SMLC Doctoral Scholarship (2026 entry)

Applications will open to PhD applicants with Home fee status and with Overseas fee status.

The award consists of:

• payment of academic fees for Home fees level OR an equivalent reduction in fees for Overseas fee status students;
• a UKRI-level stipend for 3.5 years, regardless of fee status.

You must also have applied for (or already be an offer holder for) one of the PhD courses in the University of Warwick’s School of Modern Languages & Cultures to begin in October 2026.

The scholarship cannot be deferred to the next academic year. It is intended for full-time study. The scholarship is not normally intended for Joint PhD programmes.

We will look for an applicant of the highest calibre, who has the academic potential and the motivation to succeed in their PhD. Their research will be highly compatible with the expertise available in the School, and we expect the student to actively engage with the School's research culture and our Postgraduate Research community.

We welcome applications in inter- or cross-disciplinary topics, including those that involve two or more languages (multilingualism).

How to apply

If you are an offer-holder for one of the SMLC’s PhD courses and have applied for other Warwick-based scholarships such as the Chancellor’s Scholarship, Chancellor's Interdisciplinary Scholarship, AHRC Landscape Award, Pathway scholarship or China Scholarship Council award, you may be considered for the SMLC award if you are unsuccessful in obtaining funding from these other sources.

• Please confirm that you wish to be considered for the award by filling out the online application formLink opens in a new window explaining why you should be considered for the scholarship by midnight (UK time) 15 May 2025.
• You do not need to provide new references and you do not need to reapply for admission.

If you have any queries about the award or the process, please send an email to SMLCOffice@warwick.ac.uk. Please put ‘SMLC Doctoral Scholarship’ in the subject line.

If you are a new applicant, you must:

• Apply for a place of study (admission) without delay and in any case by 29 April 2026: please see here.
  • You will be able to nominate academic referees via the Applicant Portal. Please ensure that their references are received by 29 April 2025.
  • Make sure that you apply for the correct course code (and not for a Joint PhD variant)
• Upload a research proposal, with a project title, an outline of the context of the research, its aims and objectives, research questions, methodology and scholarly significance; your preparation for study and previous experience; and the fit of your profile and project with our School.
  • To search for potential supervisors in the School by their specialism, click here.
  • Individual staff and their specialisms can be viewed here.
• Fill out and submit the separate online application formLink opens in a new window for the purpose of the award, explaining why you should be considered for the SMLC scholarship by midnight (UK time), 15 May 2026.

We regret we cannot accept any applications after the deadline. If you run into technical issues with the form, you must inform us at the above email address before the deadline.