what does competition funded phd mean

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All of your PhD funding options explained

“I want to do a PhD but I’m worried I can't afford it.” If this sounds like you then you're in the right place. Read our post to find out more about PhD funding at the College of Medicine & Veterinary Medicine.

“I want to do a PhD but I’m worried I won’t have enough money to live on.” If this sounds like you then never fear - you’re in the right place! In the blog post below, we’ll be looking at all of the funding options open to you as a PhD student in medicine and life sciences, as well as highlighting the living costs that you’ll have to think about during your time at university. We’ve even got some amazing examples of how our PhD students have managed to travel the world while studying – all with a simple bit of planning.

Many people are put off the idea of doing a PhD because they think that PhD students never have any money. In the post below, we show that this simply isn’t the case – you can study for a postgraduate degree without constantly worrying about how you’re going to pay the rent.

This blog post explores :

Our funding options for PhD students studying medicine, vet medicine and life sciences
The living costs that you’ll have to think about as an on-campus research student
Travelling on a budget

Your options for PhD funding explained

Funded phd programmes.

Here at the College of Medicine & Veterinary Medicine, we have a wide range of funded PhD programmes for outstanding students. These studentships are offered in collaboration with our world-class research centres, and subject areas include everything from Precision Medicine to Cardiovascular Science.

Applying for one of our PhD studentships is probably the most straightforward route into a funded PhD programme at the College of Medicine & Veterinary Medicine. However, applications are highly competitive.

What’s on offer?

Our studentships offer eligible candidates a stipend, tuition fees (at the UK/EU rate) and a contribution towards any research costs.

PhD Studentships

Funded PhD projects - FindAPhD

Another option for students thinking about postgraduate research is to browse our wide range of pre-defined PhD projects. The College of Medicine & Veterinary Medicine advertises available PhD projects on Findaphd.com. You can also browse them using the link below.

FindAPhD Research Projects

Various stipends and research costs are available depending on the project. These are significant amounts of money which will allow you to devote all of your time to research, rather than worrying about funding.

You’ll notice that each research project will either be ‘directly funded’, ‘competition funded’ or will have ‘funding available’. All this means is that there may be certain requirements which apply to each project depending on the type of funding stipulated.

For example, there may be restrictions relating to residency or nationality depending on the type of funding body involved.

Self-funding a PhD

Some postgraduate students are fortunate enough to self-fund their studies over three years without having to work at the same time . They may be using their own savings or receiving financial aid from parents or another relative.

Students in this position are welcome to apply with a research proposal at any time of year. However, if you are applying for an advertised PhD project, make sure that you submit your proposal before the specified deadline.

For more information on self-funded postgraduate research , including where to check entry requirements, visit the link below.

PhD Applicants with External Sponsorship or Self Funding

Working while studying for a PhD

Some of our students work around their studies to bring in a bit of extra cash. Obviously this is a lot easier to do if you decide to study for a PhD part-time over six years rather than the usual three years full-time.

However, some of our full-time students are also able to earn money by occasionally working on weekends or evenings.

Finding a part-time job while studying full-time is certainly not for everyone, and you should think long and hard about whether you will be able to succeed in your postgraduate research while devoting any spare time to working. However, if you have strong time management skills and you can find flexible work in your area of study, then this may be a great way to keep some of your industry skills up to scratch.

Jenni Irving McGrath is a full-time PhD student at the University’s Feline Genome Project:

I continue to work as a locum vet in practices around Edinburgh every second weekend. The balance has worked well and I believe it benefits my PhD as it keeps my phenotyping skills up to date. Working in clinics also keeps me focused on my end goal of bringing my research results from the lab bench into the clinics. Jenni Irving McGrath PhD Genetics and Genomics

Keep in mind that there may also be the opportunity to work as a tutor during your PhD too:

“I’ve learned how to conduct highly-interdisciplinary research, and to work with participants. I’ve also learned how to use R, and other open science practices. I also got the opportunity to work as a tutor alongside my research, which improved my teaching skills.” Bérengère Digard PhD Psychiatry

Additional Funding Opportunities

At the University of Edinburgh, we welcome students from a variety of different backgrounds and funding options are available to those people who wish to apply but have very specific needs in place .

