David Ensor Postgraduate Scholarship

Value of award

One award consisting of an annual stipend paid at a rate set by the University of St Andrews.

For 2026-2027 the stipend rate will be £20,467. The new rate will be applied to your stipend payments from your date of enrolment and will apply for the duration of the 2026-2027 academic year.

The rate for 2027-2028 will be reviewed later this year, with confirmation expected by the end of December 2026. The maintenance or stipend rate will remain at the 2027-2028 rate for the duration of your studies, unless notified by your academic school of any uplifts.

Duration of award

This award is for up to 3.5 years of postgraduate study.

At what stage of my course application can I apply for this scholarship?

Please apply for the award after you have submitted your application for a place at St Andrews. You do not need to wait until you have received an offer of a place before applying for the award.

Additional criteria

You must have applied for a doctoral/PhD programme at St Andrews.

Your programme start date must be one of the following:

• August 2027
• September 2027
• October 2027
• January 2028
• May 2028

In support of your application, you will be asked to upload the following supporting documents:

• University transcript(s), including interim transcripts for any degrees pending.
• Research proposal
• Curriculum Vitae (CV) or resumé.

Research proposal

For the research proposal upload you may use the specifications that are applicable to your chosen School. If you have already uploaded a proposal as part of your research course application, you may upload the same proposal again for the scholarship.

If your course application did not require a proposal, you may instead upload a personal statement outlining your reasons for applying to your chosen programme and intended research project. Mathematics and Statistics PhD applicants in particular should refer to the School's Application criteria guidance for the personal statement.

Household income

If you wish to be considered for this scholarship, you will be required to enter in your gross, annual household income in GBP, along with an exchange rate (if required), and contextual details about your financial circumstances.

Please read the financial funding tool and household income guide where you can find helpful advice on how to calculate your household income. The guide will assist you in completing the financial funding tool in My Application when applying for means-tested scholarships based on financial need.

If you would prefer not to disclose any information about your income or financial circumstances, please see the advice in the application form. You will not be eligible for any financial needs-based scholarships if you do not provide this information.

How to apply

1. Apply for your chosen course at the University St Andrews: Postgraduate research. Your course should meet the eligibility criteria for this scholarship (see above). After submitting your course application, you must allow up to three working days to receive login details for the My Application portal.
2. When you have received your login details, apply for the scholarship by logging into My Application, follow the links to Scholarships and Funding and then search for University of St Andrews Postgraduate Research Scholarships in the Scholarships and funding catalogue.

By completing University of St Andrews Postgraduate Research Scholarships application form, you will be automatically considered for the David Ensor Postgraduate Scholarship if you meet the criteria. Please bear in the mind the following:

• In order to be considered for this scholarship, you must complete the scholarship application form questions about your household income and financial circumstances.

Scholarship application form guidance

Terms and conditions

Please read the University of St Andrews scholarships terms and conditions (opens in new tab)

If applying to this scholarship, please be aware of the following requirements:

• Core personal details may be passed to the benefactors of your scholarship. Your name, the name of your town of origin, school/college and subject of study will be passed to the donor of the scholarship with your consent.
• Attendance at Development related scholarship events (including invitations to meet the donors) is strongly encouraged. You will be invited to these as appropriate by the Development Office.
• Submission of reports throughout the period of scholarship support. You are required to submit an Introductory Biography at the start of your award period and the Development Office will contact you towards the end of the academic session for a report on your time at St Andrews to share with the donors of your award. This will be an annual cycle for the duration of your award.

When will I know the outcome?

The outcome of your scholarship application will be available on the My Application portal by late March 2027. Follow the links to Scholarships and Funding and go to View or continue my funding applications to see your application status.

If you are successful, you will also receive an award letter.