Funding

St Andrews and Stirling are both committed to helping as many students as possible continue in higher education through scholarship opportunities. There are a wide range of postgraduate scholarships available for you to apply to including AHRC Landscape Awards and SASP-specific funding, together with general funding opportunities offered from either via the University of St Andrews, the University of Stirling or directly via charitable organisations.

If you wish to apply for AHRC Landscape Awards/SASP-specific funding, please indicate this on your application and you will be automatically considered (so long as you apply before the deadline, see below). For various scholarships offered by the University of St Andrews, you need to make a separate application. For details of the process and application deadlines see the University scholarships.

MLitt Funding

There may be a possibility of funding for MLitt students in the future. If it becomes available then it will be offered on a competitive basis. Applicants will be automatically considered for funding, should there be any available. Some scholarships are available for special cases.

PhD Funding

PhD applications can be considered at any time. But, if you wish to apply for funding, the following application deadlines for entry in academic year 2026/27 apply. There is no need to apply separately for SASP specific funding, but you do need to separately separately apply for St Andrews AHRC Landscape awards and for general University of St Andrews funding.

Please see below for more information about these sources of funding.

SASP-specific Funding

If you wish to be considered for SASP funding, please indicate this clearly on your application and include whether you are a Home, EU or Overseas applicant. Only applications received by the deadline above will be considered for funding. You can apply for entry to the PhD after this date, however you will not be considered for this funding. Please note this deadline is for receipt of all supporting documents – it is your responsibility to ensure that your referees meet this deadline. There is no separate application for the SASP funding, applicants will automatically be considered. We hope to allocate funding in late March. SASP typically offers a number of fee waivers for selected entrant students lasting the duration of your PhD studies, and a doctoral studentship funded by the Philosophical Quarterly (PQ), which covers both maintenance at the AHRC rate and a full fee waiver for 3 years. Overseas students are eligible for these awards.

AHRC Landscape Awards

If you wish to be considered for an AHRC Landscape award, please indicate this clearly on your application and include whether you are a Home, EU, or Overseas applicant. Only applications received by the deadline above will be considered for nomination. You can apply for entry to the PhD after this date, however you will not be considered for this nomination. Please note this deadline is for receipt of all supporting documents – it is your responsibility to ensure that your referees meet this deadline. The departments will nominate selected applicants to the respective St Andrews and Stirling competitions for consideration for an AHRC award. We hope to announce outcomes by early April. A full award includes a stipend to support living costs, and fees at the UK rate.

Scholarship opportunities available through the University of St Andrews

There are a range of scholarship opportunities available through the University of St Andrews. Some are specific to applicants from particular countries, or studying in certain disciplines or sub-fields, or have specific aims (e.g. to support students from under-represented groups, or those who would suffer financial hardship without support). To be considered, you need to apply separately in addition to your application for a place on the SASP programme. For details of the various scholarships available, the application process and deadlines, see the University scholarships.

Interdisciplinary MSc by Research Opportunity

Applications are invited for an interdisciplinary MSc(Res) project entitled ‘Exploring collective representations through agent-based models’, funded by the Institute of Behavioural and Neural Sciences, in collaboration with the School of Psychology and Neuroscience, the Business School, and the Department of Philosophy/SASP.  The MSc(Res) degree offers a distinctive one-year research-focused path for advanced study. These postgraduate research degrees are characterised by their interdisciplinary potential and lack of taught components. Throughout your program, you’ll devote yourself entirely to a research project under the guidance of supervisors from complementary academic fields, culminating in a dissertation. This intensive research experience serves as either a valuable standalone degree or an ideal foundation for further doctoral studies, allowing you to develop specialised expertise within a supportive research environment. Details about the scholarship are available on the IBANS website.  For further information, see the project website.

Postgraduate Research Discount for former students

In an initiative designed to recognise the loyalty of our students, the University offers a 15% discount in postgraduate research tuition fees to certain groups of former students starting a postgraduate research programme with the University of St Andrews. Students who have attended the University within the last three academic years, who have graduated from an undergraduate or postgraduate taught programme at the University of St Andrews, or completed a Global Summer School, Study Abroad or Exchange programme at the University of St Andrews and are returning to start a Postgraduate Research programme with the University of St Andrews are eligible for the 15% tuition fee discount.