For example, if you are a single parent, have a disability or find yourself facing unexpected financial difficulties, the University offers additional funding opportunities on top of the main postgraduate loans and bursaries.

Additional financial assistance

Living costs for PhD students

When you’re a PhD student there are plenty of living costs to consider . You’ll have to think about accommodation, electricity bills, travel and a lot more.

However, the University has put together a handy guide for the upcoming 2019-20 year, which gives an excellent idea of how much it generally costs to live as a postgraduate student in Edinburgh.

Estimated living costs 2019-20

Travelling near and far on a budget

And finally…we’ve got some great examples of past and current students who have shown that it’s possible to enjoy postgrad life to the max while studying for a PhD. Some of our PhD students are keen travellers and have managed to save up their money and spend it on what they enjoy doing most .

As we all know, mental health issues and stress are very prevalent among Ph.D. students. However, we are also privileged to have a more flexible schedule. We should also appreciate and take advantage of the fact that there are many cheap flights from Edinburgh to many European countries, whereas in my home country Canada, a 5 hr coach bus ticket to the next province costs at least £100. Of course, you need to first consult your supervisor, but it shouldn’t be a massive problem if you’re only away for a Friday or a Monday once in a while. There are also ways to travel without breaking the bank. Amy Cui PhD Population Health Sciences

Amy’s South American adventure post in full

Plus you don’t have to travel outside of Scotland to enjoy beautiful scenery and experience a different vibe to city life.

With a little bit more free time on your hands, you might be able to rent a car and venture up to the highlands. For a friend’s birthday, we did a little retreat tour of the Highlands & the Isle of Skye. The drive through nature there was spectacular – and it was on the way there where everything started to get very remote, and the roads turned into tiny single lane streets.  Chiara Herzog PhD Neuroscience

It’s also worth bearing in mind that many of our PhD students come from overseas . Although they might not be flying home to Canada or Australia every other month, many of our students are still able to cover the costs of a long haul flight to see family and friends by dipping in to their PhD funding.

Remember too that you’ll more than likely have the opportunity to travel to academic conferences during your studies, many of which provide funding for eager students.

You can read more about student life - including tips on how to save money - by visiting the University’s ‘Student Stories’ website below.

Student Stories

University of Birmingham

An image of a student sitting at a computer in the library

Funding your Postgraduate Research

There are many ways to finance your research degree; from scholarships and studentships to loans and partial funding from other sources. There are 2 main routes to fund your PhD:

Apply for a PhD that already has funding attached.

These are most common in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Medicine) subjects, but they can sometimes be available for pre-defined research projects in the arts, humanities or social sciences. These may be advertised as fully funded (with fees and a stipend) or competition funded, meaning the projects compete against other projects at each institution.

Self-fund, or search for funding or a studentship once you have an offer.

You devise your own PhD topic, find a supervisor, write a research proposal and apply to the relevant programme. If you’re offered a place at Birmingham, you can then apply for studentships or funding from various sources. Our Postgraduate Scholarships and Funding database lists all available funding.

Find an 'advertised PhD'

Find a studentship or other funding

125th Anniversary Scholarships for Black British Researchers

The doctoral loan.

If you’re a UK national who normally lives in England, this government loan allows you to borrow up to £27,892 to help with course fees and living costs. Full-time or part-time, the loan is divided into equal payments for each year of your course, which can last from three to eight academic years.

students sat at table talking over coffe and laptop.

Funding from Research Councils

You may be able to get financial support from a government-funded research council. They’re known jointly as UKRI (United Kingdom Research and Innovation). Full UKRI awards cover the cost of tuition fees and also provide a maintenance grant to support you during your studies.

How much does it cost?

The University charges an annual tuition fee which covers the cost of your tuition, supervision, assessment and membership to the Guild of Students. Tuition fees are payable at the start of your programme of study and at the beginning of each subsequent academic year.

Postgraduate Doctoral Loan
Research council funding
Postgraduate scholarships and funding
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May 29, 2022

The Myth of the Fully-Funded PhD: Using Scholarships to Mitigate the Financial Realities of Research Degrees

When you decide to go to graduate school of any kind, you are making a financial decision that will dramatically affect your earning capacity for the duration of the program and throughout your life. While the caliber of school, available mentorship opportunities, and research resources are important factors to consider when making a decision about which university to attend, students often forget to carefully assess the financial realities associated with each opportunity.

