Level: Postgraduate research (Edinburgh campus; full-time)

Entry date: September 2026 or January 2027

Closing date: Wednesday 12th August 2026

Edinburgh Business School at Heriot-Watt University is offering two full-time PhD studentships funded by the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to start in the 2026-27 academic year (either September or January entry is possible). The studentships include a tuition fee waiver for UK fees only, an enhanced annual stipend currently set at £23,985 (10% above the standard UKRI rate), and an expenses allowance of £3,500 for training and research costs. The duration of the studentships is 3.5 years. Overseas students are eligible to apply, but must be able to demonstrate how they would cover the difference between the UK and overseas fees.

We invite applications from candidates who can address one of the following topic areas in their PhD:

AI and Causal Inference for Labour Market Resilience

Artificial intelligence is transforming labour markets, yet credible evidence on its long-term economic impact remains limited by the absence of robust measures of AI adoption, diffusion, and labour market adjustment. This PhD project will develop new empirical approaches to understand how AI-driven technological change reshapes the structure and resilience of labour markets by combining large-scale vacancy data with modern natural language processing, network analysis, and causal inference methods.

The supervisory team for this project area will consist of Prof. Cristina Tealdi and Dr Yannis Kostas. Candidates interested in this project area are encouraged to contact Prof. Tealdi (c.tealdi@hw.ac.uk) for an informal discussion about their research proposal prior to submitting their application. When submitting your application for this project area, please select the option ‘Economics PhD’ from the drop-down list on the online application system. In addition to the standard entry criteria listed below, applicants for this project should note that a Master’s degree in Economics, Statistics, Mathematics or Computer Science is essential.

Financing the Circular Economy Transition

The transition towards a circular economy (CE) is increasingly recognised as essential for achieving net-zero targets, strengthening supply chain resilience, and reducing dependency on critical raw materials. This PhD project will investigate how finance and investment can accelerate the CE transition across areas such as electronics, cooling, heating, and hard-to-recycle materials.

The supervisory team for this project area will consist of Prof. Bing Xu and Dr Stefano Maiani. Candidates interested in this project area are encouraged to contact Prof. Xu (b.xu@hw.ac.uk) for an informal discussion about their research proposal prior to submitting their application. When submitting your application for this project area, please select the option ‘Accountancy and Finance PhD’ from the drop-down list on the online application system. In addition to the standard entry criteria listed below, applicants for this project should note that a Master’s degree in Finance, Sustainable Finance, Economics, Business Analytics, Data Analytics, Energy Finance, Accounting, or a related field is desirable. Experience with empirical research methods and programming languages such as Python, R, Stata, or Matlab is highly desirable.

General entry criteria

Applicants should have an undergraduate degree with a minimum classification of 2:1 in a field relevant to the project for which they are applying. Candidates for whom English is a second language should meet the University’s minimum English-language requirements. If you have not already studied a degree programme that was taught and examined in the medium of English, the minimum overall IELTS score is 6.5 with no score lower than 6.0 in Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening.

Applicants should submit their application via https://www.hw.ac.uk/study/apply/uk/postgraduate.htm

When completing the online application form, please indicate that you are applying to the ‘EBS EPSRC 2026 PhD scholarship competition’ in the field that asks how you will fund your studies. Please also ensure that you include the name of the Primary Supervisor in the relevant field.

Applicants should supply:

1. A full Curriculum Vitae.
2. Copies of full academic transcripts from all previous academic degree courses and copies of degree certificates for degrees already awarded.
3. A brief covering letter outlining why you want to study for a PhD at Heriot-Watt University, and what makes you an excellent candidate.
4. An outline research proposal (max. 1500 words).

Interviews will be conducted via video conferencing (e.g. Zoom or similar).

If you have any general queries about the applications process, please contact soss.pgradmissions@hw.ac.uk