PhD scholarships and research funding abroad
Doctoral study is the best-funded level abroad, and the route to it is different: funding usually runs through a supervisor and their grant rather than through a scholarships office. The approach is academic rather than administrative.
At a glance
| Awards we list in this group | 9 |
|---|
The supervisor is the funding route
- Identify researchers whose work genuinely overlaps yours — not just the department.
- Read two or three of their recent papers properly.
- Write to them with a specific proposal, not a general enquiry.
- Ask directly whether funded positions exist in their group.
A generic email to twenty academics produces nothing. One specific email to three who work on your problem is how funded doctoral places are actually found.
The structures that fund doctorates
- Assistantships in the US — teaching or research, usually with a tuition waiver and stipend.
- Research Training Program places in Australia, covering fees and often a stipend.
- Commonwealth PhD funding for eligible countries.
- Funded positions in Europe, where doctoral researchers are frequently employed on a salary rather than enrolled as students.
The European model matters: in several countries a PhD is a job with a contract, social security and a salary, not a course with fees. That is a different financial proposition from anything in the UK or US.
Doctoral awards we list
9 awards, each with its own deadline, eligibility and the source we read it from.
PhD scholarships — FAQs
2 questions
Often it is fully funded, and in parts of Europe doctoral researchers are employed on a salary. It is the best-funded level of study abroad.
For most research funding, yes. The funding usually sits with a supervisor or a project rather than with a central office.
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Sources
Checked against these sources on 1 October 2026.