E5 Recruitment ​​​​​​​Frequently Asked Questions

Find replies to your questions about the E5 DTP recruitment process from choosing a project to being offered a studentship.


Supervisor-led projects

For Home Students, we strongly advise you to contact the lead supervisor before submitting your application. This will first give you the chance to check that you have a good understanding of the project, what it involves and if it is well suited to you. It will also allow you to get a feel for the relationship between you and your supervisor, which is very important in a PhD. You will also be better equipped to write a better statement after discussing the project with the supervisor. They might even give you some advice to help with your overall application. Lastly, a supervisor who knows who you are will likely make a better-informed decision when they have to nominate candidates. So yes, put all the chances on your side: speak to the lead supervisor before applying! And the earlier the better.

For International students, it is essential to contact the lead supervisor in advance, as international applicants must be pre nominated by the supervisor to be eligible for consideration. 

Additionally, the deadline for the application falls immediately after the end of year university closure.  Many academics will not check their emails during this period. To ensure you have enough time to connect with a supervisor, we recommend reaching out as early as possible, and no later than the 16th December 2024.

Taking these steps early will greatly improve your chances of a successful application. 


Email is best to first contact your prospective supervisor. Make sure you email the lead supervisor of the project as they will be the best placed to speak to you about their project (the lead supervisor is the first-listed supervisor at the bottom of the online project proposal).

You can start your email by briefly introducing yourself and explaining why you are interested in the project and why you think you should be a good candidate for it. Ask a few questions about the project will show that you have read the project description and will get the discussion started. You should also attach your CV which should give an overview of your study background and research/professional experience.


Academics are very busy all year round and they take some time to reply to your email. However, they have proposed a project and will be interested to hear from all potential applicants, so they will get back to you sooner or later (and hopefully sooner). A gentle nudge can help bump your query back to the top of their busy inbox!

Avoid emailing supervisors for the first time during the period between 23 December and 3 January as this is the annual university closure and academics should stay away from their email during those dates! It is therefore best to get in touch with them as early as possible and ideally before the 16th of December.


All our advertised projects are feasible part-time, but this is only possible for students who DO NOT need a visa (UK citizens, EU citizens with UK settled status, non-EU citizens who have Indefinite Leave to Enter/Remain in the UK). 

This is because the University of Edinburgh does not sponsor students’ visas for part-time studies. 

Please also note that part-time can only be 50% of a full time (no less no more), which is 17.5 hours per week, and it needs the full approval of the main supervisor. You should discuss this with them in advance of your application if you are considering the part-time route. Doing a PhD part-time means that it will take longer to complete (7 years vs 4 years) and that the funding will be spread over the 7 years so the monthly stipend will be pro-rata. These has implications on the Edinburgh Council tax from which part-time students cannot be exempted.

It is possible to switch to part-time during your PhD studies according to personal circumstances. This is considered on a case-by-case basis.


Student-led projects

We do offer a student-led project route and you need first to find a supervisor who will agree to supervise you (and support your application throughout the recruitment process). They will also be responsible for submitting the project for approval before you can send your application. The deadline for submitting student-led projects is 13 December 2024. 

If you are not sure who to approach, you can start your search by browsing the list of academic staff in the relevant school. For example, here is the list of teaching and research staff in the School of GeoSciences. You can also look at similar supervisor-led projects that we advertise or authors of papers that you have read on the subject, or you could ask your current supervisor or colleagues if they can recommend someone. The E5 DTP encompasses all 7 Schools of the College of Science and Engineering as well as the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, so it is also possible to contact supervisors in these Schools. You will find further tips on finding a supervisor and details on how to submit a student-led project on this webpage: E5 DTP Projects | The University of Edinburgh 


It usually takes a few days for us to review and approve student-led projects once they are submitted (deadline for Student-led projects submission is 13 December 2024). Please remind your supervisor that they have to email us to let us know that they have submitted the student-led project as we are not automatically notified via our online system. We will let you and your supervisor know when the project has been approved and will send you a link to apply. You should then apply before the deadline 6th January 2025.


There is no disadvantage (or advantage) in applying via the student-led project route. The process is identical, the only difference being that student-led projects need to be submitted by 13 December 2024 whilst supervisor-led projects are usually submitted earlier.  A student-led project is subject to the same rules as a supervisor-led project and once it is submitted and approved, there is no difference to the eye of the selection panel (they don't know if you have applied for a student-led project or a supervisor-led one, this information is not shared with them), all applications will be treated equally, regardless of the type of project they applied for. 


