PGR Scholarship Competency-Based Assessment Criteria
Our Postgraduate Research Scholarships are highly competitive, with significantly more applicants than available awards (typically a success rate of 5–10%). As such, a robust and holistic selection process is essential to identify the strongest candidates from a large and diverse applicant pool.
To support this, the University has moved away from a numerical scoring matrix for assessing PGR Scholarship applications. Instead, candidates are ranked according to their alignment with the assessment criteria, first by their primary academic department and then by their faculty. Departments further contextualise their rankings with nomination statements that include an assessment of the references as well as the suitability and strength of the proposed supervision.
Assessment Category 1: Person & Preparedness
Competencies may be evidenced through a range of academic, professional, practitioner, and lived experiences, recognising that this is not defined solely by traditional academic pathways. Candidates are not expected to meet every criterion within a category. Assessors recognise contextualised academic achievement when ranking applications by considering:
- Contextual factors and structural inequalities, including (but not limited to) protected characteristics and known attainment gaps when evaluating performance and opportunities.
- Degree classifications in context degree inflation trends over time
Key Competencies:
- Research Capability – Demonstrates the intellectual ability, critical thinking, and subject expertise required to undertake doctoral research to an exceptional standard.
- Researcher Potential – Clear potential to develop into an independent researcher capable of producing high-quality original research.
- Academic, Professional and Practitioner Excellence
- An outstanding and relevant professional or practitioner track record, which may substitute for traditional academic qualifications where these have not been attained, demonstrating equivalent intellectual ability, critical thinking, and subject expertise; and/or
- A high-grade relevant undergraduate degree, Master’s degree, or comparable academic achievement. Academic grades are considered alongside relevant contextual factors and/or structural inequities
- Achievement and Impact – Demonstrates excellence through research outputs, notable creative practice, innovation, leadership, or significant contributions to a field, profession, or community.
- Readiness for Doctoral Study – Supported by strong, evidence-based referencesLink opens in a new window that attest to the applicant’s capability and potential. Candidates should advise their referees that course application references are imported to their scholarship application and should speak to these assessment criteria.
- Research Culture and Inclusion – Ability to contribute positively to ethical, respectful, collaborative, and inclusive research environments.
Assessment Category 2: Project & Place
Competencies may be evidenced through clarity of purpose, intellectual rigour, and appropriate alignment with Warwick, including access to facilities, supervisory expertise and context.
Key Competencies:
- Relevant knowledge may include academic literature, practice-based insights, or other forms of evidence appropriate to the discipline(s).
- Contribution may be disciplinary, interdisciplinary, or practice based,
Assessment of project and place potential also includes a justification of the supervision arrangements from the academic department.
- Originality and Significance – Demonstrates strong potential to make a significant original contribution to knowledge at doctoral level through a clearly defined, relevant, and innovative research question or objectives.
- Critical Engagement – Shows a strong understanding of, and critical engagement with, relevant literature, theory, evidence, or practice.
- Research Design and Feasibility – Presents a coherent, well-developed, and achievable research plan with appropriate methods and a realistic timeframe for completion.
- Institutional Fit – Provides a clear rationale for undertaking the research at Warwick and demonstrates alignment with the University's research strengths and priorities.
- Supervisory Alignment – Demonstrates a strong fit between the project and supervisory expertise, or (for pre-defined projects) between the candidate's skills, knowledge, and experience and the project requirements.
- Impact and Contribution – Shows potential for wider academic, interdisciplinary, societal, policy, professional, or creative impact appropriate to the research area.