Fees and funding
There are two main costs for postgraduate students: fees and living expenses.
Tuition fee details for postgraduate research degrees can be found at the following webpage: PhD tuition fees
The cost of living in London will depend on your lifestyle but, typically, postgraduates need at least £12,000 to cover food, accommodation, travel, books for a full year (i.e. 52 weeks).
Whether you are self-funding or are applying for funding, you should ensure that you have a realistic plan to secure sufficient funding to complete the research and writing-up process within the normal time period. This is usually three to four years for full-time programmes, and six to seven years for part-time programmes.
Postgraduate Research Studentships
Check our Current PhD projects page for details of our PhD projects for each Center.
We currently have an open call for several funded PhD projects starting in Autumn 2025:
| Project Title | Supervisor | Funding | Application Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematical foundations for AI | Prof Omer Bobrowski and Prof Primoz Skraba | QMUL S&E Research Support Fund (RSF) | Apply any time (ASAP) |
| Cohomological rigidity of toric spaces | Dr Amaranta Membrillo Solis | QMUL S&E New Talent Research Enabling Scheme | 31 July 2025 |
The main sources of PhD studentship funding opportunities:
S&E Doctoral Research Studentships for Underrepresented Groups 2025/26: Deadline 29th January 2025 has now passed.
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) studentships 2025/26: Deadline 29th January 2025 has now passed.
Science and Engineering PhD Studentships (Principal): Deadline 29th January 2025 has now passed.
You may wish to explore alternative funding sources, e.g. in the form of grants from charities.
Please check back here for updates on PhD studentships commencing in 2026-27 academic year.
International PhD Scholarships
- China Scholarship Council (CSC)
- Commonwealth PhD Scholarships
- CONACyT (Mexico)
- Egyptian Bureau for Cultural & Educational Affairs
- Higher Education Commission, Pakistan
- Islamic Development Bank Scholarships
Please see the International PhD scholarships database for full details of Queen Mary’s international funding partners, including other schemes not listed here.
Self-funded students
Applications from candidates intending to self-fund their PhD are also accepted. Self-funding students must ensure they are able to cover the costs of a PhD outlined above.
UK or EU nationals may also apply for a doctoral loan to contribute towards the cost of their PhD.
Self-funding applicants should follow the guidelines outlined in our usual application process to identify a potential supervisor and secure their agreement to consider your application further before formally applying online.
Enquiries and Further Information
For any general enquiries regarding PhD applications and PhD studentships, please contact Wen Yao (PGR Officer): maths-phd@qmul.ac.uk.
Dr Reem Yassawi, is the Director of Graduate Studies and Dr Alex Shestopaloff, the Deputy Director of Graduate Studies.
If you have already secured funding for your PhD studies and therefore do not wish your application to be considered within the studentship competition please state this on the appropriate part of your application form.
Our Advice and Counselling Service have produced a detailed online funding guide for postgraduate research students.