CENTA Studentship Information

Please note: the application deadline for 2025 entry has now passed. 

All of our studentships can be based at any of our university or research centre partners.

CENTA offer studentships through two main pathways.  You can apply directly to a project, or, if eligible, you can apply directly for one of our CENTA Science Opportunity Scholarships (or, if eligible, both).  The two pathways have different eligibility criteria and application deadlines.

CENTA will not be offering an option for the submission of student co-designed or co-developed projects in the recruitment round for autumn 2025 entry. This will be reviewed for future recruitment rounds.

Have any questions about applying for a studentship / PhD project with CENTA? Visit our Studentship FAQs page.

Our project-based studentships

Our PhD projects are designed by experienced teams of supervisors at our different university and research centre partners. They are designed to be completed within 3.5 years and within the £8,000 ‘Research and Training Support Grant’ (RTSG) budget that all successful students will be allocated. 

You can apply directly to any of our advertised projects before the annual application deadline.  Please see https://centa.ac.uk/apply/how-to-apply/ for more information about eligibility and how to apply. 

CENTA Science Opportunity Scholarships (CSOS)

We recognise that our PhD cohorts are not as diverse as the talented pool of BSc and MSc students that are eligible for our studentships.  In order to address a historical imbalance, it is our ambition to offer up to 3 fully-funded studentships to BAME Home-award-eligible applicants who meet the academic requirements. Please see here for more information about eligibility and how to apply.

To be classed as a home student, candidates must meet the following criteria:

• Be a UK National, or   
• Have settled status, or  
• Have pre-settled status, or 
• Have indefinite leave to remain or enter, or
• Be an Irish National 

If a candidate does not meet the criteria above, they would be classed as an International student.

(For further information please see Annex B of this document from UKRI:  https://www.ukri.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/UKRI-020424-TrainingGrantTermsConditionsGuidanceApril2024.pdf ) 

These scholarships are not directly linked to any specific project, with the understanding that you use the CSOS to give you the flexibility to co-develop a tailored project in a research area that interests you, with a supervisor from within the CENTA network.   

If you are interested in any of the projects that have been advertised, you may also apply directly to that project. Such an application would be independent from your application for a CENTA CSOS. 

Information about how to apply for a CSOS.

CASE Projects 

You will notice that some of the projects advertised on this website are listed as CASE projects.  These projects will provide the successful candidate with research training experience as part of a research collaboration between their host institution or research centre and a non-academic partner organisation. These organisations can include industry, businesses, charities and the public sector. 

Successful applicants to CASE projects will spend between 3 and 18 months with their CASE partner in the partner’s workplace and will receive co-supervision from the CASE partner. 

For CASE projects for the 2025 recruitment round CASE partners are encouraged to make a financial contribution to the project, including any costs incurred by the student when visiting or working within their establishment, the cost of any materials, and facilities not possessed by the research organisation that are integral to the CASE studentship. 

Further information on NERC CASE studentships can be found at https://www.ukri.org/what-we-do/developing-people-and-skills/nerc/nerc-studentships/directed-training/nerc-case-studentships/ Please be aware that the guidance for funding opportunities from 2024 onwards applies to CASE projects advertised on this website for the current recruitment round, not the guidance for training grants awarded in 2023 or earlier. 

Financial support

CENTA studentships are funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and our partner universities for 3.5 years.  Different support is available for “home-fees-eligible” and “international” students.

(For further information please see Annex B of this document from UKRI: https://www.ukri.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/UKRI-020424-TrainingGrantTermsConditionsGuidanceApril2024.pdf )  

Successful home-fees-eligible candidates will receive:

• An annual stipend, set at £19,237 for 2024/25, paid directly to the student in monthly increments
• Full university fees paid directly to the university
• A research training support grant (RTSG) of £8,000, held at their host institution

Successful international candidates will receive:

• An annual stipend, set at £19,237 for 2024/25, paid directly to the student in monthly increments
• A contribution to the university fees at the level of support for Home-fee-eligible students.  Please note that there will likely be a shortfall in fees that will need to be covered from another source. Some universities may waive these fees; please contact the supervision team associated with your project to ask for further information.
• A research training support grant (RTSG) of £8,000, held at their host institution

Please note that CENTA cannot reimburse the costs of choosing to relocate to the UK if you are an International Student. This includes visa fees (for you or your family), Immigration Health Surcharge fees, relocation fees, flights, accommodation, taxes and other expenses accrued as part of coming to live and study in the UK. Please ensure you have considered how you will meet these costs if choosing to relocate to the UK.  For more information about likely costs, visa and other regulations affecting international students, please contact the international student office of your intended host university. 

CENTA Flagship Projects

You may notice that some projects are labelled as “Flagship” projects. These have been selected because the project meets specific characteristics such as CASE support, collaboration with our CENTA3 external partners, diversity of the supervisory team, career development of the supervisory team, collaboration with one of our Research Centre Partners (BGS, UKCEH, NCEO, NCAS). These characteristics are a CENTA priority. 

Studentships associated with Flagship projects will be provided with exactly the same support as all other studentships.