Grand Union DTP

The Grand Union Doctoral Training Partnership (GUDTP) provides a huge range of studentship opportunities for Doctoral students at Oxford University, The Open University and Brunel University London. The studentship awards individual students with funding to achieve their Doctorate, and provides support for those students to affect those not involved with the pathway through, for example setting up research groups for all students, going on internships and initiatives such as helping children get into higher education. 

Our Grand Union scholars are at the heart of our community of students and early career social science researchers. We are proud of the support we give this next generation of social scientists, and we work hard to give them every opportunity to develop as future researchers and professionals. Social scientists at Brunel have a tradition of innovatory, high-impact research that drives forward academic knowledge and informs policy and practice. Each year the GUDTP hosts a conference at Oxford University which allows students to exhibit their research, learn from the work of others, participate in workshops and listen to stimulating key note presentations.

• Studentships supported by the United Kingdom Research and Innovation are open to Home, EU and International students.
• Students must reside in the UK during their studies to receive United Kingdom Research and Innovation funding
• The studentships are highly competitive with two stages of selection: first selection at Brunel and then the second stage at the Doctoral Training Partnership level
• Applicants are normally expected to hold a Masters degree and a minimum IELTS 7 for international students

Overview
Before applying to ESRC, please note that all ESRC awards are subject to the ESRC and UKRI Terms and Conditions. Please ensure that you're familiar with them. They're set out on the ESRC website.

If you already know the name of a potential supervisor, you may contact them directly. Alternatively, you can email the following subject contacts, giving them a brief idea of what your PhD proposal is on. They'll forward your details to appropriate members of staff within the subject teams and someone will get back to you discuss further. 

For further enquiries contact louise.mansfield@brunel.ac.uk. Administrative enquiries should be directed to studentships@brunel.ac.uk

How to apply
First complete the Grand Union DTP ESRC Application Form 2027 Please don't complete the course PhD application via the online portal just yet. This will be done once a decision on the studentship has been made. See more details about our recruitment process for Grand Union DTP students.

1. 2000 word research proposal including references.
2. Two written references, they should have a good knowledge of your academic record to date and your plans for the research project. They should be in a position to judge your suitability and preparedness for doctoral study. Only one of your two referees can be a member of your proposed (or actual) supervisory team. You may ask the supervisor of your Masters dissertation to be one of your referees. It's not necessary for either of your referees to be a member of your supervisory team unless you have already started your PhD, in which case we would expect one of your references to be from your supervisor. References must include:
   1. 1. the referee’s name
      2. their relationship to you and,
      3. comment on your previous performance/achievements.
3. Your up-to-date CV.
4. Your single A4 page, single-spaced personal statement setting out why you are interested in undertaking this project.
5. Your degree certificate(s) and transcript(s)
6. Evidence of your English language capability to IELTS 7.0 or equivalent, if appropriate
7. Completed Equal Opportunities form Grand Union DTP Equal Opportunities 2026-27.

Data protection
Your information will be treated as strictly confidential and handled in accordance with the provisions of the GDPR. For more information please see the UKRI privacy notice.

Please email all completed documents to studentships@brunel.ac.uk with the subject header Education or wellbeing ESRC Studentship application.

Please note that Interviews for studentships will be required. Applicants are advised to be available should they be called for interview.

For advice of an academic nature, please contact Associate Director and pathway Lead Prof Louise Mansfield louise.mansfield@brunel.ac.uk for health and wellbeing, and emma.wainwright@brunel.ac.uk for Education.

For all other enquiries, please contact studentships@brunel.ac.uk 

Fees
Full fees at the current home rate for the length of the studentship, irrespective of your fee status. Brunel has waived the difference between Home and International fee level so if you're an international student, you won't be charged the difference.

Stipend
A stipend including London Weighting. Check the current stipend amount on the UKRI website.

The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) also offers applications to its Postdoctoral Fellowship (PDF) scheme aimed at providing a career development opportunity for those in the immediately postdoctoral stage of their career, to provide the opportunity to consolidate their PhD through developing publications, their networks, and their research and professional skills. 

The PDF call forms part of ESRC’s strategy to support early career researchers and will be delivered through our national network of Doctoral Training Partnerships (DTPs) which encompasses 73 research organisations across the UK. 

The fellows must be located on an accredited DTP pathway. Through being embedded within a high-quality environment for research and training, the fellows will have the opportunity to undertake a varied programme of activities supporting their continued development for careers both within and outside of academia. 

DTPs will have their own procedures in place to peer review the proposals and make funding decisions on behalf of ESRC. 

ESRC PostDocs Call is currently OPEN 

The objective of these calls is to provide support to those who are within 12 months of completing their PhD, to support them in consolidating their PhD, and preparing them for the next stage of their research careers. For the majority this is likely to be a research career in academia; however, those with a clearly articulated programme of activities to support their transition to a research career outside of academia (eg a researcher in public, private, or civil society organisations) will also be considered. 

Proposals are welcome from single or multi-disciplinary backgrounds but the fellowship activities must be aligned to one of the Grand Union DTP's 24 thematic pathways and based at least 50% within the social sciences.

Grants will cover salary costs, and candidates can apply for up to £7500 to support mentoring costs and additional research activity (e.g. travel conference attendance, training, and fieldwork). As a general guide, mentor costs will be around £3,000 and candidates can apply for around £4,500 for additional activity. 

How to apply

You must complete the EOI Application Form, along with the following: 

1. CV - Maximum of two pages -  size 11 font
2. Case for Support - Maximum of 2 pages - size 11 font

You can find guidance on how to structure your CV and case for support within the Application Form.

Guidance on the Scheme is listed in the ESRC Call specification 2027 and ESRC FAQs 2027

Internal deadline is 5pm on 29 January 2027 - the EOI must be sent to Prof Louise Mansfield (Health and Wellbeing) or Prof Emma Wainwright (Education) with cc to studentships@brunel.ac.uk 

Fellows’ actual programmes or proposed programme of activities should reflect their prior knowledge and experience and be designed to support their longer-term research career aspirations. Activities could include but are not limited to: 

• Produce publications in order to help establish track record.
• Engage with a range of different audiences to communicate research findings.
• Build networks to develop impact opportunities and inform and support further development.
• Collaborate with users through an internship or placement to help develop professional and transferrable skills and understanding of users’ organisations, provided they are an integral part of the fellowship.
• Further training to improve research and related skills.
• Developing funding proposals.
• Carry out further limited research (up to 25% of the programme of work) related to their PhD
• Teaching, if this is aligned with the wider purposes of the fellowship (up to a maximum of six hours per week).
• Research visits to internationally leading research organisations – either in the UK or abroad – for the purposes of research collaboration, training, and/or access to data or other resources not available at the applicant’s host organisation.