PhD funding tenders and contracts
UK public sector, covering 600+ buyer sites
202 PhD funding tenders and contracts, 23 this year.
Updated 4 November 2026 · compiled by BidSkim Limited · How we count
- Awarded a month£58k
- Contracts a month1.2
- Won by SMEs4%
PhD funding contracts
Tap a region to see its contracts. Pick as many as you like.
28 contracts across the UK, of any size
Recently awarded
The latest PhD funding contracts awarded
- Awarded12 Oct 2026Active Travel England- Women's Safety PhD SponsorshipDepartment for Transport · LondonWon by University of Leeds£18k
- Awarded25 Sep 2026PhD in Molecular Cell Biology and NeurobiologyDefence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl)Won by Queen Mary University of London£88k
- Awarded14 Aug 2026PhD Studentship Research Programme with the University of StrathclydeNational Physical LaboratoryWon by University of Strathclyde£5.9m
- Awarded14 Aug 2026Provision of PhD Studentship Research Programme in Advanced Scientific MetrologyNational Physical Laboratory · LondonWon by King's College London£5.9m
- Awarded13 Aug 2026Student Placement Programmes costs and expensesNational Physical LaboratoryWon by University of Strathclyde£5.9m
- Awarded17 Jun 2026715844472 - PhD Respiratory Requirements and Human-Machine Interaction in ABSMinistry of Defence · West MidlandsWon by King's College London£23k
- Awarded27 Mar 2026Cyber Talent Pool and PhD StudentsNuclear Decommissioning Authority · North WestWon by Energus
- Awarded10 Mar 2026Student Agreement for Study of smouldering combustion in timberInternational Nuclear Services · North WestWon by University of Edinburgh£126k
- Awarded9 Jan 2026715520452 - PhD Research Into Dengue in DefenceMinistry of Defence · West MidlandsWon by Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine£50k
- Awarded23 Dec 2025Autonomous vehicle PHD researchDriver and Vehicle Standards Agency · South WestWon by University of Surrey£47k
- Awarded16 Dec 2025PhD in Genomics and Proteomics TechniquesDefence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) · South WestWon by Cardiff University£25k
- Awarded11 Nov 2025Strategic Enablers Glasgow PHD StudentNuclear Restoration Services · North WestWon by University of Glasgow£54k
- Awarded11 Nov 2025Strategic Enablers - Glasgow PHD StudentNuclear Restoration Services · South WestWon by University of Glasgow£54k
- Awarded8 Oct 2025Studentship AgreementSouth Cambridgeshire District Council · East of EnglandWon by Anglia Ruskin University£44k
- Awarded5 Oct 2025PhD in Energetics ModellingDefence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) · South WestWon by University of Sheffield£21k
- Awarded16 Sep 2025PhD in Characterization and use of Bacillus anthracis bacteriophageDefence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) · South WestWon by Cardiff University£15k
- Awarded15 Sep 2025Infuze DfT PhD Match fundingDepartment for Transport · Yorkshire and the HumberWon by University of Leeds£99k
- Awarded4 Sep 2025PHD Student - Strathclyde UniversityNuclear Restoration Services · North WestWon by University of Strathclyde£59k
- Awarded11 Aug 2025Tripartite Studentship - Partnership for Sustainable Food Future Centre for Doctoral Training (PSFF-CDT)Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) · LondonWon by University of Greenwich and 1 more£63k
- Awarded16 May 2025Studentship: Understanding the role of sheep & goat in pestivirusesAnimal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) · South EastWon by University of Surrey£37k
- Awarded1 May 2025Studentship: Understanding the role of sheep & goat in pestivirusesAnimal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) · LondonWon by University of Surrey£37k
- Awarded1 May 2025Studentship: Understanding the role of sheep & goat in pestivirusesAnimal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) · LondonWon by University of Surrey£37k
- Awarded1 May 2025Studentship: Understanding the role of sheep & goat in pestivirusesAnimal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) · LondonWon by University of Surrey£37k
- Awarded8 Nov 2024C26683 Studentship Agreement: Understanding the risk & preparing for arboviruses TMUV & WSLVUniversity of Surrey · South EastWon by University of Surrey£45k
Where to bid
Where PhD funding tenders are run
EU-Supply1 100%
Tenders published in the last year that name the bid portal they run on.
University of Surrey won the most PhD funding contracts
University of Strathclyde won the most by value. Each dot is one contract, coloured by who bought it.
Central governmentEducationTransport and utilitiesCouncilsOther buyers
| Rank | Contractor | Contracts won, by buyer | Contracts | Value won | Buyers | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Surrey London · See every contract | 7 | £278k | 3 | ||
| 2 | University of Strathclyde North West · See every contract | 4 | £11.8m | 3 | ||
| 3 | King's College London West Midlands · See every contract | 3 | £5.9m | 2 | ||
| 4joint | University of Leeds Yorkshire and the Humber · See every contract | 2 | £117k | 1 | ||
| 4joint | University of Glasgow North West · See every contract | 2 | £108k | 1 | ||
| 4joint | Cardiff University South West · See every contract | 2 | £40k | 1 | ||
| 7joint | University of Edinburgh North West · See every contract | 1 | £126k | 1 | ||
| 7joint | Queen Mary University of London | 1 | £88k | 1 | ||
| 7joint | Loughborough University London · See every contract | 1 | £50k | 1 | ||
| 7joint | Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine West Midlands · See every contract | 1 | £50k | 1 |
5 more PhD funding contractors ranked. See the full ranking →
Win PhD funding contracts? Share your ranking.
