36 verified robotics scholarships & phd positions for 2026–2027 are open right now, concentrated in United Kingdom and Switzerland. The soonest deadline is 28 October 2026 — closing-soon entries are flagged in the list. Hosted by ETH Zurich, Heriot-Watt University and Lancaster University. Listings are re-verified daily against official sources.
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology · Germany
The H2T Lab at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) offers a doctoral researcher position in human-robot interaction and dexterous manipulation. Salary TV-L E13 (100%). Open until filled.
Lund University invites applications for a doctoral student position on risk and safety of heterogeneous swarm systems, hosted by the CHASS competence centre and funded by the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF). Swarm systems - large numbers of cooperating drones, robots and autonomous agents - promise major advances in logistics, inspection and rescue, but their heterogeneous, dynamic composition creates new safety and assurance challenges.
ETH Zurich · Switzerland
Fully funded PhD at ETH Zurich developing neuromotor interfaces for dexterous robot teleoperation using EMG and egocentric vision. Open until filled.
RAINZ CDT · United Kingdom
4-year fully funded PhD programme across Manchester, Glasgow, and Oxford. Robotics and AI for Net Zero. UKRI stipend £20,780 plus £10,000/year TechExpert for Home students.
Lancaster University · United Kingdom
3.5-year fully funded PhD developing shared-autonomy framework for safety-critical remote robotics. UK home students. £22,780 stipend.
EU4M Consortium · France
EU4M is the Erasmus Mundus master in mechatronic engineering coordinated from ENSMM Besançon with mobility through Spanish and German partner campuses. Scholarship rounds in recent cycles closed on 15 January, and the 2027 intake application window is already being promoted by the consortium.
University of Liverpool · United Kingdom
A 4-year fully funded PhD programme training researchers in materials chemistry, digital intelligence, and automation, offering 10+ cross-disciplinary research projects.
Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) · United Arab Emirates
Fully funded scholarship at MBZUAI Abu Dhabi. Automatic full scholarship for all admitted graduate students (M.Sc./Ph.D.): 100% tuition waiver, monthly stipend, accommodation, health insurance. Deadline: 15 Dec 2026.
Imperial College London · United Kingdom
The MSEI Lab at Imperial College London offers a fully funded PhD in AI-driven 3D ultrasound imaging and autonomous robotic guidance. Supervised by Dr. Dandan Zhang. Deadline: January 2027.
University of Manchester · United Kingdom
PhD studentship at the University of Manchester (Department of Materials) in AI, digital engineering, textiles and wearable technologies. The project is developed jointly between the successful applicant and supervisor. Fully funded for 3.5 years, starting January 2027. Stipend £21,805 per year (2026/27 UKRI rate). Deadline: 30 March 2027.
North Carolina State University · United States
The HIER Lab at NC State University offers fully funded PhD positions in whole-body control, humanoid robotics, and manipulation. Led by Prof. Jaemin Lee. Priority deadline: 15 Dec 2026.
Vanderbilt University · United States
The Dong Lab at Vanderbilt University is offering fully funded PhD positions in medical robotics and magnetic actuation. Focus on miniature robots for surgical applications. Priority deadline: 15 Dec 2026.
HERON Robotics Center of Excellence · Greece
Fully funded PhD positions in robotics and AI at HERON and NTUA in Athens, Greece. Research areas include embodied AI, robot learning, surgical telerobotics, and autonomous navigation.
University College London · United Kingdom
4-year funded at the Home-fee rate PhD in Bioelectronics and Robotics at UCL. £28,955/year stipend. Open until filled. Apply early.
Lancaster University · United Kingdom
4-year fully funded PhD in Robotics and Control at Lancaster University in collaboration with UKNNL. UK Home students only. £20,780+ stipend.
Max Planck Society · Germany
IMPRS Intelligent Systems recruits doctoral researchers in Stuttgart and Tübingen. Hosted by Max Planck Society in Stuttgart / Tübingen. Apply by 15 November 2026, end of day Anywhere on Earth. Applicants can apply without IELTS - German doctoral hiring assesses English through documents and interview.
University of Oxford · United Kingdom
Oxford's industry studentships sit within the Autonomous Intelligent Machines and Systems CDT. Hosted by University of Oxford in Oxford. Apply by 27 January 2027.
Institut de Robòtica i Informàtica Industrial, CSIC-UPC · Spain
IRI Barcelona offers funded PhD, postdoc, and internship positions in robotics and AI. Multiple grant routes including FPI, FPU, Ramon y Cajal, and Marie Sklodowska-Curie. Email CV to apply.
Max Planck School of Biomedical AI (BMAI) · Germany
The Max Planck School of Biomedical AI (BMAI) offers 25 fully funded three-year PhD positions at leading German research institutions. Interdisciplinary research at the interface of AI and life sciences. Application deadline: 1 December 2026. Applicants can apply without IELTS - German doctoral hiring assesses English through documents and interview.
University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG) · Netherlands
UMCG is hiring a mechatronics engineer for the cryogenic kidney preservation programme, a research-driven technical role developing equipment that keeps donor kidneys viable at extremely low temperatures. The role sits at the interface of medical device engineering and transplant research, contributing to systems that are being developed to extend organ preservation windows beyond what current static cold storage allows. Applicants can apply without IELTS - selection is based on documents and an English interview, not a test certificate.
University of Southampton · United Kingdom
The University of Southampton recruits doctoral candidates to the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Network BlueOcean, focused on robotic monitoring and data processing for seafloor change. The network develops autonomous platforms, sensing technologies and data pipelines to observe and understand seafloor dynamics - from habitat change to geohazards - training a cohort of doctoral researchers across European partner institutions.
European Commission · EU
Prestigious Horizon Europe funded doctoral training networks offering fully funded PhD positions in engineering across Europe. Generous salary and mobility allowances.
Royal College of Art · United Kingdom
The Royal College of Art's Net Zero Futures award connects doctoral design research with environmental change.
Heriot-Watt University · United Arab Emirates
A self-funded PhD programme at the Dubai Campus focusing on Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, and Cyber Security.