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On submission of the thesis for examination, the annual tuition fee will be pro-rated in accordance with any month/part month studied and you'll be transferred to ‘continuation fee status’. If the thesis is submitted at any point after the first of each month, you'll be charged the whole month fee. 

At this point, the continuation fee will be applied, which covers the cost of your viva examination and continued access to university services and facilities. This will be in addition to any pro-rata fee liability incurred.

Continuation fee status will apply until the end of your registration period e.g until you submit your final bound thesis and complete your course. 

If you're starting a doctoral degree, you could be eligible for a to help with course fees and living costs. 

International students may be able to apply for a loan or funding from their home government. 

The is a resource for current and prospective postgraduate students (any subject, any nationality) who are looking to fund PhD, Master’s and PGCE study in the UK through grants from charities, trusts and foundations. 

Each academic year, the Economic and Social Research Council South West Doctoral Training Partnership funds places for doctoral students across the social sciences. For Bath Spa studentships, our eligible subject areas are:

• Education
• Management and Business Studies
• Sociotechnical Futures and Digital Methods

The SWDTP supports doctoral students by developing not only their research skills, but by offering a wide range of training, placements, activities, and events as well. They work in a collaborative way across nine institutions who have SWDTP students that will also form part of your cohort.

See the for further information and for eligibility. Students applying for ESRC funded studentships are encouraged to discuss their research ideas with a potential supervisor prior to application. Here's where you can find details of the Bath Spa PhD application process.

Students are encouraged to look at ways of incorporating collaboration with external partners into their research proposal. Collaboration does not always have to be a financial arrangement and could take the form of a placement, voluntary work, data sharing or other payment in kind opportunities. Students considering overseas fieldwork, overseas institutional visits or difficult language training should also mention this in their application.

This is a selective and competitive process. There is scope for a maximum of 3 applications for each pathway to be put forward for consideration for the SWDTP studentship, of which up to 2 can be from international candidates.

How to apply and deadlines

Applications for the ESRC SWDTP studentship funding window is now open for the 2027 cohort. See the for further information and for eligibility.

1. Course Research

We encourage you to contact us for an informal discussion about your research ideas and whether BSU has a compatible supervisor. We recommend that you begin this conversation well in advance of the application deadline. No formal decision on your suitability for the PhD course or the studentship will be made at this stage; this informal discussion is to establish whether your research ideas can progress to the formal application stage.

Either contact PGR Admissions pgradmissions@bathspa.ac.uk or visit Find a supervisor – ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿

2. Application process BSU

If, after the informal discussion, a potential supervisor has been identified, you will need to submit your application through the ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿ Admissions Portal.

The application deadline to ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿ for your PhD Application expressing interest in ESRC funded studentship is 08 November 2026.

Further information on how to complete the BSU PhD application, details on eligibility and supporting documentation can be found here Apply Now – ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿. If you have any questions, please contact PGR Admissions: pgradmissions@bathspa.ac.uk.

Please note – for successful candidates - this is not a guarantee of funding, but an opportunity to be put forward for the application process for SWDTP funding. For further information about the SWDTP application process, please visit

Please note: If you intend to apply to the Economic and Social Research Council South West Doctoral Training Partnership for funding, you will need to submit a PhD application to ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿ as the first step in the process.

3. Application Review

The academic pathway lead for the ESRC SWDTP studentship and other relevant academics will meet as a panel to discuss your application and research proposal. They will consider supervisory compatibility, the alignment of your research proposal with BSU’s areas of expertise and whether we are able to recommend you for the studentship.

4. Application Review – Possible Outcomes

• The panel decides to progress your PhD application and to consider you further for the SWDTP studentship.
• The panel decides to progress your PhD application but is unable to consider you further for the studentship.
• The panel decides that BSU is unable to progress your PhD application or consider you further for the studentship. This may happen when your area of research interest doesn’t align with BSU expertise.

5. Applying for a SWDTP Studentship

If the panel decides to progress your PhD application for a SWDTP studentship then you must submit the and transcripts to PGR Admissions ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿ by the ESRC SWDTP deadline 12:00 Noon GMT on Tuesday 12 January 2027.

With this application you will need a completed Supervisor Statement from your potential supervisor at BSU.

Please visit the , where further information and eligibility criteria can be found.

6. Shortlisting

Research conversations will take place internally up to the end of January 2027 to shortlist applicants to go forward to the cross-institutional pathway shortlisting stage at Bath Spa who will review your applications against the ESRC criteria. The University will submit the highest-ranking applications to the Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) in line with the approved allocation for each institutional pathway. These will then be reviewed by a discipline panel of experts from across the DTP before the final selections are put forward to the DTP awarding panel.

Successful candidates will be notified by mid-April 2027.