Black Futures scholarships for UK Black students

The University also offers a prestigious Black Futures scholarship scheme, for talented UK-domiciled Black and mixed-Black heritage students who want to pursue a PhD at Southampton.

Successful Black Futures scholars will receive the following academic scholarship for up to 3.5 years (pro-rata for part-time students):

• Full funding for tuition fees (for UK students)
• A stipend of £17,668 per annum for living costs (reviewed annually and aligned with the UKRI base rate)
• A research training and support grant of £1,000 per annum (up to a maximum of £3,500 for full-time students and pro-rata for part-time students)

The Black Futures scholarships are open to applicants who:

• are eligible for home fees
• have Black or mixed Black heritage
• and have applied for a research postgraduate programme at Southampton starting in the 2023/24 academic year

Please see the Eligibility Criteria under the 'Black Futures' tab below for further information on who can apply for a Black Futures scholarship. To apply, please state in the 'Funding information' section of your PhD application that you are also applying for a Black Futures scholarship. You must have received an offer to undertake a PhD with us by Friday 17 March 2023 to be eligible for a Black Futures scholarship.

To be eligible for a Black Futures scholarship, your ethnic heritage must match one of the following (or their equivalent in the respective application systems):

• Black – African
• Black – Caribbean
• Black – Other
• Mixed – White and Black African
• Mixed White and Black Caribbean
• Other Mixed background – including Black African, Black Caribbean or Other Black background

In addition, candidates must be in possession of, or due to receive, either a first class or 2:1 (or equivalent) in their undergraduate or integrated masters degree. Scholarship recipients must commence their doctoral studies by research between 1 August and 1 December 2023.

How to apply

To apply for a Doctoral College Black Futures scholarship, you need to:

• Submit an application for a PhD using the University's online application portal
• State you are applying for a Black Futures scholarship under the 'Funding Information' section of the application form

Our Black Futures scholarships are highly competitive. As such, they will be allocated to successful applicants on a rolling basis.

We encourage you to apply for a PhD with us as soon as possible in order to be considered for a Black Futures scholarship. You must have received an offer to undertake a PhD with us by Friday 17 March 2023 in order to be eligible for a Black Futures scholarship.

CONDITIONS OF THE AWARD

• Candidates in receipt of a Presidential Scholarship will be known as “Black Futures scholars"
• Successful candidates who wish to accept the offer of a Black Futures scholarship must agree to abide by all the eligibility, terms and conditions of the award outlined here and any changes to them, throughout the time of the award, or the offer will be withdrawn.
• Candidates in receipt of an offer of a Black Futures Scholarship must register for, and start their doctoral studies, between 1 August 2023 and 1 December 2023.
• The Scholarship will be paid for a maximum of up to 3.5 years funding (pro-rata for part-time students), or the date of first submission of the thesis, whichever is the sooner.

Black Futures scholarships may be removed at any time if:

• Progress of the recipient is deemed not to be satisfactory, as determined by the University Progression Monitoring as defined in the University Calendar, Section V;
• Recipients who require a UK Visa for study fail to satisfy any requirement of it and at any time throughout their doctoral candidature;
• The Faculty Director of the Graduate School in the host Faculty, or Doctoral College Director, determines that there has been a material breach of the conditions of the award.

Further conditions:

• Black Futures scholars must agree to contribute to physical and online events promoting the scheme, their research work and activities as a condition of the award.
• The conditions of a Black Futures Scholarship may vary during the time of the award. Notification of any changes will be communicated to the recipient.
• The decision of the awarding panels is final.
• Recipients of the award are expected to spend the majority of time of study at the University of Southampton in the UK.
• The scheme is only open to new applicants for research doctorates. Existing students registered for doctorates at the University of Southampton are ineligible for Black Futures Scholarships.
• Candidates undertaking part-time doctoral studies by research are also eligible for consideration, but any scholarship will be paid at a pro-rata level.
• A review of the scholarship funding levels will take place each year and continued payment will be contingent on satisfactory progress, as measured by the University of Southampton annual monitoring process.
• Candidates undertaking taught doctorates are not eligible for consideration for the Black Futures Scholarship.