The financial decision surrounding attending graduate school

Unlike students in professional graduate programs, most PhD students do not plan to pursue high-paying careers, and they depend on the fact that doctoral programs automatically include “full funding” to offset the cost of long-term research degrees. Though many graduate students receive admissions offers that are referred to as “fully-funded,” such funding packages require PhD students to teach multiple years in exchange for tuition waivers and teaching stipends. Once students start to work for the university and balance their many responsibilities, they quickly realize that “full-funding” isn’t exactly the same as a “scholarship” or a “full-ride. ”

Common misconceptions about what it means to be “fully-funded”

Depending on the university and its location, the value of one’s teaching stipend in relationship to workload and cost of living can vary greatly. In reality, graduate student teaching stipends for students who live in large United States cities are not enough to cover basic necessities. As a result, most graduate students go into additional debt to complete their programs.

Since tenure-track jobs have become increasingly elusive in the United States university system, today’s doctoral students must also satisfy a growing list of requirements to be considered for well-paying and stable teaching positions upon graduation. The added responsibilities associated with producing early publications, progressing through the degree quickly, regularly attending conferences, and pursuing ongoing professionalization or certification opportunities all require significant time commitments.

However, since doctoral students must work for the university in order to waive tuition and fees, they cannot devote all of their time to academic and professional progress. To avoid burnout and set aside more time for completing research, I suggest that prospective and current graduate students continuously apply for extramural funding, research fellowships, and community-based scholarships throughout their degrees.

Accepted’s clients received over $3.5 million dollars in scholarship offers in the last application cycle. Explore our scholarship essay services to find out how we can help you!

How the academic culture deemphasizes the financial aspects of the work

The common phrase “no one goes into a PhD to make money” is thrown around frequently in academic settings, and seems to suggest that pursuits related to funding are selfish and “anti-intellectual.” Especially in the humanities and social sciences, there is significant cultural importance placed on the fact that academia is not about money, and that academic careers are shaped by intellectual merit, not an individual’s financial capacity to stay in school.

Historically, however, the option to waive tuition in return for a few years of university teaching was an affordable way to enable individuals to pursue intellectual projects in the not-for-profit environment of the public university. One generation ago, doctoral students transitioned into tenure-track jobs with much more ease than those currently on the market. They also entered public institutions carrying far less student debt, and upon employment, they received guaranteed state pensions and salaries commensurate with the cost of living.

In today’s public university, the labor commitments of teaching assistants have grown significantly while the pay has not caught up with the steep rise in the cost of living for most university hubs. For example, throughout my graduate program at UCLA, I received between $15,000 and $22,000 in annual pay as a teaching or staff stipend. Given that my Los Angeles rent was upwards of $1,200 per month and rising, I was unable to continue my degree without applying for extramural grants and taking on work outside of the university.

Furthermore, the number of tenure track positions is diminishing so it is unlikely that I will ever make the stable and generous income to which my advisors have access. So the cultural norms of the intellectual community, which eschew any discussion of financial wellness, are no longer sustainable for most graduate students.

Though most graduate programs do not emphasize the financial aspects of navigating life as a student researcher and university employee, I have found that the pursuit of additional funding is neither a greedy nor an “anti-intellectual” use of my time in graduate school. Rather it is a great way to empower myself to set aside more time for conducting critical research and preparing for a successful career.

Strategies for applying for funding throughout your doctoral degree

In addition to my own efforts to build funding applications into my graduate studies, as a Student Affairs Advisor at the UCLA Scholarship Resource Center, I have worked with graduate students to generate strategies for incorporating annual cycles of grant writing into their studies.

