Research options

What can I study?

Each year we welcome around 170 visiting research students to the College from across the globe.

The College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences is comprised of 11 Schools, which are home to a vast number of research-active Subject Areas across the fields of humanities and social science. The Schools are listed on this page - https://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/colleges-schools.  

During your time at Edinburgh you have the opportunity to carry out research in your field, under the supervision of world-leading experts.

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How long can I study for?

• The duration of study for visiting research students can range from one month up to a year, and is agreed in advance with the department.
• As you are completing research you are not restricted to semester dates.
• When we issue you with an offer the official dates are always from the 1st of the month to the last date of the month (inclusive).

Entry requirements

• An official transcript of a first degree in an appropriate subject or relevant qualifications / experience
• An academic reference
• A personal statement
• A research proposal
• Agreement from an academic at the University of Edinburgh to be your supervisor when studying here
• Appropriate English language skills or valid test- a degree from an English speaking university may also be accepted in some circumstances
• To be eligible to apply students must be registered as a full-time student on a degree programme elsewhere

In addition to these requirements each School may specify additional conditions.

Deadlines 

To allow time for processing the Visiting Student Office must receive your completed application, from the School with their approval, by the following deadlines: 

Any application received after these deadline by the Visiting Student Office will be required to change their agreed start date before processing takes place. If any additional information or documents are required to allow for processing, this may delay your start date. 

All research periods officially begin on the 1st of a month, even if you have arranged with your Supervisor and School to arrive slightly later. As such, the deadlines shown above apply to all applications, no matter when you plan to arrive physically in Edinburgh. 

Application

Once you have established your chosen research area, then please contact an academic member of staff involved in this research to seek approval to supervise you as a visiting research student.

If your research proposal is approved, you should then send a completed application form and supporting documents to the School Office. You can find the School contact information via this page - https://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/colleges-schools 

Our application form is available here -

Visiting Postgraduate Research Students at the Moray House School of Education and Sport (MHSES) - If your application to be a visiting research student at the Moray House School of Education and Sport has been approved, please get in touch with MHSES-Ethics@ed.ac.uk to discuss whether your project will need ethical review in our School, or whether your ethics approval from another institution is sufficient. If ethical review is required, we recommend allowing 6-8 weeks for this process when planning your visit.

Fees

The cost of tuition fees is dependant on the duration of your stay in Edinburgh. The cost of your proposed course of study will be confirmed when you are made an unconditional offer.

Students coming on direct exchange agreements with the University of Edinburgh will not be charged tuition fees.

Further information about tuition fees