College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Research Award (CRA)

Moray House School of Education and Sport offers one fully-funded College Research Award across any area of study within our doctoral programmes, for studies commencing in 2025-26.

The award provides full tuition fees with an annual stipend. The stipend will be set to the UKRI level for 2024/25. The UKRI level for 2023/24 is currently £19,237 for full-time students, or the pro rata equivalent for part-time students.

As a student with us, you will work with some of the most influential academics in your chosen field and learn about the very latest developments in your subject. Those chosen exemplify the high standards the University of Edinburgh sets for its research students and the investment that we make in their potential.

Who can apply

The College Research Award has a high number of applicants, and as a result is highly competitive. Therefore, only applicants who have already secured an offer from Moray House School of Education and Sport to undertake PhD studies as from October 2025 can apply for the scholarship.

Candidates for the College Research Award must be seeking to start their first year of full-time or part-time PhD study in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences within the academic year 2025-26. MSc by Research programmes are not eligible.

Applying and deadlines

Please carefully read the information below before starting your application process.

STEP 1: PhD Application

Your completed PhD admission application must have been made via the University of Edinburgh online application system by Monday 16 December 2024. This means that all your supporting documentation (research proposal, academic references, copies of qualifications/transcripts) must, where available, also be uploaded.

Please liaise closely with your referees to ensure they supply the required reference by this date. If a degree result or test of English competency is pending we can consider your application and, where appropriate, make you an offer conditional upon supplying these at a later date.

Information about our PhD programmes, how to write a proposal and potential supervisors is available on our website, along with a template for writing your proposal.

Only those applicants who have been made an offer (conditional/unconditional) before Monday 27 January 2025 to undertake PhD studies with us as from October 2025 can move on to Step 2. Please note that once you have been made an offer, you cannot update your research proposal. What you submitted as Part of Step 1, will be assessed as part of your scholarship application (See Step 2).

STEP 2: Scholarship application

Once you have secured an offer, you can apply for the CRA scholarship. The online scholarship application form can be accessed via MyEd/ApplicantHub (EUCLID).

When logging in to MyEd, you will need your University User Name and password. If you require assistance, please visit our support and guidance pages. The scholarship deadline is Monday 3^rd February 2025, 12:00 noon/pm UK time.

Statement

In the form, you will be asked to provide a statement. Write the statement by answering these four questions:

Why have you chosen Moray House and the supervisors specified above for your application?
How will your research project add value to the research being undertaken at Moray House?
Why are you a particularly suitable candidate for a scholarship?
What do you expect the impact of your research to be?

Please, note that your application will be assessed by a Panel against the set of criteria which you can view or download below.

Assessment criteria for the CRA and ECDS - 2024-25 (23 KB / DOCX)

Assessment criteria

The assessment consists of two parts: (1) research proposal, and (2) statement (This is part of the application on EUCLID).

Research proposal

The proposal must not exceed 5 A4 pages (excluding references and timetable). Applicants are asked to use Calibri size 11 font size and refrain from changing the paragraph spacing (single, with 6pt after each paragraph) or the page margins.

Research proposal assessment criteria
Score	10-8	7-5	4-1
Format	The proposal demonstrates excellent ability to follow with instructions.	The proposal demonstrates ability to follow instructions.	The proposal demonstrates limited awareness of instructions.
Background knowledge	The proposal exhibits critical and/or reflexive use of concepts and the literature.	The proposal exhibits satisfactory use of concepts and the literature.	The proposal is mostly descriptive, with little ability to articulate a critical and/or reflexive perspective.
Originality	The aims/RQs are extremely original and/or reflexive and have the potential to make an outstanding contribution to the field. The research is underpinned with a clear rationale.	The aims/RQs are original and/or reflexive and have the potential to make a good contribution to the field. The research is underpinned with a rationale, though it may not always be clear.	The aims/RQs offer little originality/reflexivity. The research is not underpinned with a rationale.
Planning	The proposal includes a coherent, effective, and doable methodology.	The proposal includes a clear, effective, and doable methodology.	The proposal lacks a methodology that aligns with the aims, RQs; it may prove problematic at the level of implementation.
Discourse	The proposal is effectively organised and written. The applicant demonstrates excellent knowledge and use of general and specific academic vocabulary.	The proposal is satisfactorily organised and written. The applicant demonstrates knowledge and use of general and specific academic vocabulary.	The proposal lacks textual organisation. The applicant demonstrates little awareness of general and specific academic vocabulary.

Statement assessment criteria
Score	5-4	3-2	1
Discourse	The statement is extremely coherent.	The statement is coherent.	The statement lacks coherence.
Impact	The applicant demonstrates excellent awareness of the academic & societal impact of their proposal.	The applicant demonstrates awareness of the academic & societal impact of their proposal.	The applicant demonstrates little awareness of the academic & societal impact of their proposal.

Notification

Decisions will be made by May 2025.

Tips for writing a successful proposal

Your proposal should provide insight into what you plan to research, how you will conduct your research, and the contribution(s) it will make. At this stage, your proposal provides evidence of your ability to write, think, create, and argue. It also helps indicate how your research will fit into the institution and its goals.

A strong proposal:

Contains a clear proposition and/or question
Sets up outcomes that can be delivered
Contains several propositions which are then connected to the structure
Is intelligible to non-experts
Has a relevant audience
Demonstrates critical thinking

Remember to follow the template form.