AI and Copyright Law PhD Scholarship 2026/27

The University of St Andrews School of Computer Science and the Macquarie University Law School are pleased to offer a Global Doctoral Scholarship in the area of Artificial Intelligence and Copyright Law: The Problem of Authorship. This PhD scholarship is fully funded and includes fees (home or international) and a stipend for 3.5 years. The PhD will be supervised by Dr Tristan Henderson at St Andrews and Dr Daniela Simone at Macquarie.

Summary

1. Application Deadline: December 3, 2025
2. Value: Full tuition fees + annual stipend (£19,775 at St Andrews / AUD39,700 at Macquarie) + airfare allowance up to AUD4,000
3. Study Level: PhD
4. Sponsor: University of St Andrews / Macquarie University
5. Eligible Country: All Countries

Eligibility Criteria for AI and Copyright Law PhD Scholarship 2026/27

Admission and scholarship criteria of both universities must be met.

For St Andrews, please refer to details of how to apply and of entry requirements here.

For Macquarie University, please refer to the PhD entry and English language requirements, and graduate research scholarship eligibility criteria.

Desirable experience or education: Solid foundational knowledge of law and/or computer science and a willingness to engage with related disciplines, ideally demonstrated through research experience or a dissertation in a relevant area.

Additional criteria

Applicants must not already

(i) hold a doctoral degree; or

(ii) be matriculated for a doctoral degree at the University of St Andrews, Macquarie University, or another institution.

Benefits of AI and Copyright Law PhD Scholarship 2026/27

Funding arrangements are made on the basis that:

For the period spent at the University of St Andrews, the scholarships will comprise a full tuition fee award and an annual stipend paid at a rate set by the University of St Andrews. For 2025-2026, the stipend is £19,775 p.a., with an annual uplift published by the University each academic year.

Macquarie will fund a living allowance scholarship per position at an annual rate of AUD39,700 (2026 rate, tax exempt), paid pro-rata while the student is in Australia. A tuition fee scholarship will be granted for the period of joint enrollment up to 42 months.

Macquarie will also provide an airfare allowance for flights between the UK and Australia up to a maximum of $4,000 AUD to be arranged by the Graduate Research Academy.

Unless otherwise specified, the scholarships do not cover:

1. any continuation, extension, or resubmission period/fees
2. a research training grant or another equivalent award for research expenses
3. support for travel, immigration, health insurance and related charges between the partner institutions.

How to Apply

Expressions of interest are open now until 3 December 2025.

Students are to submit their EOIs to the MQ and St Andrew’s supervisor and cc gr.globalprograms@mq.edu.au. The participating schools at St Andrews and the Graduate Research Academy at Macquarie, in coordination with the academic supervisors, will be expected to complete the selection process.

EOI documents to be submitted:

1. CV including information about publications
2. transcripts of most relevant or recent degrees
3. information about thesis components (thesis mark, word count, weight or length in comparison to the degree overall)
4. a research proposal, which is up to three pages in length. This proposal should include specific details about the role of legal, computer science, or other disciplinary approaches when describing the proposed methodological approach for the project.
5. indication that the student meets the English language requirements for entry into a PhD program at both universities, or willingness to obtain relevant English language proficiency test results.

The Global Office at St Andrews will work with the Graduate Research Academy at Macquarie to arrange official notification of scholarship awards, invite scholarship awardees to formally apply for admission to both universities by mid-January 2026, and conclude contractual arrangements, which must be in place prior to the start of the degree.

Shortlisted applicants will be invited for an interview. The successful applicant will then be asked to formally apply for the relevant PhD course code and Cotutelle/joint PhD scholarship through the MQ application portal.

For more details, visit University of St Andrews Scholarship webpage

Application Deadline

December 3, 2025

Application Link(s)

• Apply for AI and Copyright Law PhD Scholarship 2026/27