Scholarship Overview
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Overview
The Koestler Psychologies PhD Studentship is a competitive, fully funded doctoral award at the University of Edinburgh. Established through the Koestler endowment, it enables outstanding researchers to investigate exceptional, anomalous, or poorly understood dimensions of human psychology—without requiring endorsement of paranormal claims.
This scholarship is particularly relevant for African scholars interested in cross-cultural psychology, indigenous knowledge systems, and how different societies interpret unusual experiences. The program values methodological rigor over ideological commitment, making it suitable for skeptics and open-minded researchers alike.
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What the Scholarship Covers
The award provides comprehensive financial support:
- Full tuition fees for the duration of the PhD program
- Annual stipend at the UKRI minimum rate (currently approximately £18,622 per year, though exact figures for 2027/28 will be confirmed)
- Duration: Up to 3 years, subject to satisfactory academic progress
This funding level allows recipients to focus entirely on research without requiring additional employment. For applicants from Zimbabwe and other SADC countries, this represents a significant opportunity to complete a UK doctorate without personal financial burden or external sponsorship.
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Eligible Research Areas
The Studentship explicitly does not require projects to investigate paranormal phenomena directly. Instead, it seeks research that illuminates psychological processes relevant to such experiences. Suitable topics include:
- Mental imagery, perception, attention, memory, and intuition
- Implicit or non-verbal communication and interpersonal processes
- Altered states of consciousness, dreams, absorption, dissociation, suggestion, and expectation
- Creativity, belief formation, and reasoning under uncertainty
- Anomalous experiences and their social/cultural interpretation
Projects addressing cross-cultural variation in experience interpretation, or African contexts of spiritual and anomalous experience, would align well with these aims.
Eligibility Requirements
The scholarship is open to both UK and international applicants, including those from Zimbabwe and SADC nations. Specific requirements include:
- Application for first-year, on-campus PhD study in Psychology at the School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences
- Outstanding academic merit and demonstrated research potential
- UK 2:1 honours degree or higher (or international equivalent) in Psychology or related field
- Alternatively: UK 2:1 honours degree in another subject plus postgraduate master’s degree in Psychology or related field
Important restrictions:
- Applicants who already hold a PhD or equivalent research qualification are ineligible
- The award cannot be held concurrently with other fully-funded scholarships
- It can be combined with partially-funded awards (value reduced pro-rata)
Application Process
Applicants must complete two distinct submissions:
Step 1: PhD Admissions Application
Submit a complete application for the PhD in Psychology through the University’s standard admissions portal by the School’s first deadline: Monday 9 November 2026.
Step 2: Scholarship Statement
Prepare a dedicated statement (maximum 500 words) addressing:
- The central psychological question or phenomenon to be studied
- Why this area is underexplored, theoretically important, methodologically challenging, or concerned with poorly understood aspects of human experience
- How the project could contribute to understanding experiences, capacities, beliefs, or interpretations historically regarded as anomalous, exceptional, psychical, or paranormal
Email this statement to: pplspgoffice@ed.ac.uk
Selection Criteria
A scholarship committee within the Psychology department ranks applications based on:
- Academic merit and research potential
- Quality and fit of the scholarship statement
- Alignment with the Koestler tradition of rigorous investigation into exceptional human experience
The highest-ranked applicant receives an offer, with notification targeted for 31 January 2027. If declined, the award cascades to the next candidate.
Contact Information
PPLS Postgraduate Research Administration Team
Email: pplspgoffice@ed.ac.uk
Telephone: +44 (0)131 651 3188
Address: Room 1.06, Dugald Stewart Building, 3 Charles Street, Edinburgh EH8 9AD
Availability: Monday–Friday, 10:00–12:30 and 13:30–16:00 (UK time)
Given the time difference with Zimbabwe (1–2 hours ahead of UK time depending on season), email correspondence is often most practical.
Strategic Considerations for African Applicants
Applicants from Zimbabwe and SADC countries should note:
- The UKRI stipend, while covering basic living costs in Edinburgh, may require careful budgeting given currency fluctuations and international transfer fees
- The University’s international student support services can assist with visa applications and accommodation
- Research proposals examining African contexts of spiritual experience, traditional healing, or cross-cultural cognition may offer distinctive competitive advantages
- Early contact with potential supervisors is advisable to refine proposals before the November deadline
Official scholarship page: https://ppls.ed.ac.uk/psychology/prospective-students/postgraduate/psychology-phd-programme/koestler-psychologies-phd-scholarship?
You apply directly with the provider. We never charge for applications or ask for payment details. How we verify scholarships