Biosciences, Geography & Physics: Fully Funded PHD Swansea University Faculty of Science and Engineering Chinese Scholarship Council (RS739)

Funding Provider(s): Chinese Scholarship Council Scheme (CSC)

Subject Areas: Biosciences, Human and Physical Geography and Physics 

Project Start Dates: October 2025

Aligned programme of study: PhD

Mode of Study: Full Time Doctoral Study

This year, up to ten CSC applications will be supported by Swansea University. Each includes tuition fees and an annual training allowance to support immersive training experiences such as engagement with industry and international collaborative opportunities.

Each scholarship is offered for a maximum period of three years; CSC students are expected to submit their theses within this timescale.

Applicants should be aware that faculty-based shortlisting panels are expected to sit in February 2025. Please note that shortlisting panels may contact candidates within this period. Interviews are expected to take place in late February 2025.

Please Note that any offers will be conditional upon applicants being succesful with their application to the Chinese Scholarship Council for an October 2025 start. For more information see the CSC website. 

Students will receive training in a vibrant, dynamic and supportive research community, preparing your development as a future leader in your field. Your research will be conducted at our state-of-the-art laboratory and high-performance computing facilities and will be enriched by our global collaborative networks and ESRC and UKRI Doctoral Training schemes.

The School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics is pleased to welcome applications for CSC Scholarships, particularly in the areas of:

1. Biosciences (e.g. Aquatic systems, behavioural ecology and evolution, ecosystem dynamics, and natural resources)
2. Human and Physical Geography (e.g. Environmental hazards, climate change, glaciology, remote sensing and modelling, and critical human geography)
3. Physics (e.g. Particle physics and cosmology; atomic, molecular and quantum physics; and semiconductor materials)

Project supervisors: all applicants should note that faculties will assess their supervisory capacity for individual applicants at the shortlisting stage of the recruitment process. The formal offer of a scholarship place to successful applicants is contingent on relevant supervisor capacity and experience having first been confirmed by staff internally.

Informal scholarship enquiries from applicants to prospective supervisors – prior to the application deadline – are warmly encouraged; please direct these to the relevant member/s of faculty staff.

Candidates must have attained, or must be expected to attain, a first-class honours degree and/or a distinction at master’s level. 

• Where applicants have multiple master’s degrees, a distinction must be held in the degree that is most relevant to the intended PhD study.
• If you are currently studying for a master’s level qualification, ‘award’ is required to take place prior to enrolment and in good time to allow visa application/travel to take place.
• NB: If you hold a non-UK degree, please see the Swansea University degree comparisons to find out if you meet the eligibility criteria.

Applicants must be able to begin their course of study in October 2025. As a cohort-based programme, deferral to an alternative enrolment window within the academic year or to another academic year is not permissible.

English Language Requirements: If applicable – IELTS 6.5 overall (with a score of at least 6 in each individual component) or equivalent that is recognised by Swansea University. For more detail please see our English Language Entry policy.

Due to funding restrictions, this scholarship is – at this time – open solely to applicants who hold Chinese National Status.

If you have any questions regarding your academic or fee eligibility based on the above, please e-mail pgrscholarships@swansea.ac.uk, providing details of the scholarship(s) in which you are interested and the accompanying webpage URL.

ATAS

Please note that the programme requires some applicants to hold ATAS clearance, further details on ATAS scheme eligibility are available on the UK Government website. ATAS clearance IS NOT required to be held as part of the scholarship application process, successful award winners (as appropriate) are provided with details as to how to apply for ATAS clearance in tandem with scholarship course offer.

This scholarship covers the full cost of tuition fees in addition to an allowance for other expenses (e.g conferences and fieldwork) of £1,000 per annum for Students of Chinese Nationality for an October 2025 admission.

To apply, please complete your application online with the following information:  

1. Course choice – please select -  

Any PhD course within the School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics (please see the following link for a list of available courses https://www.swansea.ac.uk/science-and-engineering/#our-subject-areas=is-expanded) / PhD/Full Time/ October  

If you are successful in receiving a scholarship, the course choice may change depending on the research area that you detail in your application.  

In the event you have already applied for the above programme previously, the application system may issue a warning notice and prevent application, in this event, please email pgrscholarships@swansea.ac.uk where staff will be happy to assist you in submitting your application.  

• Start year – please select 2025  
• Funding (page 8 on the application process) –  

‘Are you funding your studies yourself?’ – please select No  

‘Name of Individual or organisation providing funds for study’ – please enter ‘RS739 - CSC 2’ '  

*It is the responsibility of the applicant to list the above information accurately when applying, please note that applications received without the above information listed will not be considered for the scholarship award.  

One application is required per individual Swansea University led research scholarship award; applications cannot be considered listing multiple Swansea University led research scholarship awards.  

NOTE: Applicants for PhD/EngD/ProfD/EdD - to support our commitment to providing an environment free of discrimination and celebrating diversity at Swansea University you are required to complete an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Monitoring Form in addition to your programme application form.    

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Monitoring Form (online form)   

Please note that completion of the EDI Monitoring Form is mandatory; your application may not progress if this information is not submitted.  

As part of your online application, you MUST ensure that you upload the following documents in order to be considered for an award (please do not submit these via email):

1. CV

2. Degree certificates and transcripts (if you are currently studying for a master’s degree, please ask your referee to detail your current performance, with marks where available, in their reference)

3. A CSC statement (1000 words maximum): this is an opportunity for you to tell us about your existing skills, relevant experience and the area of research in which you are interested. Please complete the template and upload it in section 6 of the University’s online APPLY application submission platform.

Your CSC statement should include: 

• An overview of your academic interests and how they relate to the subject area in question, any relevant professional/employment experience and/or any extra-curricular activities that may be relevant;
• A brief outline of your research idea, which could address: 
  • The aims, objectives and the significance of the research;
  • Its alignment with the research themes in this advertisement; 
  • The potential academic or societal impact of the research.
• Please upload your CSC statement document in section 6. You DO NOT need to include a full research proposal here, or a cover letter, in order to submit a complete application.

4. Two academic references on headed paper or using the Swansea University reference form. Please note that we are not able to accept references from personal e-mail accounts e.g. via Hotmail. Referees should cite their professional e-mail address for verification of reference.

5. Evidence of meeting English Language requirements (if applicable).

6. Copy of Chinese National Residential Status (if applicable).

Informal enquiries are welcome; please contact: Scholarship-scienceengineering@swansea.ac.uk 

*External Partner Application Data Sharing – Please note that as part of the scholarship application selection process, application data sharing may occur with external partners outside of the University, when joint/co- funding of a scholarship project is applicable.