Here are some of the most important takeaways from that work:

Most applicants are so anxious about whether or not they will be accepted to their desired PhD program that they don’t think about funding until after they’ve found out where they have gotten in. But there are a number of organizations, like the Ford Foundation , the Paul & Daisy Soros Foundation , the Stanford-Knight Hennessey Scholars Program , the National Science Foundation, and the Fannie and John Hertz Foundation , that offer funding for prospective graduate students.Like university admission applications, these also run on an annual cycle that requires students to apply one year before they plan to enroll in school. So, if you are planning to spend this fall putting together applications for graduate school, it is well worth it to add a number of fellowship applications to your list as well. Even if you aren’t successful with your first round of applications you will be well prepared to add scholarship applications to your graduate school routine. This is an activity that you should engage in throughout your entire degree, and you have to start somewhere!

Below are some questions that you should be able to answer by carefully analyzing your letter of admission. If you can’t answer them, try to find out the answers before you make your decision.• How many years of teaching assistantship does the university commit to you? How many students are you responsible for teaching, assessing, and holding office hours with for each term?• Are there stipulations related to your progress through the degree that may create limitations on your access to university funding or campus work opportunities?

• Does your status as university student or staff come with health benefits?

• Does your university have a union for teaching assistants? If so, what employee rights do you have through your union membership? Pay close attention to issues of pay related to maternity leave, medical leave, absence in the case of the death of a family member, and access to childcare.

• Is there an employee handbook for student staff and teaching assistants?

• What is the pay scale associated with the teaching positions that the university has offered you?

Before you decide where to go to school, do the research about your housing options. How much does university housing cost? Are there other options?Some universities offer annual budgets on their websites that include the cost of housing, but you have to analyze these carefully to understand how these budgets translate to your degree. For instance, UCLA’s estimated cost of attendance for graduate students only lists the annual budget for the academic year, which consists of 8 months. So you’d have to add four months of summer expenses in order to get a true sense of the living costs associated with each calendar year.

Once you’ve chosen a university, I would suggest that you map out the various phases of the program, the skillsets that you wish to build, and the accomplishments that you will achieve as you progress through the degree. There are different types of funding for every step of progress that you make, and if you are intentional about identifying related funding you can apply for specific opportunities throughout.Here are some examples of different achievements or degree phases associated with specific funding opportunities:• 2-3 years of coursework

• Conference travel

• Master’s exam period

• Master’s thesis writing year

• Language study

• Building a technical or quantitative analytical methodology

• Preliminary fieldwork or archival research

• Prospectus development

• Qualifying exam period

• Preliminary dissertation research

• Primary fieldwork or archival research

• Dissertation writing year

Most research-related funding opportunities do not pay out until a full academic year after the application submission period. This means that you should plan out your goals an entire year in advance, and apply for funding in the year before you carry out the projects and goals that you propose in your application materials. If you can continuously conceptualize your degree in the long-term, you will be able to anticipate the types of funding that will support your progress.

Whether you work for the institution or not, it will likely be up to you to cover the cost of your summers during graduate school. Rather than wait until summer starts to figure out how you’re going to pay the bills, start making plans the preceding fall. You may find paid opportunities to conduct research, fieldwork, or language study during your summer. But you also have the option to take on paid internships in a number of research fields in both the public and private sectors.

Do you need help with your PhD admissions or PhD funding applications? Our expert advisors are here to walk you through the PhD application process, from strategy-building to final send-off. Check out our Graduate School Admissions Consulting & Editing Services for more information on how we can help you GET ACCEPTED…with funding!

Plotting Your Way to a Phd - download your guide today!

Student Affairs Advisor and scholarship expert, Rebecca has six years experience reviewing and editing large grant applications, research-based proposals, statements of purpose, personal statements and fellowship materials. Want Rebecca to help you get accepted? Click here to get in touch!

Related Resources:

5 Fatal Flaws to Avoid in Your Grad School Statement of Purpose , a free guide
How to Write About Your Research Interests
The Personal Statement That Got Me a Large Scholarship to Cambridge

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What Does Fully Funded Actually Mean?

You may have heard that many PhD programs are fully funded — universities pay doctoral students to attend school and even provide health insurance. The thought of getting paid to earn an advanced degree in a subject that deeply interests you may seem like a good deal – so what’s the catch? Are PhD programs free? Is a fully-funded PhD real?

Before you sign that dotted line and accept such an offer, understand the whole picture of a fully funded program and whether the offer will be worth it for you.

What’s included in a fully funded program?