International Applicants

YES.  For International applicants applying to the E5 DTP 2025 entry, it is mandatory to be pre-nominated by your prospective supervisor before submitting your application. This applies to both supervisor-led or student-led projects. 

Reaching out to the lead supervisor is essential to: 

  • Ensure you fully understand the project details, expectations, and suitability.
  • Discuss your qualifications and experience, allowing the supervisor to assess whether they can support your nomination.
  • Build a rapport with the supervisor, which is crucial for the nomination process and for ensuring a good working relationship if selected.

To meet the nomination deadlines, you must contact the main supervisor of your chosen project no later than 13th December 2024. This is especially important as the application deadline falls immediately after the University’s end-of-year closure, and many academics will not check their emails during this time.

We strongly encourage early communication with the supervisory team to allow sufficient time for discussion and nomination.


Eligibility and Entry requirements

Yes. Since 2020, UKRI has allowed international students to apply for DTP studentships in the IL This means that any student who meets our PhD entry requirements is eligible to apply, regardless of their nationality. 

However, please note the there is a cap on the number of international students we can appoint, which is limited to 30% of our annual intake. 

All applicants must meet the University of Edinburgh PhD entry requirements, which include: 


No, there is no age limit to apply to E5 DTP.


Application stage

Referees can take some time to provide the necessary reference form in support of your application. If you think they might not be able to do this in time, you can change the referee information on your portal until the applicant deadline. If after the deadline, email e5dtp.info@ed.ac.uk with the new referee's information to the admission's team. 

We can accept late references, after the deadline for applications is closed, as long as our assessment process is still ongoing.


An academic CV is similar to a regular CV with an emphasis on the academic/research experience and skills that you gained during your studies, professional experience or activities conducted in another context (e.g., as a volunteer or as a hobby). Make sure you also include technical skills which are relevant to a research environment (computational/programming skills, language etc). We request your CV does NOT exceed 2 pages. 


If you don’t have final transcripts, you should be able to obtain an interim transcript or you can also upload a screenshot of marks obtained to date instead. These are useful documents for the shortlisting panel to see. If you are unable to provide any record of marks for your current degree, this will not prevent your application from being processed, but you should indicate this to us in the applicants' notes via your portal so that we avoid chasing you up unnecessarily. 


Yes, you do need to provide all these unless they are completely irrelevant to your application and you have other degrees that are more relevant and meet the minimum requirement (2.1 undergraduate degree or equivalent). 

If you do not have an undergraduate degree with a minimum 2.1 (or equivalent) but you hold a Masters degree (or equivalent) or have relevant professional experience, we may take these into consideration to accept your application and process it for assessment.


Yes, you can still apply. We don’t need to see a valid English Language Test certificate at the application stage but if we don't have it by the interview stage, we will only be able to issue a conditional funding offer to you. You will then be given a few weeks from the offer letter date to provide a suitable English Language Test certificate.

If you hold a valid English Language Test certificate at the time of submitting the application, please include in your application. If you don’t, we advise that you wait until you know if you have been invited to interview (February) to book a test. Your application will be processed without the English Language Test certificate and this will not be held against you (English Language is not assessed by the selection panels). Please refer to the English Language requirement section which lists the tests that the University of Edinburgh accepts and the minimum scores necessary for PhD entry. 


This depends on where and when the degree was awarded, as well as the language on instruction at your university.  Here are the conditions:  

  1. If your degree was awarded in a Majority English-speaking country as defined by the UKVI, you do not need to provide an English Language Certificate.  
  2. If your degree was awarded in a Non-majority English Speaking country (non-MESC), and the university is approved as listed here and taught and assessed entirely in English, you do not need to provide an English Language Certificate, provided the degree is no more than 5 years old at the start of the intended PhD Programme (September).   
  3. If your degree was awarded in a Non-majority English Speaking country (non-MESC) and the university is approved, but does not teach entirely in English, you must provide evidence that the degree was taught and assessed in English. 
  4. If your degree was awarded in a Non-majority English speaking country, and the university is not approved, you must provide a valid English Language Certificate
  5. If your degree is from an approved university, but you are still in the process of completing the degree (ie you are a visiting student who has not yet graduated), you must have successfully completed one full year of study in English at that university to meet the language requirements.  

Yes, we do need to see proof of your pre-settled status, as it is required to assess your fee status (Home fees versus International fees), particularly if you meet the 3 year - UK/EEA residency requirement.  

As outlined in the application form, you can provide us with your UKVI share code, which allows us to verify your immigration status online.  Alternatively, you can submit a screenshot of the UKVI online account as evidence. 

For more information, you can access your immigration status through the View and prove your immigration status page on GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 


This article was published on