100 PhD Scholarships in United Kingdom for International Students
Find PhD scholarships in the United Kingdom for international students pursuing advanced research at leading British universities. This scholarship search highlights doctoral funding opportunities that may cover tuition fees, living stipends, research expenses, training, and conference support, including the UK Research and Innovation PhD Scholarship, President’s PhD Scholarships at Imperial College London, Chancellor’s International Scholarships at the University of Warwick, and Edinburgh Doctoral College Scholarships. Prospective researchers in computing can also review PhD Scholarships in the School of Computer Science at the University of Birmingham. Compare eligibility requirements, funding benefits, participating universities, and application deadlines to identify a UK PhD scholarship aligned with your research interests and doctoral goals. If you are interested, check out the available courses for international students!
Total Scholarships
100
Across All Degrees
Fully Funded
37
Tuition + Living Costs
Full Tuition
11
Tuition
Recipient Stories
40
Real People, Real Outcomes
Filter
Most Featured Scholarships — PhD in United Kingdom
Ranked by recipients who shared their story
| Degree level | Recipients |
|---|---|
| Ph.D. | 27 |
Scholarship Recipients and Featured Scholarships
| Recipients per nationality | Nationalities / reported countries of origin |
|---|---|
| 6 | Pakistan |
| 3 | Nigeria |
| 2 | Bangladesh, Brazil, India, Spain |
| 1 | Hong Kong SAR, China, Iran, Lesotho, Malaysia, Uganda |
| Subject category | Recipients |
|---|---|
| Engineering and Technology | 4 |
| Natural Sciences and Mathematics | 4 |
| Computer Science and Data Science | 3 |
| Medicine and Health | 3 |
| Social Sciences | 3 |
| Business and Economics | 1 |
| Education | 1 |
| Scholarship | Recipients |
|---|---|
| Commonwealth PhD Scholarships | 4 |
| Gates Cambridge Scholarship | 4 |
| Chancellor’s International Scholarship — University of Warwick | 2 |
| Cancer Research UK Scholarship | 1 |
| Chancellor’s International Scholarship | 1 |
| College grants at University of Cambridge | 1 |
| Coventry University fully funded PhD scholarship | 1 |
| La Caixa Foundation Scholarship | 1 |
| MRC DiMeN DTP | 1 |
| MSCA MISSION-CCS Doctoral Network funding (UKRI Horizon Europe guarantee) | 1 |
| Recipient | Scholarship | Institution and destination | Funded degree/program |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keneuoe Maliehe — Lesotho | UKRI EPSRC Studentship; University of Nottingham International Scholarship | University of Nottingham; United Kingdom | Ph.D. in Geospatial Systems, with Earth observation research |
| Zohaib — Pakistan | Commonwealth PhD Scholarship | Heriot-Watt University; United Kingdom | Ph.D. in Functional photocatalytic textile materials |
| Yue Chern Lim (est. from 2025) — Malaysia | MRC DiMeN DTP | University of York; United Kingdom | Ph.D. in Doctoral extracellular-vesicle drug-delivery research; formal degree subject not named |
| Toluwalase Awoyemi — Nigeria | Rhodes Scholarship | University of Oxford; United Kingdom | Ph.D. in Women’s Health |
| Thaís Dória — Brazil | Chancellor’s International Scholarship — University of Warwick | University of Warwick; United Kingdom | Ph.D. in Politics and International Studies |
| Sara Yadollahi — Iran | Vice Chancellor’s International Scholarship | University of Bath; United Kingdom | Ph.D. in Education, inequalities and social justice |
| Md Sakib Hossain — Bangladesh | MSCA MISSION-CCS Doctoral Network funding (UKRI Horizon Europe guarantee) | University of Leeds; United Kingdom | Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering doctoral research, amine-based post-combustion CO2 capture |
| José Ignacio Pérez López (2024 scholarship) — Spain | Gates Cambridge Scholarship | University of Cambridge; United Kingdom | Ph.D. in Chemistry |
| Annet Nakkazi — Uganda | Cancer Research UK Scholarship | University of Manchester; United Kingdom | Ph.D. in Cancer Sciences |
| Min Gyu | MSCA PhD Fellowship,RESPIRE-EXCELdoctoralnetwork | University of Cambridge,StemCellInstitute; United Kingdom | Ph.D. in Stem Cell Biology |
| Iqra Ali (2025–present) | UKRI Fully Funded PhD Scholarship | Queen Mary University of London; United Kingdom | Ph.D. in Computer Science (AdSoLve Project) |
| Dr. Andrea Dsouza — India | Chancellor’s International Scholarship | University of Warwick; United Kingdom | Ph.D. |
