LJMU Vice-Chancellor PhD Scholarships 2027: Fees, Stipend and 29 January Deadline

Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) in the UK runs the Vice-Chancellor (VC) PhD Scholarships every year. For 2027 it offers a maximum of 20 funded PhD places, open to both UK and international students. The scheme is now in its 12th year and supports research in all of LJMU’s faculties, from engineering and neuroscience to public health and criminology.

Status: Open. The 2027 round opened on 7 October 2026 and closes at 5pm UK time on 29 January 2027 (checked October 19, 2026). Results are sent by 15 April 2027.

What the scholarship covers

• Full-time studentships: course fees, bench fees and a stipend
• Part-time studentships: course fees and bench fees only

LJMU accepts applicants on both home and international fee status. The official page does not state the stipend amount, so ask the scholarship team for the 2027 figure before you plan your budget. International students should also plan for visa, health surcharge and travel costs.

Who can apply

• UK and non-UK citizens who meet the academic requirements for PhD study at LJMU
• Applicants who have an LJMU lead supervisor. Applications without a named supervisor are not accepted.
• Students finishing a master’s degree, as long as they complete it before enrolling on the PhD in August or September 2027

LJMU also sets aside up to three scholarships for talented UK ethnic minority applicants who meet the residency rules.

How applications are judged

A faculty panel and then a university panel score each application on:

• The student’s academic record, research achievements and skills, which count double
• The experience and quality of the supervisory team
• The quality of the project: the lay summary, the research plan and the PhD training plan
• How well the project links to LJMU’s research strategy

Key details

How to apply

1. Find an LJMU academic whose research matches your idea, and agree a project with them. They become your lead supervisor.
2. Write the application together. It needs your details, a lay summary of up to 250 words, your research proposal and training plan, and a short statement linking the project to LJMU’s research plans.
3. Your lead supervisor sends the application to VC************@*****ac.uk before 5pm on 29 January 2027.
4. Send your own Equal Opportunities monitoring form directly to VC************@*****ac.uk, with your name at the top, by the same deadline.
5. If you win, complete LJMU’s formal PhD application form so you can enrol. Do not fill in that form before you get your result.

If your project involves an outside organisation, LJMU must review it first, and this takes up to ten working days. Read the full rules on the official LJMU VC PhD Scholarships page.

Tips before you apply

• Contact possible supervisors now. Without one, you cannot apply.
• Write the lay summary for a reader outside your field. It is scored on clarity.
• Do not add extra documents. LJMU says anything beyond the set content is not assessed.
• Leave time before the deadline, because your supervisor submits for you.

Related guides

• France Excellence Eiffel Scholarship 2027: Monthly Allowance for Master’s and PhD Study in France
• Clarendon Scholarships 2027: Fully Funded Master’s and DPhil at the University of Oxford
• Gates Cambridge Scholarship 2027: Fully Funded PhD and Master’s at Cambridge for International Students

Details are taken from the official Liverpool John Moores University website, checked on October 19, 2026. Confirm the current rules there before you apply.