Before you can make sense of a funding offer, you might be asking yourself two big questions. 1. How much does a PhD costs? 2. How do PhD students get paid ? First, a doctoral program can cost anywhere between $131,000-$263,000. If those numbers feel daunting, you’re not alone. Most universities understand that the cost of this investment looms over students, which is why they offer fully funded doctoral programs that include tuition waivers, assistantships and living stipends that cover your base expenses to make the longevity of your study possible. A fully-funded offer is essentially an invitation to become a member of that department. Your funding offer typically comes in the form of an assistantship, which means you work for the department in some way.

Types of PhD Funding

The two most popular options are teaching assistantships and research assistantships . Depending on your discipline, you may be offered one or the other when you start, and you may be reassigned as you go through your program depending on your department’s needs, your strengths and the areas you may need more experience. Fellowships are another form of funding, which can either be tied to an assistantship or a funding opportunity that gives you the freedom to focus more time on your research. Regardless of the funding type, these offers demonstrate that your department is investing in you and your work. That investment prepares you for future careers by providing hands-on training in your area and the experience you need to succeed post-graduation.

What to Consider Before Accepting a Fully-Funded PhD Program

→ Assistantships and fellowships add to your workload. For some students, the teaching and research assignments with funding can be a lot to juggle on top of regular coursework and independent research. Make sure you understand the expectations of your offer before you agree to accept it. → PhD training takes time Receiving a PhD means that you become an expert in your field, which can sound exciting when contemplating a subject that you’re passionate about. But becoming an expert takes an investment of time. On average, doctoral students take five to seven years to complete their degrees. While plenty of people reflect nostalgically on their time in their doctoral programs as periods of self-growth and intellectual development, it’s still important to consider the investment. The costs can add up quickly when you include tuition, research, travel funds, living expenses, health insurance and supplies. While a package may look fully funded, the true cost of obtaining a PhD isn’t always obvious. Even if you’re offered a fully-funded package from a great program, take some time to consider whether you’re truly interested in investing the time and effort.

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No need to fork out US$40,000 for a PhD – here are 10 fully-funded PhD programmes

The journey to obtaining a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) is a long and expensive one.

From completing a diploma or A-level programme to getting a bachelor’s degree, the journey only gets more expensive as you embark on a three to seven-year journey of obtaining your PhD.

It’s why competition for a fully-funded PhD can be fierce.

On average, the total cost of a PhD programme is somewhere between US$30,000 to US$40,000 per year, depending on where you enrol. This expense does not include the cost of living if you are moving to a different city or country to study.

Multiply that with the number of years it’ll take for you to complete your studies, and you’ll see why it’s not an easy decision to make.

Still, there are always ways to pursue higher education at a more affordable cost. While student loans are an option, you might want to aim for a fully-funded PhD instead.

Universities are not the only ones funding your PhD. Source: AFP.

What is a fully-funded PhD programme?

A fully-funded programme usually means full tuition reimbursement and a stipend to help cover the cost of living while pursuing the degree.

However, requirements differ according to the university.

Some universities offer a “no-strings-attached” fellowship where they receive funding but do not owe the university anything aside from their research. In many cases, a student will need to work part-time for the university by providing teaching or administrative assistance which might be useful in their professional career.

It’s also important to take note that universities are not the only ones funding your PhD.

Some grants might come from government bodies to support national research objectives and train future professionals to carry them out. Others could come from independent charities that have similar goals or businesses that see potential benefits to achieve their targets.

Financial aid typically does not include the cost of living. Source: AFP.

Things to know before you attempt to secure a fully-funded PhD programme

Before we jump into introducing some fully-funded PhD programmes, let’s take a closer look at how PhD funding starts out.

Seek advice

Reach out to an academic advisor or supervisor for advice on the next steps to take. Chances are that they can provide suggestions or even recommendation letters. Otherwise, they can leverage on their own knowledge and networks to redirect you to a better source of information.

If an advisor isn’t available, try reaching out to the university’s graduates to get a clearer viewpoint from someone with first-hand experience.

Many PhD projects are actually advertised with generous funding, and this is particularly so for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) projects.

However, it doesn’t mean you won’t find funding in other subjects like education, sociology or even English.

