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6 UK PhD and AI Scholarships Worth Knowing
If you want to study PhD in machine learning, robotics or natural language processing, here are opportunities for you to achieve this dream through scholarship. In the UK you can get some of the best doctoral scholarships that waive your fees and pay you a tax-free stipend to live on while you research. This will help you to focus on your work instead of worrying about rent. A UK PhD typically takes three to four years, shorter than in many other countries, and British universities sit among the world leaders in AI research. In this article you will find six scholarships and funding routes worth knowing about.
UK Research and Innovation, the government’s main research funder, has 28 Centres for Doctoral Training dedicated entirely to artificial intelligence. The first 16 started in 2018 with £100 million of investment, and 12 more were announced in 2023 with £117 million to train around 900 students over eight years. Instead of working alone, students in these centres train as a cohort, combining taught modules, group projects and industry links with their own research. Topics range from AI for healthcare and safe, trustworthy AI to interactive and responsible systems.
This opportunity is structured in a way that there is no single national application. Each centre recruits its own students, so browse the list, find the centres whose research matches your interests, and contact them directly about funded places and how many international students they can take. For general questions, UKRI’s AI team can be reached at ai.cdts@ukri.org.
Imperial College London is one of the top science and engineering universities in the world. It has deep strengths in machine learning, robotics and AI for medicine. Its President’s PhD Scholarships are among the most generous in the country. Each covers full tuition fees and a stipend of £27,036 a year (2027/28 rate) for 3.5 years, plus £2,000 a year for research consumables in the first three years. Scholars also join cohort events through Imperial’s Early Career Researcher Institute.
The scheme is open to applicants of any nationality, though some departments may not be able to accept international candidates, so check with your department early. There are three rounds: the first closes at 23:59 UK time on 2 November 2026, followed by 11 January 2027 and 1 March 2027. If your application is ready, aim for the first round.
The University of Warwick offers around 80 Chancellor’s International Scholarships for 2027-28 entry, open to overseas fee-paying students of any nationality in any discipline. That makes it a strong option for computer science and AI applicants. Each award covers full tuition fees, a 3.5-year maintenance stipend at the UKRI rate, and a one-off £5,000 Research Training and Support Grant. Recipients can also apply for help with UK immigration costs.
The timeline is tight, so plan ahead. Course applications are due by 7 December 2026, scholarship applications by 10 December 2026, and references by 21 December 2026, all at 16:59 GMT. Late submissions aren’t accepted, and you need to tick the box to be considered for the scholarship in your application.
The University of Edinburgh has been a pioneer in artificial intelligence since the 1960s, and its School of Informatics is one of the largest computing and AI research centres in Europe. Its research covers machine learning, natural language processing, robotics and computer vision. That history makes Edinburgh a natural home for an AI PhD.
The Edinburgh Doctoral College Scholarships fund international students beginning PhD research in the 2027-2028 academic session. Award values and deadlines are listed on the scholarship page, so check them early and line up a supervisor before you apply. If you’re from Africa, also look at Edinburgh’s Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program, which offers comprehensive support to talented students with financial need.
The University of Cambridge is where Alan Turing studied and taught, and today it’s home to world-class research in machine learning and AI safety. The Cambridge Trust exists to help students with outstanding academic potential study there, whatever their financial circumstances. It funds hundreds of international students each year, often jointly with Cambridge colleges, departments and partner organisations.
Use the Trust’s “Find a scholarship” tool to see the awards that match your course and nationality. Many are considered through your Cambridge graduate application, so submit it by the funding deadline for your course. While you’re there, look at the Gates Cambridge Scholarship too: it covers the full cost of study for applicants from outside the UK, including a maintenance allowance of £23,152 a year (2026-27), and about two-thirds of its roughly 70 annual awards go to PhD students.
Google DeepMind, the London-based lab behind AlphaGo and AlphaFold, funds scholarships for graduate study in AI and related fields. Beyond the funding, scholars get a mentor from Google DeepMind and opportunities to attend leading AI conferences and DeepMind events. That kind of access to working researchers is rare and can shape a whole career.
Unlike the others on this list, this is a master’s-level award rather than a PhD scholarship, but it’s a strong stepping stone towards one. In the UK, the scholarships are delivered by the Martingale Foundation and aimed at UK students. The 2026 round has closed, so check the Martingale website for the next call. If you’re outside the UK, Google DeepMind also funds scholarships at universities in other countries, where host universities select the scholars.
How to Make Your Application Stand Out
Funded AI PhDs are highly competitive. This means preparation matters as much as grades. You can start by finding a potential supervisor whose research genuinely excites you, read a few of their recent papers, and send a short, specific email explaining how your interests fit their work. A strong research proposal, clear evidence of programming and maths skills, and any publications or projects you can point to will set you apart.
Keep a calendar of deadlines, because many fall between November and January for study starting the following autumn. Prepare your English test, transcripts and references well in advance, and never pay anyone to “guarantee” a scholarship. With the right preparation, you could get this opportunity and be researching the future of AI in the UK and getting paid to do it.
