BU Research Blog

Are you supporting prospective PhD candidates or know someone looking for funded postgraduate research opportunities?

Applications are now open for ESRC Southwest Doctoral Training Partnership (SWDTP) Studentships for September 2027 entry. These prestigious studentships cover tuition fees and provide a maintenance stipend, with additional support available for research training and placements.

What pathways?

At Bournemouth University, students can apply through the following pathways:

• Psychology
• Climate Change, Sustainability and Society
• Health, Wellbeing and Society

More details can be found here.

Key BU deadlines

📌 16 November 2026 (10am) – Deadline for applicants to submit their proposals to BU for consideration.

📌 23 November 2026 – BU shortlisting and research conversations.

📌 7 December 2026 – Applicants notified if they have been selected to develop a full ESRC application.

📌 12 January 2027 – Final deadline for shortlisted applicants to submit their ESRC SWDTP application.

📌 Mid-March 2027 – Funding decisions announced.

Before applying

Potential applicants should identify the appropriate pathway, discuss their proposal with prospective supervisors.

To apply at this stage

Potential applicants should email the following completed documents to swdtp@bournemouth.ac.uk:

• SWDTP Studentship Application Form 2027 Entry (Annex A) (docx 224kb) which includes your research proposal, the name(s) of the potential supervisors
• Supervisor Supporting Statement Form for 2027 Entry (Annex B) (docx 183kb) which must be completed by the nominated primary supervisor

Please note our preferred format is PDF, each file named with your surname and the name of the document, eg “Smith – Transcript”, “Smith – Annex A”, “Smith – Collaboration Support”:

The key date to remember is 16 November 2026 at 10am, when applications to BU close.

Candidates who are shortlisted to complete a full funding application to the SWDTP will be supported to formally apply to Bournemouth University for their studies.

For further information, contact swdtp@bournemouth.ac.uk.