Black Futures Scholarship

£20,780 is available for talented Black and Mixed-Black heritage UK-domiciled students who want to pursue a PhD at Southampton. 

You will also get:

  • full UK fees
  • a £1,200 training and support grant each year

Deadline: Friday 27 February 2026

Eligibility

To be eligible for this scholarship you must:

  • reside in the UK,
  • be paying UK fees
  • have applied for a PhD project in one of our faculties

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. 

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

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

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

To apply for this scholarship:

  1. identify a PhD project from our current projects or create your own proposal
  2. apply online for your chosen PhD project.
  3. submit an online application for the Black Futures Scholarship Scheme.

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

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.

Contact us

Contact us

Please contact us via email if you have any questions.