Postgraduate funding, trusts and charities
On the whole postgraduate courses do not attract any statutory funding from government.
Before you apply for a place you need to be clear about how you are going to pay for your course fees and your living costs for a year or more.
A few postgraduate courses do come with funding attached, these are called Studentships.
Studentships are more commonly available in science subjects and for research rather than taught courses but they do come with funding for fees and living costs. They are mainly funded by the seven UK Research Councils. Some are funded by universities and colleges or by companies.
The course itself and the studentship are often covered by a single application. You won't usually apply directly to a Research Council as in most cases you'll need to apply to the university or college department where the position is based.
The Seven Research Councils are:
- Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)
- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences research Council (BBSRC)
- Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
- Medical Research Council (MRC)
- Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)
- Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
In order to be eligible for a full award, students should have a good first degree, at least 2.1 for a PhD and a 2.2 for a master's degree. You must also have been resident in the UK for three years. Residents of other EU countries are currently eligible for help with course fees but not a maintenance stipend
The way that grants are awarded to students varies between different councils. However, the Research councils are increasingly giving individual universities much more autonomy over their budgets for student funding. In particular you may come across the following terms:
Doctoral Training Grant: universities already receive a research grant from a council, a percentage of which is allocated for PhD training.
CASE Studentships (Co-operative awards in Science and Engineering). These are for specific projects which are jointly funded with an external agency or business
Stipends (tax free allowances). Paid to students to cover their living costs. The national minimum stipends are agreed each year by all research councils and increase in line with inflation. Fees are paid direct to the University).
