South East Doctoral Training Arc (SEDarc) studentship

The South East Doctoral Training Arc (SEDarc) Doctoral Training Partnership, funded by the Economic Social Research Council (ESRC), is a centre of excellence in social science postgraduate research training, and is in partnership between six UK universities. SEDarc are offering up to 39 ESRC fully funded studentships across the entire consortium.

Start date

1 October 2026

Duration

Dependent on programme applied for: 3.5 or 1+3.5 years, both options include a 3-month placement (or Part-time equivalent)

Application deadline

Funding source

The University of Surrey and SEDarc

Funding information

Awards cover UK tuition fees and provide a stipend at the UKRI home rate on a full-time and part-time basis. The UKRI has not yet announced the fees and stipend for 2026/27, but for the academic year of 2025/26 the UK fees are £5,006 and the stipend is £20,780 (£21,237 if London weighting applies). This competition-funded studentship is available to UK and International students and includes full UK or International fee waiver and stipend at UKRI rates.

About

The SEDarc Doctoral Training Partnership, funded by the ESRC is a centre of excellence in social science postgraduate research training, and is a partnership between the Universities of Kent, Kingston, Reading, Royal Holloway, Surrey, and Sussex. At the University of Surrey, SEDarc offers ESRC studentships to high-quality research students wishing to study business and management; hospitality, leisure, and tourism; economics; linguistics; politics and international relations; psychology; sociology; or related multidisciplinary topics.

Within these subject areas, SEDarc funds projects in five thematic areas:

Living Sustainably: Climate change, Net Zero, green & circular economies, biodiversity & conservation, ecosystem services, energy, good and resource security, environmental risks, resilience & justice, environmental understanding, education & behaviour change, group norms, managing population movements linked to environmental change, conservation across age and cultures.

Healthy Thriving Communities: Health & social care; wellbeing; health inequalities, public policy, services & goods; poverty; equality, diversity & inclusion; place, identity & citizenship; voluntarism; transport & mobility; neighbourhood dynamics; housing & homelessness; families, childhood & youth; ageing; schools, education trajectories & effective interventions; intergroup interactions; migration.

Inclusive Economics Growth: Mechanisms, regulatory frameworks & policies that promote inclusive growth; macro-economic (in)stability; taxation & fiscal policies; global, regional, place-based & demographic inequalities; education & skills; lifelong learning; labour market outcomes; fair work & pay gaps; sustainability & legitimacy of growth strategies; economics decision making.

Secure, Effective, & Trusted Institutions: Shifting geopolitical orders & the role of institutions; future international trade frameworks; operation, effect & legitimacy of democratic institutions; effective legal frameworks & systems for ensuring justice; human rights; forced displacement; modern slavery; peacebuilding & conflict resolution; diversifying leadership.

Transformative Technologies for Society: Societal shaping & outcomes of AI, robotics & VR/immersive media; socio-economics aspects of transformative technologies, including face recognition, computer vision & natural language processing; digital technologies in education, (mental) health, and justice; societal engagements with cybersecurity; fintech & livelihood strategies; technological change & future of work; digital divides and digital inclusion.

A professional placement of three months (if full-time) forms a key element of studentships funded by SEDarc. Placement partners can be from public, private, or academic sectors. There are 40 placement partners, however students are also encouraged to source their own placement so that it best serves their career goals. Applications will need to indicate potential placement partners.

Eligibility criteria

Open to UK or International candidates: if you are applying as an international student (this includes EU nationals) and successfully secure a scholarship, Surrey will waive the difference between the Home and Overseas fees. Please be aware that there is a 30% cap on international studentships across the entire consortium.

How to apply

It is not possible to apply directly to SEDarc for a studentship, applications for students wishing to be based at Surrey must be made via the University of Surrey.

Your SEDarc application will therefore go through a two-stage process, being considered firstly by the University of Surrey to go forward to SEDarc and, if successful, secondly by the  SEDarc panel.

Steps of application

1. Identify and speak to a prospective Supervisor 

Identify a prospective supervisor from the school of your choice and contact them to discuss your project before applying. You can find them through these school websites:

If you are uncertain about who could best supervise you, please speak to one of the PGR Directors as named below.

2. Work to complete the SEDarc application form

You must submit the completed SEDarc Doctoral Training Partnership application form (docx).

Please refer to the guidance notes (PDF).

Note that this will require input from your supervisor.

3. Apply for a place on a Surrey PhD programme (Deadline 19 January 2026, 4pm)

Please browse our programme listings for a relevant programme. You can apply for a place by clicking the ‘apply now’ button on the relevant programme page, please select October 2026 as your start date. No other entry points are offered with this Studentship

Please submit the completed SEDarc Doctoral Training Partnership application form in place of a research proposal. Longlisted applicants will be invited for an interview.

4. Submit a copy of the SEDarc Application form to the PGR Director of the programme you are applying to. (Deadline 4pm, 19 January 2026)

When you apply to the Surrey PhD, you must also send the same SEDarc application form by email to the PGR Director of the department you are applying to, informing them of your intent to apply for SEDarc funding. Please note, you will need to have been interviewed by your proposed supervisor by this date.

Economics

Hospitality and Tourism Management

Literature and Languages

School of Psychology

Sociology

Politics and International Relations

Surrey Business School

5. Candidates that are shortlisted will be notified by Friday 23 January and will be invited to apply to SEDarc (deadline Friday 30 January, 4pm)

The form to be submitted at this stage is the same you will have initially submitted to Surrey, but at this stage you will have a week to incorporate any feedback from the Surrey shortlisting panel.

Studentship FAQs

Read our studentship FAQs to find out more about applying and funding.

Application deadline

Contact details

studentship-cta-strip

Studentships at Surrey

We have a wide range of studentship opportunities available.