Be sure you don’t single out universities in your search. Explore opportunities with external parties, such as business or industry partners too.

Build a funding portfolio

Getting into the PhD scene is competitive, more so when you’re looking to score a fully-funded PhD. To help secure funding, put together a portfolio to make your case as strong as possible.

Similar to a resume, your portfolio should outline what you plan to study, how long for, and above all else, why you wish to take the PhD.

This demonstrates your commitment and understanding to the subject and its industry field.

Living costs and expenses

Not all funded PhDs offer to cover your living expenses, especially if you’re an international student. But even if they do, it’s a good idea to set aside some funds for your day-to-day life.

Some fully-funded PhDs offer accommodation for up to a certain amount of years, so if you intend on staying on for a longer period of time, it may be wise to have some finances ready for living on your own.

Determine your timeframe

It’s common for PhD students to work while studying. Part-time study offers that flexibility, but it also stretches out the length of your PhD and increases your maintenance expenses.

Carefully consider your options before deciding on a part-time or full-time PhD, especially if you’re employed or have other commitments.

Don’t feel discouraged if you’re nervous about your chances of securing a fully-funded PhD. There are many other universities and programmes that readily offer generous funding and high stipends , such as MIT and Stanford University.

These stipends often cover tuition, living expenses, and healthcare, so don’t count them out.

10 fully-funded PhD programmes to check out

1. university of debrecen.

Stipendium Hungaricum provides fully-funded scholarships for international students to study their undergraduate and postgraduate degrees at the University of Debrecen . This programme was designed to support the internationalisation of higher education institutions in Hungary, as well as strengthen relationships with those abroad.

The university is one Hungary’s best, home to almost 30,000 students from over 70 countries and territories. It offers a whopping amount of over 23,000 courses with over 600 degree programmes, so you’ll be sure to find what you need here.

Apply here .

2. University of Iowa

The Tippie College of Business at the University of Iowa offers a fully-funded PhD programme in fields such as accounting, economics, business analytics, and marketing.

Tuition and fees are covered, and students are provided with a generous nine-month stipend of about US$20,000. On top of that, they are provided with annual adjustments and a fantastic health insurance plan that covers up to 90% of their medical bills.

Want additional funding? Some departments provide funding for research presentations at conferences, summer fellowships and paid time off for independent research.

Learn more here .

Columbia University prides itself on offering guaranteed housing beyond the first year. Source: Columbia University Facebook.

3. Columbia University

PhD students at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Columbia University benefit from a robust compensation and benefits package – not just for themselves, but for their dependents too.

The university provides financial support, full tuition remission, summer stipends, affordable Columbia housing, health and dental coverage, and childcare subsidies. They pride themselves on offering guaranteed housing beyond the first year – Arts and Sciences doctoral students are eligible for five academic years of student housing right from their first day.

Learn more here .

4. Washington University in St. Louis

Doctoral students taking computer science or computer engineering at Washington University in St. Louis receive full tuition support and health insurance, among other perks.

The university is home to cutting-edge degrees and offers doctoral students a chance to qualify for one of three fellowships – The Ann W. and Spencer T. Olin – Chancellor’s Fellowship , McDonnell International Scholars Academy , and the Dean’s International Award .

The university provides financial support for up to six years , as long as the student makes progress towards completion of their degree. On top of that, students receive a free Apple laptop in the latest model.

More information here .

5. University of Michigan

The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor offers generous funding to their doctoral students in engineering. Students can specialise in numerous areas of specialisation, such as aerospace engineering, biomedical engineering, macromolecular science and engineering, and robotics.

This fully-funded PhD provides students with guaranteed funding between four to six years, a monthly living stipend and a comprehensive health insurance plan. Additional funding is available from a range of sources, including graduate student instructor positions and fellowships.

6. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Pursuing your PhD at the MIT Sloan School of Management demands a great deal of time, initiative, and discipline from every candidate. Only 19 students are selected from hundreds of applicants, but the rewards are worth it.

The school’s financial package will cover a period of five years guaranteed to doctoral students, given that you stand out academically. This includes a full academic year tuition, 12 terms of fellowship stipend, medical insurance, a new laptop, and a budget for conference travel or ongoing research.

