PhD in Financial Technology Scholarships and Funding Opportunities at the University of Edinburgh Business School – Apply By 18 June 2026

The University of Edinburgh Business School provides a range of scholarships and funding opportunities for students pursuing a PhD in Financial Technology. These funding schemes are designed to support high-achieving candidates and are awarded primarily on academic merit and alignment with specific research projects. Several fully funded and partially funded options are available for prospective doctoral researchers beginning their studies in September 2026.
PhD FinTech Studentships Co-Designed with Industry Partners
The Business School offers industry-linked doctoral studentships developed in collaboration with major financial institutions, including Lloyds Banking Group. These programmes focus on cutting-edge applications of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and financial modelling in real-world insurance and customer analytics contexts.
Secure and Governed Multi-Agent AI for Home Insurance Claims and Pricing
This fully funded four-year PhD studentship is co-designed with Lloyds Banking Group and focuses on developing advanced AI systems for insurance applications. The project explores a multi-agent decision-making framework powered by agentic AI, with emphasis on secure and cloud-native computational pipelines.
Key details include:
- Duration: 4 years
- Funding: Fully funded
- Annual stipend: £25,000 for the 2026–27 academic year, increasing by 5% annually for three years
- Deadline: 23:59, 18 June 2026
- Eligibility: Open to all applicants
The research aims to enhance automation and accuracy in home insurance claims processing and pricing models through intelligent, secure AI-driven systems.
Sequential Foundation Model for Customer Behaviour with Uncertainty-Aware Pricing Decisions
This is another four-year fully funded PhD studentship also co-designed with Lloyds Banking Group. The project focuses on the development of foundation models trained on sequential customer behaviour data.
The research investigates how AI models can:
- Pre-train on customer event sequences
- Support risk assessment and pricing decisions
- Improve behavioural prediction accuracy
- Incorporate uncertainty-aware decision-making frameworks
Key details include:
- Duration: 4 years
- Funding: Fully funded
- Annual stipend: £25,000 for the 2026–27 academic year, increasing by 5% annually for three years
- Deadline: 23:59, 18 June 2026
- Eligibility: Open to all applicants
This initiative contributes to the advancement of data-driven financial services through predictive analytics and adaptive pricing systems.
University-Level Doctoral Scholarships
In addition to project-specific funding, the University of Edinburgh Business School provides broader doctoral scholarships through university-wide schemes. These are highly competitive and support outstanding candidates across multiple research areas.
Edinburgh Doctoral College Scholarships
The Edinburgh Doctoral College offers fully funded scholarships to exceptional doctoral candidates within the Business School.
- Funding: Full tuition fees (UK or international) plus stipend aligned with UKRI minimum rates
- Eligibility: All offer holders
- Status: Application deadline has now passed
These scholarships are designed to attract top-tier doctoral researchers with strong academic backgrounds and research potential.
College Research Awards
The College Research Awards support incoming PhD students across selected Business School doctoral programmes starting in September 2026.
- Funding: Full tuition fees plus annual stipend for three years
- Extended funding: Available for up to four years for integrated PhD programmes
- Eligibility: All offer holders
- Status: Application deadline has now passed
These awards aim to sustain long-term doctoral research development within the Business School.
ESRC Open Competition Funding
The Business School welcomes applications under the ESRC Open Competition scheme, supporting both PhD and combined Masters-by-Research plus PhD pathways (1+3 years).
- Coverage: UK or overseas tuition fees plus a generous stipend
- Eligibility: Applicants must meet ESRC residency requirements
- Duration: 3-year PhD or 1+3-year integrated programme
- Status: Application deadline has now passed
This funding route is ideal for students pursuing social science-oriented research in financial technology and related disciplines.
Student Loan and Financial Support Options
Beyond scholarships, the University of Edinburgh also provides access to student loan funding options. These are available for both UK/EU students and international applicants, depending on eligibility criteria.
Prospective students are encouraged to consult the University’s Financial Support services for detailed guidance on loan availability, repayment terms, and application procedures.
Application and Contact Information
Prospective PhD candidates are advised to prepare their applications early and ensure alignment with available research projects. Successful applicants are typically selected based on academic excellence and research fit.
- Application portal: Available via the University of Edinburgh Business School website
- Contact address: 29 Buccleuch Place, Edinburgh, EH8 9JS
- Additional information: University of Edinburgh Business School official website
Summary
The University of Edinburgh Business School’s PhD in Financial Technology funding landscape is strongly research-driven and industry-connected. With fully funded studentships in artificial intelligence, behavioural modelling, and insurance analytics, alongside university-wide doctoral scholarships, the programme provides significant financial support for high-calibre researchers aiming to advance financial technology innovation.
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Disclaimer: Global South Opportunities (GSO) is not the organization offering this opportunity. For any inquiries, please contact the official organization directly. Please do not send your applications & CVs to GSO, as we are unable to process them. Due to the high volume of emails, we receive daily, we may not be able to respond to all inquiries. Thank you for your understanding.



