Edinburgh Rugby Scholarship

In partnership with Edinburgh Rugby, a scholarship is available to fund (UK fees) a full-time MScR project. This project, focused on off the ball activity in professional rugby, will answer real-world questions which the rugby club want to answer, with research looking to provide real-world answers to enhance process and delivery of performance analysis support.

There is one award per academic year, with £10,920 (UK fees) available to fund the programme tuition fees. 

Overseas applicants are also eligible to apply, however the scholarship will only cover the UK fee amount. The additional overseas fees (£21,100) would need to be covered by the applicant, if successful.


The scholarship is available to one successful applicant. Only applicants who have applied for full-time study will be eligible to apply for the scholarship.Please note that the successful applicant will be required to commit to in-person study, and applications for distance learning will not be accepted.


The successful candidate will be determined following review of application materials (CV and applicant task, for example a demonstration of understanding on certain practices in applied sport science settings e.g., how would you assess or examine off the ball activity in professional rugby) and interview, which will be coordinated by staff at Edinburgh Rugby and the Institute for Sport, Physical Education and Health Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. 

Criteria that the applicants will be assessed on include:

  • Academic ability (presented in standard application, references, and interview).
  • Experience in professional settings (presented in standard application and references).
  • Suitability to meet the demands of the academic programme (presented in standard application, references, and interview).
  • Commitment to managing a demanding programme of work ably and professionally (presented in references and interview).

Applicants for the project must possess at least a 2:1 undergraduate degree in a sport science related discipline. Please note that part of this project is based at Edinburgh Rugby, with work being undertaken within the performance analysis department. 


Applicants should apply for the scholarship by 12pm (UK Time) on 2nd October 2026 via the following Webform. The form will ask them to complete a short statement detailing their interest in the scholarship and describe how they feel they would benefit from and contribute to the research culture at the University of Edinburgh (and include task details).


As detailed in the “Criteria” section, in addition to the scholarship, applicants will be required to:

  1. Submit a CV and one-page document detailing research you would conduct on off the ball activity in professional rugby, and what project you would conduct to assess or examine these priorities. Applications should be sent to Dr Ali Pearson (alastair.pearson@ed.ac.uk) by 12pm on 2nd October 2026.
  2. The successful applicant will be notified w/c 19th October 2026, and will need to apply for the MScR Sport, Physical Education and Health Sciences programme by 12pm (UK Time) on 30th October 2026. 

Please note that applicants are asked to list Dr Ali Pearson and Professor Tony Turner as their preferred supervisors when submitting their programme application. 


All queries regarding the project and programme should be directed to Dr Ali Pearson.


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