News

ADR UK PhD Studentships starting October 2027

ADR UK PhD Studentships:  Information for academic colleagues

This opportunity is aimed at supporting the next generation of researchers to work confidently and safely with public sector data for the public good. It will build on the current community of ADR UK doctoral students funded in 2023, contributing to the growing movement of administrative data researchers across the UK.

Successful projects are academic-led and should address priority policy questions using ADR UK’s growing portfolio of flagship datasets spanning education, justice, employment, health, and more. Administrative data covers a wide range of topics; therefore, applications which are interdisciplinary are welcomed, incorporating at least 50% social science. Projects must be aligned with one of the White Rose Doctoral Training Partnership’s interdisciplinary training pathways.

Studentships are encouraged to make use of the additional support (such as training courses, synthetic data, mentorship, and access to user groups and experts) provided by ADR UK as part of its wider Training and Capacity Building Strategy.

Supervisors can apply for more than one studentship.

The successful studentships will be announced in January 2027, and following recruitment, the PhD students will start in October 2027.

An applicant webinar on 12 May 2026 will provide more information about the opportunity, along with the chance to ask questions:

Register for the applicant webinar

Full details of the funding opportunity can be viewed in the call specification and applicant guidance.

Process and timeframe

Number 1
Number 2
  • 17:00, 1 July 2026: Internal WRDTP deadline for academic colleagues to submit project proposals for review via Google Form
  • 6 – 10 July 2026: Internal WRDTP shortlisting process
  • 13 July 2026: WRDTP deadline to share the outcomes of internal shortlisting
  • 16:00, 15 September 2026: Application deadline for DTPs to submit shortlisted projects to ESRC
Number 3
  • January 2027: Funding decisions communicated to DTPs
  • During spring 2027: Successful project leads set own local deadlines to advertise, shortlist and interview for studentships
Number 4
  • April 2027: Student nominations submitted to WRDTP Office for quality assurance checking and assessment
  • October 2027: Studentships commence

Application procedure

All applications are submitted to ESRC/ADR UK by the DTP Director, who is responsible for managing the process and for providing an overall supporting statement. 

The WRDTP process will be co-ordinated by the WRDTP Director supported by a sub-panel of WRDTP Academic Quality Committee members. 

The WRDTP will support the strongest applications that fit with the ADR/ESRC call and that support the WRDTP’s core priorities. Full assessment criteria can be viewed here: ADR UK Studentship Assessment Criteria – WRDTP.

The application process is fairly light touch, with a strict character limit of 2,000 on all fields, including the proposal itself.
The WRDTP will run an internal selection process as follows:
1. Supervisors must complete the WRDTP/ADR UK PhD Studentships 2027/28 Application Form.  Please note the strict limit of 2,000 characters for each question.  The deadline for completion of this form is 17:00, Wednesday 1 July 2026.
Please note: this form should be completed in one sitting, therefore it is recommended that you refer to the form preview document should you wish to preview the required information in advance.
However, you do not need to submit a copy of the form preview document as well as the online Google Form – this is solely so you can preview the information required by the Google Form before sitting down to complete it (which must be done in one sitting).
2. All applications will be assessed by a subpanel of WRDTP colleagues between Monday 6 – Friday 10 July 2026. Applications will be assessed in terms of their fit with the ADR/ESRC call and the WRDTP’s core priorities. Full assessment criteria can be viewed here: ADR UK Studentship Assessment Criteria – WRDTP
3. Applicants will be informed of the outcome by Monday 13 July 2026.  The assessment panel will liaise with successful supervisors regarding any further refinements necessary.  The deadline for final versions of proposals (from shortlisted colleagues only) is 17:00, Tuesday 1 September 2026.
4. The WRDTP Director will submit all necessary paperwork, including the finalised shortlisted proposals and a WRDTP supporting statement, directly to ADR UK by the final deadline of 16:00, Tuesday 15 September 2026.

Key Documents/Links

Questions?
If you have questions or would like to discuss your proposal in more detail, please contact the WRDTP Director Ryan Powell (r.s.powell@sheffield.ac.uk).
ADR UK will host a webinar for applicants on 12 May 2026, which will include more information on the application process, as well as an opportunity to ask questions. This is open to all, and prospective applicants can register here.
Queries regarding the call can be sent to ADRStudentships@esrc.ukri.org.