Black Futures Scholarship

The University offers a Black Futures scholarship scheme, for talented Black and Mixed-Black heritage UK-domiciled students who want to pursue a PhD at Southampton. 

The scholarship provides:

  • £20,780 per year, tax free for 3.5 years
  • full UK fees
  • a £1,100 training and support grant each year

Eligibility

To be eligible for this scholarship you must be resident in the UK, paying UK fees, and have applied for a PhD project in one of the following faculties, to start in 2025 or 2026:

  • Arts and Humanities
  • Engineering and Physical Sciences
  • Medicine

To be eligible for this scholarship you must also be from one of these backgrounds:

  • Black or Black British - African
  • Black or Black British - Caribbean
  • Black or Black British - another Black background
  • Mixed - White and Black Caribbean
  • Mixed - White and Black African
  • Mixed - Black African, Black Caribbean or another Black background

These categories are defined by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). The University must use these categories to enable reporting, however we recognise their inherent limitations. 

Deadline to apply

Your application deadline depends on when your project is due to start. 

For projects starting in the 2025-26 academic year you must apply by 11:59pm on Friday 16 May 2025.

How we award scholarships

This is a competitive process - not all applications will be successful. 

There are 3 stages to the shortlisting process: 

  1. Eligibility: we check your application to make sure you meet the eligibility criteria.
  2. Applications: we review your research degree and funding applications, to gain a complete picture of your academic qualifications and your motivations for undertaking a PhD.
  3. Faculty selection panel review: our diverse selection panel, who understand the challenges faced by Black students, review your application.
     

The decision of the scholarship panel is final.

Conditions of getting a scholarship

How to apply

Before applying, you should read our guidance on How to Apply for a Research Degree.

  1. Identify a PhD project from our current projects or create your own proposal.
  2. Apply online for your chosen PhD project.
  3. Apply online for the Black Futures Scholarship Scheme.

 This scholarship funding is highly competitive and we encourage you to apply early.

Contact us

If you have any questions, email: Doctoral-College@soton.ac.uk