UCL’s Research Opportunity Scholarship (UCL-ROS) supports Black, Asian, and minority ethnic postgraduate research degree students at the start of their academic career.
The Research Opportunity Scholarship was conceived in response to the question “Why isn’t my professor black?”. The aim of the UCL-ROS is to address under-representation and help improve equality, diversity and inclusion in UCL’s post-graduate research student body. The scholarship offers full financial support and a skills development programme, both designed to promote academia as a more attractive career option.
The scholarship is run jointly by the UCL Student Funding Office and the UCL Equality, Diversity and Inclusion team, in collaboration with the Windsor Fellowship. Please see the UCL-ROS scholars testimonials to see how the scholarship has impacted the community of ROS scholars.
Key information
- Value: UK / home rate tuition fees, a maintenance stipend, conference costs and professional development package
- Available to: Prospective students (this means students who will begin on or after the academic year 2026/27 first permitted MPhil/PhD start date of 1 October 2026)
- Selection criteria: Academic merit, research potential, and financial need
- Eligible fee status: Home fee and ordinarily resident in the UK for the last 3 years
- Eligible programmes: Full-time or part-time MPhil/PhD and EngD (excluding distance learning and professional doctorates)
- Additional eligibility criteria: UK-permanent resident from certain Black, Asian, and minority ethnic groups under-represented at UCL (see list below)
- Deadline: 9th January 2026
For the 2026/27 academic year, there are 6 fully funded UCL-Research Opportunity Scholarships:
1 scholarship for Social and Historical Sciences
5 scholarships for any UCL faculty
Eligibility
To APPLY, you must:
- have submitted a completed admission application to an eligible** full- or part-time degree programme at UCL by the scholarship deadline
- be a UK-permanent resident from one of the following Black, Asian, and minority ethnic groups:
- Black or Black British – Caribbean
- Black or Black British – African
- Other Black background – individuals who identify as Black but do not fit into the specific categories of “Black or Black British – Caribbean” or “Black or Black British – African”
- Asian or Asian British – Bangladeshi
- Asian or Asian British – Pakistani
Please note these categories are defined by the HIgher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). UCL is required to use these categories to enable reporting and to identify under-representation. The data is reviewed annually.
To be AWARDED IF SELECTED, you must:
- be in receipt of an offer of admission to a full-time or part-time research degree programme at UCL which will start on or after the academic year 2026/27 first permitted MPhil/PhD start date of 1 October 2026.
** PLEASE NOTE Distance learning, non-resident PhD and professional doctorates (DClinPsy, DDent, DEdPsy (Brain Sciences), DOrth and DPsychotherapy) are not eligible for this scholarship. EngD are not considered Professional Doctorates here and are eligible to apply.
Value, benefits, and duration
The UCL-ROS consists of tuition fees equivalent to the standard postgraduate UK/home rate plus a maintenance stipend during the research portion of the programme which increases each year with inflation. For the 2025/26 academic year, the stipend rate is £22,780 for full-time study (rates are calculated ‘pro rata’ for part-time students). For the 2026/27 academic year, the stipend rate is to be confirmed.
The scholarship includes additional research costs of up to £1,200 per year for the stated duration of research portion of the programme plus a single allowance of £1,000 towards conference costs over the duration of the programme
The UCL-ROS also offers a comprehensive personal and professional development support package:
- Coaching, mentoring support, and advocacy;
- Training and skills development through UCL’s Doctoral Skills Development Programme (including the “Brilliant Club” scholars programme) and the Windsor Fellowship;
Awards are made for the standard length of the research portion of the UCL programme of study. This is normally 3 years for a full-time MPhil/PhD/EngD degree programme (or 5 years for part-time study), subject to sufficient academic progress. Please note the funding does not cover CRS/writing up year(s).
Where students are undertaking an integrated doctoral programme with a standard length of four years, the award will be extended to the 4th year of research.
If awarded, funding begins at the start of the next academic year. For 2026/27 this is 1st October 2026.
Selection
Step 1: Candidates submit a UCL-ROS cover sheet (see below) directly to the academic department they have applied to. Departments will then nominate candidates to the central UCL-ROS Selection Panel for consideration.
Please note, departmental nominations are based on:
- Academic attainment – as demonstrated by prior academic results.
- Research potential – as demonstrated by a candidate’s research experience to date, their enthusiasm for research, and their research proposal
Step 2: Nominated candidates, who meet the UCL-ROS eligibility criteria, will be sent a UCL-ROS application form to complete by the Student Funding Office. This form will include questions on socio-economic and financial factors, including household income information, a lay summary of your research proposal, and a personal statement.
Step 3: The UCL-ROS Selection Panel will review all candidates’ personal statements. The selection panel includes representatives from the UCL Student Funding Office, the UCL Equality, Diversity and Inclusion team, and the Windsor Fellowship.
The UCL-ROS Selection Panel will select awardees on the basis of:
- Department nomination
- Financial need – based on socio-economic background.
- Candidate’s personal statement
A weighting will also be applied which is based on the under-representation of Black, Asian, and minority ethnic PhD students in the candidate’s faculty. This data is provided by the UCL-EDI team.
How to apply
If you are a prospective student, please follow all the application steps below. You must have completed all the relevant steps by 9th January 2026.
- Step 1:You must submit a complete application for admission onto a research degree programme at UCL by the specified deadline. You do not need to have secured an offer of a place at UCL to apply for the scholarship. Please see the guidance on how to apply for a graduate research programme at UCL.
- Step 2:When completing the research degree application form for admission you should indicate in the ‘Funding’ section that you are also applying to the UCL-ROS programme.
- Step 3:You must contact your prospective academic department/institute/division/unit and notify them that you would like to be considered for a UCL-ROS by submitting a UCL-ROS coversheet. Please contact the Administrator or your supervisor for guidance on where to send your scholarship application materials www.ucl.ac.uk/doctoral-school/key-contacts/faculty-and-department-contacts .Please ensure you also discuss this scholarship with your potential supervisor.
You must submit both a completed admission application and a completed UCL-ROS coversheet to your academic department no later than Friday, 9th January 2026.
Please be aware that some academic departments set their own deadlines which may be earlier than this date, so make sure you check with them directly.
Results
The panel will meet in March 2026 and applicants will be notified of final decisions no later than April 2026.
