Collaborative doctoral training programmes in the UK

Collaborative doctoral training is a generic term to cover doctoral degrees that involve research projects in collaboration or partnership with non-higher education organisations or business. These occur across all disciplines.

The oldest example of funded collaborative doctoral training is the Industrial CASE studentship (formerly known as Collaborative Awards in Science and Engineering), funded by some Research Councils. More recently, the Research Councils have introduced Collaborative Doctoral Awards. All of the UK Research Councils have funding schemes for collaborative doctoral training.

Examples of collaborative doctorates include those funded under the Arts and Humanities Research Council Collaborative Doctoral Awards and Collaborative Doctoral Partnerships, which includes collaborations with museums, arts organisations and community groups, or the Enineering and Physical Sciences Research Council Industrial CASE studentships and Industrial doctorate centres where projects have a strong industrial focus.

The additional opportunities offered by working as part of a collaborative programme can be valuable for your research whether you intend to work inside or outside the academic environment after your doctorate. It's worth finding out about opportunities in your field when looking at possible research degree programmes.