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:
Full details of the funding opportunity can be viewed in the call specification and applicant guidance.
Studentships will be 100% funded by the ESRC/ADR UK and do not require department/school match funding. Current tuition fee and stipend rates can be found on the UKRI website. The stipend, and full home tuition fees will be paid for the duration of the funded period.
International students are eligible to apply for all UKRI-funded studentships, and successful applicants will receive a stipend to support living costs, and tuition fees at the UK rate. Please note that individual universities are required to ‘top up’ the difference between Home and International fees, and individual applicants will not be responsible for covering the fee gap.
Process and timeframe
- 28 April: Opportunity opens for applications
- 12 May: Applicant webinar
- 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
- January 2027: Funding decisions communicated to DTPs
- During spring 2027: Successful project leads set own local deadlines to advertise, shortlist and interview for studentships
- 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.
Key Documents/Links
- Call specification
- Applicant guidance
- ADR UK Studentship Assessment Criteria – WRDTP
- WRDTP/ADR UK PhD Studentships 2027/28 Application Form – preview document
- Form A (for DTP Directors)
- Form B (for nominated PhD supervisors only – following initial WRDTP shortlisting process)
- Existing ADR UK flagship datasets
- Up-and-coming flagship datasets