Who buys
Central government bodies award 50% of PhD funding contracts
Contracts with a published value in the last 2 years, from the type of buyer to the size of the contract.
6 buyers bought PhD funding more than once in the last 2 years
Each dot is a buyer, by how many PhD funding contracts it awarded in the last 2 years.
See who they are and when they usually buy →
Few and big, or many and small
Each dot is a buyer: how many PhD funding contracts it awarded against what they were worth. The busiest and biggest are named.
Central governmentEducationTransport and utilitiesCouncilsOther buyers
Top buyers by contracts awarded
| Rank | Buyer | Contracts | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) | 6 | £249k |
| 2 | Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) | 5 | £166k |
| 3 | National Physical Laboratory | 3 | £17.6m |
| 4 | Nuclear Restoration Services | 3 | £166k |
| 5 | Ministry of Defence | 3 | £93k |
| 6 | Department for Transport | 2 | £117k |
| 7 | International Nuclear Services | 1 | £126k |
| 8 | Department for Culture, Media and Sport | 1 | £50k |
| 9 | Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency | 1 | £47k |
| 10 | University of Surrey | 1 | £45k |
134 PhD funding contracts awarded since 2021
- 212021
- 482022
- 272023
- 122024
- 172025
- 92026 so far
Prices
Half of PhD funding contracts are worth less than £45k
Central governmentEducationTransport and utilitiesCouncilsOther buyers
The 10 biggest PhD funding contracts
- National Physical LaboratoryUniversity of Strathclyde · 13 Aug 2026
- National Physical LaboratoryKing's College London · 14 Aug 2026
- National Physical LaboratoryUniversity of Strathclyde · 14 Aug 2026
- International Nuclear ServicesUniversity of Edinburgh · 10 Mar 2026
- Department for TransportUniversity of Leeds · 15 Sep 2025
- Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl)Queen Mary University of London · 25 Sep 2026
- Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA)University of Greenwich, Royal Veterinary College · 11 Aug 2025
- Nuclear Restoration ServicesUniversity of Strathclyde · 4 Sep 2025
- Nuclear Restoration ServicesUniversity of Glasgow · 11 Nov 2025
- Nuclear Restoration ServicesUniversity of Glasgow · 11 Nov 2025
Renewing contracts
No PhD funding contracts come up for renewal in the next 12 months
The 27 PhD funding contracts ending are one-off work, which is not re-let as it was.
Where and when
London awards the most PhD funding contracts. May and August are the busiest months.
Contracts by region and by month awarded. Click a region to filter the page.
FewerMore contracts
The regions as a table
| Region | Open now | Contracts | Value | Typical contract | Won the most | Bought the most | Renewing in 12 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | 0 | 8 | £6.1m | £37k | University of Surrey (4) | Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) (5) | 0 |
| South West | 0 | 6 | £178k | £23k | Cardiff University (2) | Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) (4) | 0 |
| North West | 0 | 4 | £238k | £59k | – | Nuclear Restoration Services (2) | 0 |
| West Midlands | 0 | 2 | £73k | – | – | Ministry of Defence (2) | 0 |
| South East | 0 | 2 | £83k | – | University of Surrey (2) | – | 0 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 0 | 1 | £99k | – | – | – | 0 |
| East of England | 0 | 1 | £44k | – | – | – | 0 |
| North East | 0 | 0 | Not published | – | – | – | 0 |
| East Midlands | 0 | 0 | Not published | – | – | – | 0 |
| Wales | 0 | 0 | Not published | – | – | – | 0 |
| Scotland | 0 | 0 | Not published | – | – | – | 0 |
| Northern Ireland | 0 | 0 | Not published | – | – | – | 0 |
Often bought with PhD funding
Related services
Key findings
- £58k a month
of PhD funding contracts awarded.
Typical contract £54k x 1.1 contracts a month, last 12 months. - 1.2
PhD funding contracts are awarded in a typical month.
28 contracts in the last 2 years. - 4%
of PhD funding contracts are won by SMEs.
As recorded by the buyer, on 25 award notices.
How many PhD funding tenders and contracts are there?
| Since November 2021 | Last 12 months | |
|---|---|---|
| Notices published | 202 | 23 |
| Contracts awarded | 121 | 13 |
27 PhD funding contracts and frameworks end in the next 12 months. In the last two years, 12 buyers awarded PhD funding contracts to 15 suppliers.
Source: Find a Tender, Contracts Finder, Public Contracts Scotland, Sell2Wales and eTendersNI, to 4 November 2026. By Seamus White. How we count
Questions
How many PhD funding contracts does the UK public sector award?
28 in the 2 years to 4 November 2026, from 12 public buyers.
How much is a typical public sector PhD funding contract worth?
The median is £45k, and 89% are worth less than £250k.
Who wins the most public sector PhD funding contracts?
University of Surrey won the most (7). University of Strathclyde won the most by value (£11.8m).
Which buyers award the most PhD funding contracts?
Central government bodies award 50% of them.
Which part of the UK awards the most PhD funding contracts?
London: 8 of 28 in the 2 years to 4 November 2026, then the South West (6) and the North West (4).
What is included
Funded PhD studentships, including fees and stipends, whose output is a trained researcher.
- PhD fees and stipends
- Co-funded studentships
What is not included
- Master's places (see University degrees, executive education and CPD for staff)
- Scholarship programme administration (see Scholarship and study programme administration)
- Research projects whose output is findings (see Research services (unspecified))