| Ahsan Ali — Pakistan | UKRI-funded PhD studentship | University of Southampton; United Kingdom | Ph.D. in Photonics, point-of-care diagnostics |
| Abdullah Al Mahmud (from September 2025) — Bangladesh | UKRI Scholarship, College of Social Sciences | University of Glasgow; United Kingdom | Ph.D. in International Political Economy and Development |
| Umer Saeed (2021–2024) — Pakistan | Coventry University fully funded PhD scholarship | Coventry University; United Kingdom | Ph.D. in Artificial Intelligence and Wireless Sensing |
| Faith Mbonongo Banda | Schlumberger fellowship | Loughborough University; United Kingdom | Ph.D. in Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, specializing in Renewable Energy |
| Uche Anyanwagu (started October 2014; defence about two years nine months later) | University of Nottingham Diabetes Unit PhD Studentship | University of Nottingham; United Kingdom | Ph.D. in Diabetes and cardiovascular research |
| Peter To — Hong Kong SAR, China | Chancellor’s International Scholarship — University of Warwick | University of Warwick; United Kingdom | Ph.D. in Psychology |
| Mohsin Ali — Pakistan | Commonwealth PhD Scholarship | Swansea University; United Kingdom | Ph.D. in Three-year Civil Engineering PhD, AI-based cement replacement selection for sustainable concrete |
| Maheera Abdul Ghani — Pakistan | University of Cambridge fully funded PhD scholarship | University of Cambridge; United Kingdom | Ph.D. in Materials Science and Metallurgy |
Funding Reported by Recipients
| Recipient and funded degree/program | Scholarship/funding source | Reported support |
|---|---|---|
| Keneuoe Maliehe Ph.D. in Geospatial Systems, with Earth observation research | UKRI EPSRC Studentship; University of Nottingham International Scholarship | UKRI EPSRC Studentship EPSRC supported home-rate fees and a £25,237 annual stipend in 2024/25. Nottingham separately funded the international-fee difference, reported as £25,000 annually. |
| Zohaib Ph.D. in Functional photocatalytic textile materials | Commonwealth PhD Scholarship | Full tuition, monthly stipend, travel, and research and thesis-support grants. |
| Yue Chern Lim Ph.D. in Doctoral extracellular-vesicle drug-delivery research; formal degree subject not named | MRC DiMeN DTP | International-rate tuition, bench fees, tax-free stipend; visa and Immigration Health Surcharge self-funded. |
| Toluwalase Awoyemi Ph.D. in Women’s Health | Rhodes Scholarship | The Rhodes Scholarship covered tuition, living expenses and travel for study at the University of Oxford . |
| Thaís Dória Ph.D. in Politics and International Studies | Chancellor’s International Scholarship — University of Warwick | Full tuition, UKRI-rate maintenance and a Research Training and Supporting Grant. |
| Sara Yadollahi Ph.D. in Education, inequalities and social justice | Vice Chancellor’s International Scholarship | Vice Chancellor’s International Scholarship The award covered half of tuition fees for 3.5 years. |
| Md Sakib Hossain Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering doctoral research, amine-based post-combustion CO2 capture | MSCA MISSION-CCS Doctoral Network funding (UKRI Horizon Europe guarantee) | Reports an approximately £275,000 three-year package covering tuition, monthly support, research mobility and training resources. |
| José Ignacio Pérez López Ph.D. in Chemistry | Gates Cambridge Scholarship | Full-cost support worth approximately GBP 60,000 per year, largely university fees, with a stipend, visa and health-surcharge costs, and beginning/end travel. |
| Annet Nakkazi Ph.D. in Cancer Sciences | Cancer Research UK Scholarship | Tuition support and an annual stipend of GBP 21,000. |
| Min Gyu Ph.D. in Stem Cell Biology | MSCA PhD Fellowship,RESPIRE-EXCELdoctoralnetwork | Salary, tuition and research-related expenses. |
| Iqra Ali Ph.D. in Computer Science (AdSoLve Project) | UKRI Fully Funded PhD Scholarship | Tuition, stipend, research and travel support. |
| Dr. Andrea Dsouza Ph.D. | Chancellor’s International Scholarship | Tuition fees and stipend. |
| Ahsan Ali Ph.D. in Photonics, point-of-care diagnostics | UKRI-funded PhD studentship | UKRI-funded PhD studentship International tuition for four years, a UKRI-rate stipend for 3.5 years, and a Research and Training Support Grant. |
| Abdullah Al Mahmud Ph.D. in International Political Economy and Development | UKRI Scholarship, College of Social Sciences | UKRI scholarship throughout the doctoral tenure. |
