E4 Recruitment ​​​​​​​Frequently Asked Questions

It is very strongly advised that you speak to 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 able 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.

Since the deadline for application falls immediately after the end of year university closure, many academics will not be looking at their email during that time off so it is best to get in touch with them as early as possible and before the 15th of December.

See below our tips for contacting your prospective supervisor.

Email is best to first contact your prospective supervisor. Make sure you email the primary supervisor of the project as they will be the best placed to speak to you about the project (the primary 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. Asking a few questions about the project will show that you have read the project description as well and will get the discussion started. You should also attach a CV which should give an overview of your study background and research/professional experience.

We include below an email template which you can use if you wish to, in order to contact the supervisor for the first time.

Academics are very busy all year round and it might be that 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 roughly between 21 December and 4 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 before the 15th of December.

All our advertised projects are feasible part-time, but this is only possible for students who will 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. It is a good idea to discuss this with them in advance of your application. 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 halved. 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 looked at on a case-by-case basis.

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 15 December. 

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 E4 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: E4 DTP Projects | The University of Edinburgh 

Watch our Applicant Journey videos to learn how some of our students chose the project they applied for: E4 Applicants Journey Testimonies | The University of Edinburgh

It usually takes a few days for us to review and approve student-led projects once they are submitted. Please remind your supervisor that they have to email us to let us know it is submitted as we are not automatically notified via our online system. We will let you and your supervisor know that the project has been approved and will send you a link to apply. We will then await your application before the applicant deadline in January.

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 15 December whilst supervisor-led projects are usually submitted in October.  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 won't even know that you have applied for a student-led project vs a supervisor-led one because we don't give that information to them) so your application will not be treated differently from the other ones.  On your application form, you can choose not to mention it (in particular in your statements) but if you want to you can and if so, please know that this is not part of our assessment criteria (see below what they are).

Yes. The UKRI has opened applications to international students in 2020 and therefore any student complying with our PhD entry requirements (see below) is now eligible to apply for a DTP studentship in the UK, whichever citizenship they have. However, we have a cap on the number of international students we can appoint, which is 30% of our annual intake. In E4, this means that we cannot appoint more than 7 international students per year over a cohort of 23 students overall.

All applicants still need to comply with our PhD entry requirements, which are university-wide: in the University of Edinburgh, they need to hold a minimum 2.1 undergraduate degree and must prove sufficient English Language proficiency. 

There is no age limit to apply to the E4 DTP.

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 e4dtp.info@ed.ac.uk with the new referee's information and the admission team will update your portal for you. We will accept late references, even after the deadline, 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.) CVs must not exceed 2 pages. 

If you don’t have final transcripts, you might 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 can 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 attach it. If you don’t, we advise that you wait until you know if you have been invited to interview (early 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 of our Entry and Eligibility Criteria webpage, which lists the tests that the University of Edinburgh accepts and the minimum scores necessary for PhD entry. 

That depends on where and when the degree was awarded.  

• If it was in a Majority English-speaking country as defined by the UKVI, then you don’t need to send us an English Language Certificate.  

• If the degree was obtained in a Non-majority English Speaking country AND in an approved university as listed here and if it is not older than 3.5 years at the projected start of your PhD (September), then you don’t need to send us an English Language Certificate.  

• If the degree was obtained in a Non-majority English Speaking country AND in an approved university as listed here but will be older than 3.5 years at the projected start of your PhD (September), then you will need to send us an English Language Certificate before we can appoint you.  

• If your degree was issued in a Non-majority English Speaking country but in a university which is not on the list of approved universities, you do need to send an English Language certificate before we can appoint you. 

There is a waiver scheme for English Language Certificates to which students can apply if they wish, but this requires very specific circumstances, such as proving that you have worked in an English-speaking environment since the award of your degree in a non-approved university. This is authorised at College-level and not at admission team level. Please email us if you would like to apply for a waiver. 

Yes, we do because it is needed to assess your fees category (Home fees versus international fees if you also meet the 3-year UK/EEA residency requirement). As explained on the application form, you can send us the UKVI share code so that we can check your online immigration status and/or a screenshot of your UKVI online account. This is accessible at: View and prove your immigration status - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 

Students apply to projects (student-led or supervisor-led) and we appoint the best applicants rather than selecting projects to fund. With funding for approximatively 25 students, this means that only around 25 projects will be filled at the end of our process. See details of our selection process here. ​​​​

Note that up to two candidates can interview for the same project but only one may be appointed (the first ranked in our final ranking).

Our panel members are looking for students who are excited about their research area and have potential to conduct a really good PhD. They will want to know a little bit about some research you have done previously, what you enjoyed about it, why you would like to do a PhD, what excites you about the project and research area you are applying to, and how you see the project fitting into the bigger picture. They also look at your academic scores and what sort of experience you will bring to your PhD. They are aware that not everybody has had the same opportunities in the past, so they look at the whole range of experiences that demonstrate you have good solving-problem abilities or skills you will need to do a successful PhD, not just directly related research experience. 

