LinkedIn University of Oxford alumni page to find and connect with relevant alumni.
• Teaching quality assessments for UK universities are available from the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), and grades of individual research departments are published as part of the Research Excellence Framework (REF).
• University rankings are widely available. For example:
  • Times Higher Education: World University Rankings
  • QS Top Universities
  • Shanghai Ranking

Note that the reputation of the university as a whole may not accurately reflect the reputation of an individual department. Therefore looking at subject-specific rankings for universities can be more informative for selecting destinations at postgraduate level.

Doctoral Training Options

There are multiple options for PhD study in the UK. PhDs may be advertised as specific project titles with named supervisors (most commonly advertised on FindAPhD), where you apply to be the student that delivers that project. You may also apply to study a particular PhD subject at a university (e.g. ‘PhD in Biochemistry’). Here in your application you may express a specific area of interest within your field that you wish to develop a project for, or even submit a more detailed research proposal you have developed. Such applications are commonly linked to a supervisor you have spoken to in advance who has agreed to work with you should you be successful. Such projects and courses can vary in length and funding offered.

You can also apply for structured doctoral training programmes that combine doctoral research with additional training, cohort-based activities and, in some cases, short project rotations or placements. These programmes often bring together academics from multiple disciplines, and sometimes multiple institutions or external partners, to work on common areas of research interest. They can be a good option if you would value a more structured PhD/DPhil experience, if you need additional time and exploration to decide exactly what you want your research project to focus on, or if you want to develop your project within a wider research theme and community. 

From 2026 onwards, students are likely to see a range of names for these programmes which can be searched for when exploring options. Doctoral opportunities funded by UK Research & Innovation (UKRI; the UK’s research funding body) may be advertised through Doctoral Landscape Awards, which support broad disciplinary or interdisciplinary doctoral training, and Doctoral Focal Awards, which focus on strategic or emerging research areas. You may also still see opportunities described as Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs), Doctoral Training Partnerships (DTPs), industrial or collaborative studentships, or university-led doctoral training programmes. Structured doctoral training is especially common in STEM, engineering, life sciences, environmental science, data and AI, but opportunities also exist in the social sciences, arts and humanities. 

Applications are usually made directly to the doctoral training programme, university, department or research institute that is recruiting students. Deadlines may differ from the general graduate admissions deadlines for the host university and are often earlier. Check the programme’s eligibility rules, funding coverage, project choice, supervisor arrangements and whether you need to apply separately for university admission. 

To find current opportunities, search university graduate funding pages, individual doctoral training programme websites and specialist PhD search engines such as FindAPhD. Useful starting points include UKRI’s pages on Doctoral Landscape Award investments and Doctoral Focal Award investments. Non-UKRI funders, such as Wellcome and Cancer Research UK, also support doctoral training opportunities in some fields.

Timetable

Most UK university closing dates for graduate entry are between Christmas and Easter, with many falling in mid to late January. Some Doctoral Training Centres have deadlines that are independent of their host university which could be well before Christmas.

A sensible timetable for the year in which you apply could be:

Summer holidays preceding application: Start thinking about the kind of course you might like to do and review university websites. Make informal contact with potential tutors/supervisors, particularly if you are considering PhD applications. Explore possible sources of funding and make a note of any deadlines.

Michaelmas Term: Finalise which courses to apply for and check detailed application procedures for each. Attend workshops at the Careers Service on preparing applications and start gathering application materials. Don’t forget to look at funding deadlines and applications too. See a Careers Adviser if you would like to discuss how this course of study might contribute to longer term career plans, or for feedback on the content of your application.

Christmas Vacation: Finalise and submit applications.

Hilary and Trinity Terms: Attend interviews, make choices and concentrate on completing your current course!

What you'll need

For most courses you will apply direct to the university using their online application system. A few courses have a centralised application system, notably graduate entry medicine and most teacher training courses (via Department for Education portal), and the Graduate Diploma in Law (via Law CAB). Details differ between courses and institutions but you are likely to need some or all of the following:

• Application form
• Personal statement and/or research objective
• Transcripts of university exam results
• Two or three references
• A CV
• Examples of written work
• Results of standardised tests (if relevant)
• Payment of a fee

Check closing dates carefully. In the UK most applications open during the autumn with deadlines between Christmas and Easter, but some close earlier (and scholarship applications may close as early as October).

Personal statements

Guidelines given vary from the simple “Provide evidence in support of your application” to the more common “Tell us why you are interested in the subject for which you have applied. Describe your academic interests and reasons for applying to XXX”. In general you need to convey:

• Motivation, enthusiasm and a clear understanding of why you are making the application to this particular course, and to this particular institution.
• How your academic background and other experiences have shaped your decision to apply and how the course contributes to your plans for the future.
• Evidence that you have the ability, experience, skills and motivation to successfully contribute to the course, and to complete it.

Don’t use the same statement for all applications.

Need some help? Read more about writing personal statements and ask a Careers Adviser for feedback on your statement before you submit it.

In the UK, the cost of postgraduate courses varies enormously. Expect tuition fees of £4k-£16k for home students and living costs of around £12k per year. International students pay higher tuition fees than UK students. 

Many postgraduate students get funding from multiple sources, for example, money from bursaries, part-time jobs, charitable trusts, private savings and loans. Funding bodies usually have strict eligibility criteria.

In the first instance establish how students normally fund the course you wish to apply for; course administrators and graduate admissions officers should be able to help with this. For general information on applying for funding see Prospects Postgraduate Funding Guide.