| Uche Anyanwagu Ph.D. in Diabetes and cardiovascular research | University of Nottingham Diabetes Unit PhD Studentship | The Diabetes Unit doctoral studentship provided approximately£100,000 across tuition, monthly stipends, research, publication and conference or travel support. |
| Peter To Ph.D. in Psychology | Chancellor’s International Scholarship — University of Warwick | Full tuition, a monthly stipend for 3.5 years, and a £5,000 research-support grant. |
| Mohsin Ali Ph.D. in Three-year Civil Engineering PhD, AI-based cement replacement selection for sustainable concrete | Commonwealth PhD Scholarship | Three years of university tuition, a monthly stipend and other allowances through the Commonwealth scholarship. |
| Maheera Abdul Ghani Ph.D. in Materials Science and Metallurgy | University of Cambridge fully funded PhD scholarship | Reported approximately £200,000 covering tuition, travel and a monthly stipend. |
| Charity A. Aienobe-Asekharen (2020 scholarship; three-year funding) Ph.D. in Public Health & Health Promotion Research | Commonwealth PhD Scholarship | The 2020 Commonwealth PhD Scholarship, reported as worth more than GBP 100,000, covered tuition, living expenses and research costs for three years. |
| Antonio Tabanera Manzanares Ph.D. in DPhil Engineering Science; hydrogen embrittlement/materials research | La Caixa Foundation Scholarship | La Caixa supported the first two DPhil years, with Clarendon scheduled for years three and four; reported annual package up to GBP 35,000 tuition and about GBP 20,000 living costs. |
Examples of Featured Recipients’ Application Backgrounds
| Recipient and funded degree/program | Scholarship/application route | Reported background |
|---|---|---|
| Keneuoe Maliehe Ph.D. in Geospatial Systems, with Earth observation research | UKRI EPSRC Studentship; University of Nottingham International Scholarship | Pretoria Geography BSc 78.2%, Geoinformatics Honours 68.5%, Maynooth GIS and Remote Sensing MSc 76.3% and Nottingham Geospatial Data Science MRes 68%; bid and client-relations work. |
| Zohaib Ph.D. in Functional photocatalytic textile materials | Commonwealth PhD Scholarship | Textile Engineering qualifications covering fibre science, textile materials, fabric manufacturing and finishing, functional textiles, and materials testing. |
| Yue Chern Lim Ph.D. in Doctoral extracellular-vesicle drug-delivery research; formal degree subject not named | MRC DiMeN DTP | Completed Biomedical Science undergraduate study in 2024; six-month Sheffield Hallam internship, one-year Francis Crick placement and final-year research project. |
| Toluwalase Awoyemi Ph.D. in Women’s Health | Rhodes Scholarship | MBBS from the University of Ibadan , with first-place rankings in professional examinations; hospital internship and a year volunteering in preventive cardiovascular health. |
| Thaís Dória Ph.D. in Politics and International Studies | Chancellor’s International Scholarship — University of Warwick | Bachelor’s and master’s degrees in International Relations; a semester exchange at the University of Bristol and a high-school year in Germany. |
| Sara Yadollahi Ph.D. in Education, inequalities and social justice | Vice Chancellor’s International Scholarship | Clinical Psychology bachelor’s and Psychometrics master’s and PhD; five years as a researcher and psychometrician, followed by a research-faculty role and publications, teaching and research supervision. |
| Md Sakib Hossain Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering doctoral research, amine-based post-combustion CO2 capture | MSCA MISSION-CCS Doctoral Network funding (UKRI Horizon Europe guarantee) | completed the Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering at the Islamic University of Technology (IUT), Bangladesh, graduating with a CGPA of 3.63/4 (First Class). |
| José Ignacio Pérez López Ph.D. in Chemistry | Gates Cambridge Scholarship | Protein expression, purification, NMR and molecular-dynamics experience |
| Annet Nakkazi Ph.D. in Cancer Sciences | Cancer Research UK Scholarship | Biological Sciences bachelor’s at the University of Tsukuba and Radiation Biology master’s at the University of Oxford . |
| Min Gyu Ph.D. in Stem Cell Biology | MSCA PhD Fellowship,RESPIRE-EXCELdoctoralnetwork | Medical studies at Ruhr University Bochum, with top results in the first German state examination; a year of immunology laboratory research for an MD thesis at Oxford during a medical-degree intermission. |