Assistantship at Rice University could earn you full financial assistance. Source: Rice University Facebook.

7. Rice University

The PhD in business at Rice University is intended for those aspiring to become faculty members at business schools in prestigious research universities around the world. This assistantship could earn you full financial assistance which will come in the form of a tuition waiver and a generous stipend.

The Jones Graduate School of Business houses the PhD programme here where you can choose to focus on various areas of study including Accounting, Finance, Organisational Behaviour, and Strategic Management.

8. Brown University

Students admitted to any PhD programmes at Brown University are guaranteed five years of support including a stipend, tuition remission, health services fee, and health insurance subsidy.

There are also additional forms of financial aid too like federal loans specially for US citizens and permanent residents, private educational loans for both domestic and international students, and resources for scholarships, fellowships, and grants.

More here .

The University of Pennsylvania offers two ways for students to get full funding. Source: University of Pennsylvania Facebook.

9. University of Pennsylvania

There are two ways for Penn Graduate School of Education students to get full funding at the University of Pennsylvania .

The first is through the Dean’s Fellowship and Research Apprenticeship which includes tuition and fees, health insurance, and a living stipend. Students would also receive a fellowship and research apprenticeship package which covers four years of study.

The other is the IES Predoctoral Training Programme which offers financial and skill-building support to selected applicants. This multi-year training programme is designed to prepare PhD students committed to learning rigorous methods for conducting research.

10. Yale University

At Yale University , the School of Nursing offers fully-funded PhD degrees to its students. There are three types of scholarships available through programmes namely the Merit-Based Programme, Need-Based Programme, and Community Scholars Programme.

The Merit-Based Programme is awarded through admissions. All incoming students, both domestic and international, can sign up where they will go through a holistic review process. The Need-Based Programme is for US citizens and permanent residents.

Lastly, the new Community Scholars Programme provides complete remission of tuition, fees, and health insurance along with an annual stipend for selected students.

What Are PhD Studentships?

A studentship is a non-repayable scholarship available to PhD students to support their doctoral studies. At a minimum, all studentships will cover a student’s tuition fee, however they may also cover the student’s living expenses (referred to as a stipend or maintenance grant) depending on the specific type of studentship awarded.

Who Are They Awarded By?

The most common source of PhD funding is through a Research Council, in which a studentship is awarded in the form of a Research Council Grant . In the UK, there are seven Research Councils as listed below:

Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
Medical Research Council (MRC)
Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)
Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)

Collectively, these councils form part of a government body known as UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) which provide funding to PhD students to advance research. UKRI aims to provide the best environment for research and innovation to thrive by working in collaboration with universities, research organisations, companies, charities and governments.

The second most common source of studentships is directly from universities in the form of scholarships and bursaries . Although not always the case, studentships provided by universities are often linked to a specific project title or field of study and may also be linked at least in part to Research Council funding. This means that you must undertake a PhD project in a specific pre-determined subject area in order to meet the eligibility criteria for funding.

The other source of studentships is through professional bodies (e.g. Institution of Mechanical Engineers) and research charities (e.g. Wellcome Trust and Cancer Research UK). These studentships are known as Cooperative Awards in Science and Engineering (CASE). In nearly all cases, CASE studentships are also linked to a specific project title or field of study.

How Much Funding Can I Receive?

A successful applicant may receive two types of studentships: partially funded and fully funded . Partially funded studentships typically cover the cost of a student’s tuition fees and possibly any associated project costs. This can include aspects such as training courses and travelling for meetings and conferences, though the exact scope of what’s included differs for each studentship.

Although tuition fees vary depending on university, the indicative fee is £4,500/year as stated by the UKRI for UK students.

A fully funded studentship covers the same aspects of a partially funded studentship, however, in addition to this, it also provides a tax-free maintenance grant to cover the student’s cost of living . This maintenance grant is more commonly referred to as an annual stipend and looks to provide enough additional funding that the student need not look for part-time work to pay for their living costs whilst undertaking their PhD. It should be noted stipends provided by Research Councils will need to meet a nationally agreed minimum level; for 2021/22, this minimum level has been set as £15,609 . Living costs do of course vary between cities and it’s something you should factor in when planning your budget. Most universities do offer students the opportunity to earn a little extra money (e.g. by teaching undergraduates) to supplement your stipend.

