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Apply for a Master’s + PhD

Would you like to join the 2025 cohort of funded LAURA students, but don’t feel ready for PhD study? The Masters + PhD route is open to UK students from a widening-participation background who hold (or expect to be awarded) a 2:1 undergraduate degree or above. 

Read below for information, then APPLY HERE.

To be eligible for the Masters plus PhD Scholarships, candidates must fulfil the following criteria: 

  • Be a UK domiciled student 
  • Do Not already have a Masters degree from Salford University 
  • Be from a low-income household background as evidenced by, for example, being in receipt of a full maintenance loan or Special Support loan during their undergraduate studies. 

and/or be one of the following categories of ethnicity: 

  • Black African 
  • Black Caribbean 
  • Black Other 
  • Mixed – White and Black Caribbean 
  • Mixed – White and Black African 
  • Other mixed background (including Black African, Black Caribbean and Black Other) 

Scholarship’s cover five years fees and bursary (UKRI rate) to cover 1 year taught Masters and 4 years PhD (3 years study and 1 year completion). 

We are looking for people who have the potential to do excellent research in aural diversity. To apply please fill in this form where you will be asked to provide: 

  • Your research ambition and experience (including at dissertation) – up to 500 words 
  • Your ideas around the topic of aural diversity – up to 500 words 
  • A personal statement that reflects on your personal attributes that would make you a good candidate for a masters + PhD – up to 500 words 
  • Your ideal Master’s course – you can choose any masters that would prepare you for the research project that you would like to do – for example if you were to pursue  a PhD requiring knowledge of acoustics engineering, a masters in this subject would be appropriate (e.g. https://www.salford.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/acoustics) While a PhD exploring psychological aspects around mental health and sound may benefit from an applied psychology masters (https://www.salford.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/applied-psychology-therapies). For a Music focussed phD you may want to do our MA in music: https://www.salford.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/music
  • You will also be asked to upload your degree transcripts to show that you have already received, or are on track to receive at least a 2:1 at undergraduate.  

We are looking for candidates who have a clear passion for research, who have an interest in aural diversity and who have the potential to excel at doctoral level. We provide interdisciplinary supervision, a vibrant research community and the opportunity to make a unique contribution to knowledge. 

Masters can be explored here filtering for postgraduate degrees.

You can look at the potential LAURA topics here. This list is not exhaustive and you may have your own ideas. It’s fine for you to be inspired by one of the topics on the LAURA website, or to come up with something new. We are expecting some input from you, though: don’t just cut & paste a PhD project description on our website! 

You will find out further information and can ask questions by attending a webinar on May 29th at 1pm, we will also make a recording available.  

If you would like further information on The Leverhulme Doctoral Centre for Aural Diversity, then please contact us on this email address: see-laura@salford.ac.uk 

What is funded? 

LAURA offers fully-funded Masters + PhD positions. This includes: 

  • A bursary for your living expenses. From 1 Oct 2025, this is £20,780. Our funder, The Leverhulme Trust generally track the standard UKRI stipend rate. The bursary is paid for both the Masters year and the PhD years. 
  • Cost of tuition fees for Masters and PhD 
  • Generous research expenses of up to £10,000 per student. This is to cover the costs of your research, such as: travel and subsistence to present at conferences or research visits, participant fees, lab consumables, measurement costs, etc. This applies to the PhD years. 
  • Access to University of Salford research training courses during your PhD. 

Timeline 

  • Application deadline 16th June 23:59 UK time 
  • Shortlisting by July 4th 
  • Interviews between 14th July and 23rd  July.  
  • Funding decisions: 25th July 
  • Application for Taught Masters programme most suitable to your PhD topic end of July 2025 
  • Start taught masters programme September 2025 
  • Register to start the PhD on campus: October 2026 

Questions