When looking at your application, the shortlisting panel members look at all elements you provide in order to assess it using five main criteria:

1. academic ability (academic scores and special circumstances section on the application form),
2. scientific skills (research experience section on the application form),
3. management, communication skills and citizenship (CV and professional/other experience section on the application form),
4. scientific statement (on the application form) and
5. references (maximum of 2). 

Watch our Applicant Journey videos to hear some student's tips on the application stage: E4 Applicants Journey Testimonies | The University of Edinburgh

The interview lasts approximatively 20/25 minutes. It will take the form of an informal discussion between yourself and the interview panel (made of 3 people). You are not requested to prepare any slides or formal presentation, but you should be prepared to talk about your study background and past research experience (e.g., you may want to speak about a particular piece of research such as a dissertation, a Master thesis or paper, research experience such as an internship or professional experience). You will also be asked about your interest in the project you applied for and should be prepared to discuss your views and knowledge of the topic as well as your approach to the project itself. The panels ask all applicants the same types of questions from a template to ensure that all applicants are treated fairly and equally. 

Watch our Applicant Journey videos to hear some student's tips on the interview stage: E4 Applicants Journey Testimonies | The University of Edinburgh

There is no practical test during our interviews. You will be asked about your study background, previous research experience and the research you propose to do for the applied project. The panel can ask technical questions on your dissertation or Master thesis or any piece of research that you have done in the past to help you describe your methods and knowledge.

Yes, we operate a reserve list, and we will get in touch with the next applicant on the reserve list as soon as an offer is declined, and a suitable studentship is available to them. Our offer process can take up to 4-5 weeks for this reason, so you may hear from us until the end of April, sometimes even until mid-May. Applicants who are on the reserve list will be notified after the first round of offers has been issued, towards the beginning of March. 

Yes, we will make every effort to accommodate adjustments as best as we can and to make sure that the interview is the best possible experience for you. Adjustments we have made in the past included allocating more time for the interview, providing additional in-person staff support, accommodating support dogs and providing specific guidance to the panels. If you have special needs and/or need any adjustments made for your interview please get in touch in confidence with the E4 DTP Manager at stephanie.robin@ed.ac.uk. The only important thing is that you get in touch with as much in advance of your interview as possible so that we have time to discuss your needs and set up the necessary adjustments.

All our funding offers are conditional upon you meeting all entrance requirements to gain full admission to the University of Edinburgh at PhD level. This means that you need to prove that 1) you have an undergraduate degree (2.1 minimum grade or equivalent) and that 2) your English language proficiency meets our requirements. These will be formally assessed when going through the administrative process of formal admission to the university. 

If you are yet to send a proof of your English language proficiency, the funding (and your admission to the university) will be conditional on you providing this document. Your funding offer letter will state a deadline by which you need to provide this (a few weeks after the offer letter). 

More information about the English Language tests we accept and the minimum scores required: Entry and Eligibility Criteria | The University of Edinburgh (bottom page)

The University of Edinburgh has a range of family friendly scheme and initiatives.

The E4 DTP also offers maternity leave, paternity leave and parental leave options as well as special leave as per the UKRI training grant T&C which regulate the E4 studentships (with some caveat for international students on a visa, to comply with the UKVI regulations, please see Changes to your studies | The University of Edinburgh for further information on study interruptions).

For international students, it is possible to bring your family with you when moving to the UK with a student visa under some conditions (Bringing your family | The University of Edinburgh), however please note that the E4 DTP cannot provide extra funding to support dependents. 

Funding | The University of Edinburgh

The University of Edinburgh has excellent student support services to cover a wide range of matters including health, wellbeing, mental health, disability and learning support. The E4 DTP dedicated team will be able to signpost you to the right service to best support you. At school level, the PGR support team together with your supervisory team will be able to assist with any arrangements needed on your day to day and will provide adequate support or signpost you to the right service.

If you have questions or concerns about available support at the University of Edinburgh, please visit our student services and support webpage and/or get in touch with the E4 DTP team.

A PhD is a Postgraduate Research degree which involves an extended period (between 3 and 4 years full-time) of intensive, independent research, resulting in a significant contribution of original knowledge to your field (which is written down in a thesis and assessed at a viva by an independent panel). There is no taught component to a PhD and the assessment is only based on the final thesis (of max 100,000 words) that you submit at the end of your studies. However, DTPs, which are specific PhD programmes funded by the UKRI, include some compulsory training which you will need to attend during your study years.

Our "A Day in my PhD life" 5-minute videos, showcasing some of our current E4 students, give a good insight of what a PhD looks like on a day-to-day basis and within the context of the E4 DTP, the University of Edinburgh, and more widely the City of Edinburgh and Scotland.

There are other sources of funding for PhD (University funding, other DTPs/CDTs, external funding) and opportunities will depend on the School and PhD topic. For example, you can find out more about the other funding in GeoSciences on the page Postgraduate research funding opportunities | The University of Edinburgh. Supervisors might also be able to inform you of other sources of funding. Different funding will have different application deadlines and processes, which you will need to follow strictly. By following the E4 DTP application process, you only apply to the E4 DTP.

Using another type of funding for an E4 project is possible on the condition that the project is not allocated at the end of the E4 recruitment process. You might need to wait until we know this will be the case (towards the end of April).