The Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Warwick is pleased to announce a competition for PhD scholarships. These department funded scholarships are aimed at any candidate starting their PhD in PAIS in October 2025, or any current PAIS PhD candidate in their first year of study. Because women are under-represented in this field, one departmental scholarship will be reserved for a female candidate.

Eligibility and Entry Criteria

The fellowship will be highly competitive and is open to Home, EU and overseas students. In addition, successful candidates should:

• Have obtained a Masters-level degree in a relevant subject area from a recognised institution of higher education by 29 September 2025.
• Have a strong undergraduate qualification in a relevant subject area, if possible.
• Have the requisite standard of English (see Entry Requirements).

Current PAIS PhD students in their first year of study are eligible to apply.

The Award

There are varying types of scholarship award offered. Some include the payment of full academic fees and a maintenance grant in line with the UK Research Council standard stipend for up to three and a half years, others are for academic fees only.

Successful candidates may be asked, in consultation with their supervisor, to undertake assistance each year within the PAIS department. This assistance may take the form of research assistance, undergraduate teaching (subject to demand and area of specialism), or administrative duties and would be paid.

How to apply

Please note that you must apply to the PhD programme via the university application system before you submit your scholarship application. You are strongly advised to submit your main PhD application at least 6 weeks before the PAIS scholarship deadline (i.e. by 6 December 2024).

Before submitting an application to the university, all candidates should consult the PAIS website for details on how to apply and what we look for in a research proposal.

Eligible candidates who are currently in their first year of PhD study at Warwick, awaiting the result of their PAIS PhD application, or have already received an offer, should submit all of the following no later than Friday, 17 January 2025 (23:59 GMT):

• A PAIS application form. This is a requirement whether or not an offer has already been made.
• Please note that the application form requires your Warwick ID number; if you have not yet received your Warwick ID, please substitute your application receipt number or leave this space blank and email your number to (paisphd@warwick.ac.uk) once you receive it.

• A case for support, to be included within the application form. Failure to provide this document will result in disqualification. The case for support should be around 1,000 words in length and addresses the following 7 points:

  1. An abstract of your research project and its theoretical background; this will be read in conjunction with the full research proposal submitted with your PhD application

  2. How your project relates to previous and current research in the subject

  3. The significance of your project (intellectual, practical, etc)

  4. The proposed methodology and why it is a good fit for your project

  5. How your project relates to your previous research and experience

  6. How your project fits with your proposed supervisor’s research interests and activities

  7. How your project fits within one or more of the Research Clusters within the PAIS department

• Two scholarship references. These references should comment specifically on a) the research potential of the candidate, b) the strength of the research proposal and project, and c) the potential contribution of the proposed research project to the literature and debate in the area chosen. You may use the same referees as for your Warwick application if you choose. These references should be emailed by the referee directly to Fiona Au as indicated below.
• Your academic transcripts.
• Your current CV.

All of the above documents should be submitted to paisphd@warwick.ac.uk by email no later than 17 January 2025 (23:59 GMT).