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DTP and Departmental Scholarships

If you are an undergraduate or master’s student with outstanding academic performance and a strong desire to undertake a PhD at a world-class research institution, you can apply to an EPSRC Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) or to a Departmental Scholarship.

These scholarships cover home and, in some cases, overseas tuition fees and stipends for PhDs in the Department of Materials. They aim to provide research students with great potential the opportunity to work within their chosen research field with the support of a dedicated supervisor.

Please note opportunities for PhD funding via this scheme are highly competitive. Applicants should be confident they can demonstrate outstanding academic performance before applying for this scholarship scheme. Please check the eligibility criteria below.

If you have any questions, please contact Dr Annalisa Neri, Postgraduate Research Coordinator.

Funding

Successful candidates will receive the following financial support for up to 42 months/3.5 years:

Full funding for home/Overseas tuition fees. (UK, Irish citizens and EU citizens with settled status qualify as home students)
A stipend aligned with the current UKRI rate (£21,237 per annum in 2024/25) to assist with living costs (this will be reviewed annually and may be increased in line with inflation).
A consumables fund of £1,000 per annum for the first three years.

Eligibility

Applications are only accepted by talented candidates from UK or that qualify for home fees status. International students are also allowed to apply, but there is a reduced number of funded positions for International students.
To apply for a DTP scholarship you must meet the college entry requirements. Applicants should hold or achieve a Master's degree in addition to a Bachelor's degree with at least a UK Upper Second Class Honours Level.
Prior to applying candidates must have contacted a supervisor in the Department who has agreed to supervise their research project. Here you find a list of projects.
Please note that supervisors are limited to supervising only one DTP student at any time. You can find the list of available supervisors below. Current registered Imperial PhD students are not eligible. The scheme is only open to new PhD applications.

How to Apply

There is no specific scholarship application form. You should submit your application for admission to study at Materials through our online application system and we will evaluate your application based on academic merit and potential.

When prompted for a personal statement the applicant should include a 2-page document:

The first page should be a personal statement (motivations for applying to Imperial and the scholarship, and any other supporting information not included elsewhere on the form that you feel will enhance your application)
The second page should be the research proposal. The applicant may submit updated versions of this statement if required following application submission if shortlisted by the department. The applicant is encouraged to write in the first person.

If applying for the President's Scholarship you can use the same document.
To be considered for this scheme, please confirm in the funding section that you want your application to be considered for the Departmental DTP funding.

Selection process

Candidates meeting or predicted to meet the eligibility requirements will be interviewed by their prospective supervisors who will decide if candidates them for the DTP scholarship. Applications will be reviewed by the Postgraduate Admissions Tutor and the Postgraduate Coordinator.

Candidates are assessed according to the following criteria:

Academic excellence - as demonstrated by past academic results and by transcripts, awards and distinctions. Applicants should hold or achieve a Master's degree in addition to a Bachelor's degree with at least a UK Upper Second Class Honours Level.
Research Potential - as demonstrated by the candidate’s research experience to date, his/her interest in discovery, the research plan and its potential contribution as described in their personal statement and in the departmental justification.
Suitability of candidate - as demonstrated by the strength of references and support from the proposed supervisor.

The performance at the interview, together with the previous criteria will allow for making a final decision. Successful candidates will receive written confirmation of their scholarship. Any offer of a PhD place will be conditional on the candidate achieving the predicted qualifications.

Deadlines

For the deadlines, there are 3 rounds, please refer to the dates as for the President's Scholarship.

Eligible supervisors

Here, you can find the list of Academics eligible as supervisors through the departmental-supported PhD (via DTP or Departmental funding) program. Contact them to check if they are happy to support your application!