The Imperial College President’s PhD Scholarship offers high-achieving students from around the world the opportunity to pursue a fully funded PhD at Imperial College London, one of the world’s leading research universities.
The scholarship provides full tuition fee funding, a generous living stipend, research support and access to professional development opportunities for up to 3.5 years of doctoral study.
Imperial College President’s PhD Scholarship 2027 Summary
- Host Country: United Kingdom
- Host Institution: Imperial College London
- Study Level: PhD
- Eligible Countries: All countries
- Funding: Fully funded
- Nationality Restrictions: None
- Application: Through Imperial’s PhD admissions system
About the Imperial College President’s PhD Scholarship
The President’s PhD Scholarship is designed for outstanding undergraduate and Master’s students who demonstrate exceptional academic performance and strong research potential.
Successful scholars can undertake a research project of their choice with the support of an academic supervisor at Imperial College London. Scholars also become part of a wider community of President’s PhD Scholars and receive access to professional development opportunities through Imperial’s Early Career Researcher Institute.
The scholarship is open to applicants worldwide, with no restriction on nationality, although individual departments may have restrictions on supporting international candidates.
Benefits of the Imperial College President’s PhD Scholarship
Each scholarship provides:
- Full funding for tuition fees for up to 3.5 years.
- A £26,500 annual stipend to support living expenses, based on the 2026–27 rate.
- A £2,000 annual consumables budget for the first three years of study.
- Access to bespoke opportunities and events delivered by Imperial’s Early Career Researcher Institute.
- Access to Imperial’s wider postgraduate support and professional development programmes.
Eligibility Requirements
To be considered for the Imperial College President’s PhD Scholarship, applicants must meet the following requirements:
Academic Requirements
Applicants must normally have:
- A first-class undergraduate degree or equivalent, or an integrated Master’s degree with equivalent performance; or
- A distinction in a standalone Master’s degree, or evidence that they are on track to achieve a distinction.
Candidates with only an undergraduate degree or integrated Master’s must have achieved, or be expected to achieve, a first-class or equivalent qualification.
International applicants should confirm with the relevant Imperial admissions team that their qualifications meet the scholarship’s academic requirements.
Other Requirements
Applicants must:
- Be applying for a new PhD programme at Imperial College London.
- Have demonstrated strong academic performance and research potential.
- Have contacted an academic supervisor at Imperial who has agreed to supervise their proposed research project.
- Meet the admission requirements of their chosen PhD department.
Current Imperial PhD students are not eligible for the President’s PhD Scholarship because the scheme is intended for new PhD applicants.
Research Supervisor Requirement
One of the most important requirements is finding an appropriate supervisor before applying.
Applicants must contact an academic in their chosen Imperial department and obtain their agreement to supervise the proposed research project. Imperial also notes that supervisors can supervise only one President’s PhD Scholar at a time.
Therefore, prospective applicants should identify suitable researchers whose expertise aligns closely with their proposed PhD research and contact them well before submitting the application.
How to Apply for the Imperial College President’s PhD Scholarship
There is no separate scholarship application form.
Instead, applicants must:
- Identify a suitable PhD research area and department at Imperial College London.
- Find and contact a potential academic supervisor.
- Obtain the supervisor’s agreement to supervise the proposed research.
- Prepare the required PhD application materials, including the research proposal and supporting documents.
- Submit an application for admission to the relevant PhD programme through Imperial’s online admissions system.
- Indicate that they wish to be considered for the President’s PhD Scholarship in the funding section of the application.
- The relevant department will review applicants and nominate outstanding candidates for the scholarship.
- Shortlisted candidates will then be considered by Imperial’s selection process.
Submit your PhD application through Imperial College London
Selection Process
The scholarship selection process is highly competitive.
Applications are first reviewed by the relevant academic department. Departments select their strongest candidates for consideration by the College Selection Panel.
Candidates are assessed primarily on:
- Academic excellence
- Previous academic results and transcripts
- Relative academic performance
- Awards and distinctions
- Research experience
- Research potential
- Proposed research plan
- Potential contribution of the proposed research
Imperial states that applicants who are not selected for the President’s PhD Scholarship will still automatically be considered for a standard PhD place.