| Iqra Ali Ph.D. in Computer Science (AdSoLve Project) | UKRI Fully Funded PhD Scholarship | Engineering master’s at NAIST, GPA 3.7/4.0; research on Pashto paraphrases, Urdu text detection and multilingual datasets, with COLING/LREC publications; Computer Science bachelor’s, GPA 3.5/4.0. |
| Dr. Andrea Dsouza Ph.D. | Chancellor’s International Scholarship | BSc Biotechnology; MSc Bioinformatics/Applied Biotechnology with Distinction; diagnostic assay work at OmiX; paper-based tuberculosis sputum storage/transport device research at IISc. |
| Ahsan Ali Ph.D. in Photonics, point-of-care diagnostics | UKRI-funded PhD studentship | Biotechnology bachelor’s at Quaid-i-Azam University and MPhil at PIEAS; reported CGPA 3.88/4.0 and research on paper-based plant-virus diagnostics. |
| Abdullah Al Mahmud Ph.D. in International Political Economy and Development | UKRI Scholarship, College of Social Sciences | Economics bachelor’s and master’s at the University of Dhaka ; master’s GPA 3.60 as reported, four research papers, donor-funded policy research and a UN Women refugee-impact assessment. |
| Umer Saeed Ph.D. in Artificial Intelligence and Wireless Sensing | Coventry University fully funded PhD scholarship | MSc in Electrical Engineering at the University of Ulsan , 2019–2021, with standing among the top students in the cohort. |
| Faith Mbonongo Banda Ph.D. in Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, specializing in Renewable Energy | Schlumberger fellowship | Sustainable Energy Systems BSc and Sustainable Engineering MSc, both with distinction; subsequent GIZ Malawi work and university energy-engineering teaching. |
| Uche Anyanwagu Ph.D. in Diabetes and cardiovascular research | University of Nottingham Diabetes Unit PhD Studentship | Medical degree, Abia State University ; residency experience and Nottingham Applied Epidemiology MSc; no international publications at PhD entry. |
| Peter To Ph.D. in Psychology | Chancellor’s International Scholarship — University of Warwick | Counselling and Psychology bachelor’s at Hong Kong Shue Yan University; top of the cohort with a GPA of 3.67/4.00; research-assistant experience. |
| Mohsin Ali Ph.D. in Three-year Civil Engineering PhD, AI-based cement replacement selection for sustainable concrete | Commonwealth PhD Scholarship | Be: Civil Engineering, MUET Jamshoro, distinction; Me: Civil Engineering, same university, A grade; Research: sustainable concrete papers and best-paper award; Professional: lecturer; lab engineer; teaching assistant; Leadership: flood/COVID volunteering, AIESEC teaching and cricket captaincy. |
| Maheera Abdul Ghani Ph.D. in Materials Science and Metallurgy | University of Cambridge fully funded PhD scholarship | Completed an Erasmus Mundus double master’s in Functionalized Advanced Materials Engineering at TU Darmstadt and Grenoble INP before the Cambridge PhD. |
How Recipients Met Language Requirements
| Evidence/test reported | Recipients / total | Examples from recipient stories |
|---|---|---|
| IELTS | 8/27 | IELTS 7.5 (Ahsan Ali, Mohsin Ali); IELTS 8.0 (Sara Yadollahi); IELTS 8.5 (Md Sakib Hossain); IELTS taken (Abdullah Al Mahmud, Muhammad Bilal Qasim, and 2 others) |
| English-language test exemption or accepted alternative | 2/27 | English-medium education or university proficiency certificate accepted (Toluwalase Awoyemi); IELTS exemption accepted (Keneuoe Maliehe) |
| TOEFL | 2/27 | TOEFL taken (Arnab Sarkar, Min Gyu) |
| Cambridge CPE | 1/27 | Cambridge Proficiency Exam taken (Antonio Tabanera Manzanares) |
| English-language test exemption | 1/27 | English-language test exemption accepted (Uche Anyanwagu) |
| University of Cambridge language assessment | 1/27 | Passed (Min Gyu) |
Standardized Tests Reported by Featured Recipients
| Evidence/test reported | Recipients / total | Examples from recipient stories |
|---|---|---|
| Standardized tests optional or not required | 2/27 | GRE optional or not required (Toluwalase Awoyemi); Language test optional or not required (Keneuoe Maliehe) |
What Recipients Pursued After Their Scholarship-Funded Studies
| Recipient | Scholarship-funded degree/program | Reported later outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Maheera Abdul Ghani | Ph.D. in Materials Science and Metallurgy | Reported current work as a policy writer for CambridgeZero and a recent semiconductor market-analysis internship at the Institute for Manufacturing, Cambridge. |
| Uche Anyanwagu | Ph.D. in Diabetes and cardiovascular research | Completed two years of postdoctoral research, followed by general-practice training, clinical research and medical education. |