Funding sources

UK Postgraduate Masters Loans

England: Loans of up to £13,206 (August 2026 onwards) for study at UK universities are available to UK and Irish and some other EU nationals and those with settled-status, and living in England. These are not means-tested. Repayment begins after your postgraduate course ends, and only when your income exceeds a threshold amount. These loans are only available for students who do not already hold a masters degree. They are not available for students who have an integrated masters as part of their undergraduate study (eg via a 4-year science course) or for masters which are part of a PhD course. For full details see the UK government information on Masters loans and the useful overview of UK masters loans by Find A Masters.

Funding for postgraduate loans is different if you normally live in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. In Scotland funding is administered by the Student Awards Agency Scotland. Student Finance Wales advise on funding in Wales and in Northern Ireland the relevant body is Student Finance Northern Ireland.

UK Postgraduate Doctoral Loans

Loans of up to £31,122 (August 2026 onwards) are available to UK and Irish nationals and some others. These are not means-tested. Repayment begins after your postgraduate course ends, and only when your income exceeds a threshold amount. Doctoral loans cannot be used to top-up funds from other UK government sources, for example a research council or NHS bursary. For full details see the UK government information on doctoral loans and a useful overview of doctoral loans by Find A PhD.

UK Research Councils (for research degrees)

Research Councils are the main public investors in fundamental research in the UK, with interests ranging from bio-medicine and particle physics to the environment, engineering and economic research.

Funding is allocated to university departments or through structured doctoral programmes (such as UKRI Doctoral Landscape Awards and Centres for Doctoral Training), who then nominate students to receive the awards. Most research councils also publish lists of courses and institutions that have received studentships in the past which may be useful as a guide. None of the research councils accept applications direct from students – you apply to the relevant university institution.

Eligibility, particularly in the types of courses funded, varies according to the relevant Research Council. Check the relevant information carefully.

NHS Bursaries

Government bursaries for some NHS-related courses are available for Graduate Entry Medicine and Dentistry courses in the UK.

Disabled Student Allowance (DSA)

The Disabled Student Allowance provides up £27,783 (2026/27) for students diagnosed with a long term health condition, mental health condition or specific learning difficulties to contribute to expenses incurred in accommodating that condition.

Scholarships & awards

Information about available scholarships for each course should be provided by the institution you are applying to. Explore their graduate admissions and departmental web pages, and talk to your potential department. There are also a number of more general funding search engines – none are completely comprehensive, but all are worth a try:

• Prospects: Funding Bodies
• Scholarship Search
• Postgraduate Studentships
• Scholarship Positions

Funding specific to Oxford University

The university pages on funding for graduate students cover the types of funding open to those wishing to pursue graduate study at the University of Oxford. Use the Fees, funding and scholarships search tool to see what financial support you might be eligible for. Oxford colleges also provide funding for their students in certain circumstances.

Sponsorship by employers or other external organisations

Industry-linked doctoral funding may be available through research council-specific schemes, industrial doctoral awards, CASE-style studentships or projects co-funded with non-academic partners. Availability varies by research council, university and year, so check the relevant department and UKRI/university funding pages.

Part-time work

This may be either within the university or outside it. These options may include research and graduate teaching assistantships, which are advertised in the educational press, in specialist journals, and on Jobs.ac.uk. Talk to your department about teaching opportunities. At Oxford and Cambridge you may get work giving tutorials to undergraduates through colleges. Oxford University’s Temporary Staffing Service may also be able to help.

Before organising part-time work as a means to fund your study, please read the university's guidelines on paid work for Oxford graduate students. If you will be an international student, note that your ability to work will be governed by the conditions of your visa: see this overview for details.

Charitable funding

Charitable Trusts are organisations that administer sums of money set aside by individuals or corporations to help specific kinds of people. They may be able to help with costs such as maintenance, fees, books, equipment, travel, childcare, field trips; however, resources are limited, and help, if any, is generally small scale. The charity's aims are likely to be very specific, e.g. they may help according to age, sex, nationality, religion, subject area and so on. There is no point applying unless you are sure that you fit their requirements.

There is no single source of information on charitable funding, so you will need to look a range of resources. Use the scholarship search engines listed above, and the books (available at the Careers Service) The Directory of Grant Making Trusts and The Grants Register.

Funding for international students

International students will find that they are ineligible for some of the sources of UK funding. However, many institutions offer scholarships specifically aimed at international students, see above. You may also find the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA), the International Education Financial Aid, and The British Council helpful.

Books

The following books are available for use in the Careers Service building (please ask the reception team, who will fetch the relevant copy for you):

• The Directory of Grant-Making Trusts
• The Grants Register

Relevant events

Check for dates on CareerConnect

• Seminars on applying for postgraduate study and writing applications for further study take place each Michaelmas term.
• Insight into Academia: programme of lunchtime seminars on accessing graduate study and careers in academia.

Funding search engines

• Oxford University Graduate Funding Search
• Postgraduate Studentships
• Prospects: Search Funding Bodies
• Scholarship Search
• Turn 2 Us - to search for grants and benefits that you may be eligible for.
• Scholarship Positions

Charitable organisations and special interest groups

• British Federation of Women Graduates
• Funding for students with disabilities (Prospects)
• Charity Commission for England and Wales - You can search the Register of Charities by keyword, geographical area or name.

Regional information sources

• UK Funding for Postgraduate Study (UK Government information)
• Student Finance Wales
• Student Finance Northern Ireland
• Student Awards Agency for Scotland

Further information

• Prospects- extensive advice and information for those considering further study, including course searches and funding sources.
• IDP Hot Courses - course search at all levels of study and including part-time options.
• Vitae – primarily for postdoctoral researchers, but also has a section on applying for PhDs.
• Research Excellence Framework
• Teaching Excellence Framework
• Discover Uni - information about institutions based in part on student satisfaction surveys.
• UK Research & Innovation - for links to UK Research Councils.
• Find a PhD
• Find a Masters