Am I Eligible for a PhD Studentship?

The eligibility requirements differ between studentships, however, most will require the following in order to be eligible for financial support:

A Bachelors degree with a 2:1 or above
A relevant Masters degree

There may also be some restrictions which deem you non-eligible for a studentship. These are commonly:

If you already hold a doctoral degree
If you receive funding from another source e.g. a doctoral loan

As the requirements differ for each studentship, there may be some further requirements or restrictions in addition to the above. For example, some studentships restrict how many hours of paid employment you can undertake alongside your PhD and some are limited to students fitting certain criteria e.g. coming from a low-income household or being of a certain ethnicity.

Therefore, make sure you read the descriptions of any studentship carefully and in full before making any decisions.

Note: Being eligible for a PhD studentship does not guarantee you one. With exception to a few, all studentships are awarded based on ability, therefore, funding will be awarded to the best PhD applicants applying for the studentships.

UK PhD studentships are now typically only open to UK students , with fewer being available to EU and international students. One of the key reasons for this are the higher tuition fees that students outside the UK will need to pay. Some universities may offer EU/international students studentships if they are able to cover the additional fee costs themselves. However, even if you are an EU student, you still may be limited to only a partially funded studentship meaning only your fees will be covered, so it is important to be clear on what you’re eligible for and the deadline for applications. For further clarification, see the table below:

How Do I Apply for a PhD Studentship?

The application process can be initiated in one of two ways. First, some universities will automatically consider you for a studentship when they receive your application to undertake a PhD. For example, Nottingham Trent University specifies the below as their arrangements:

The NTU Doctoral School will treat your online form as an application form for a place to study for an MPhil/PhD doctoral research degree at Nottingham Trent University, as well as a funding application for the 2020 Nottingham Trent University PhD Studentship Scheme.

Second, some universities will require you to submit a separate funding application form. If you are required to submit a separate application, these are usually made directly to university regardless of the source of the funding body i.e. a Research Council or professional body. This is because although the studentship funding may be provided from a non-academic body, as the academic institute hosting the PhD project, the university will be responsible for assessing candidates and selecting the most suitable one. Be mindful that these may come with a strict application deadline.

If you are required to submit a separate application, you will typically be asked for:

Your PhD application form
A research proposal
A cover letter
Your references

Upon receiving your application, the PhD supervisor will likely have an informal discussion with you, either by email, over the phone or in person. In some cases, you may be invited in for a formal interview .

Regardless of which of the two situations occurs, the potential supervisor will use the discussion alongside your application to determine whether you should be awarded the PhD programme and studentship. Following their decision, they will get in touch with you to let you know the outcome.

It’s worth noting that in some cases, the potential supervisor may decide that you are suitable to undertake the PhD project but are not the strongest candidate who has applied across all PhDs within their department. If this is the case and the studentship is linked to a research topic as opposed to the specific project title you are applying for, you may be offered the PhD opportunity but not the studentship. If this occurs, you will need to consider your alternative PhD funding options, such as funding it yourself or obtaining a PhD loan, before making your decision.

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Explaining Funded PhD Programs

When a PhD expenses of prospective students are managed through scholarship, fellowship, crowdfunding or sponsorship; means, whose expenses are managed by others, is known as funded PhD.

A funded PhD doesn’t mean that it is a sponsored one! Though sponsorship is one of the options for PhD funding. For a doctorate in some of the specialized subjects such as science and applied science, a student needs huge investments and suffers a lot, if fails to manage funds.

doctor of philosophy- PhD is a costlier degree and of course the utmost academic honor for a person. A candidate single-handedly can’t manage to complete the work as well as expenses of PhD, therefore they need funds. In the present article, we will understand what a funded PhD is and what are the options of funding in recent times for a PhD student.

What is a funded PhD?

A funded PhD term is suitable for those whose entire PhD cost or expenses are managed by someone else, for instance, a university or a government department. Fellowship, research project, scholarship, grants, crowdfunding and employment sponsorship are some of the options for funded PhD, popularly.

Getting funds for a huge project like a PhD is a hard thing! A student has to either pass an examination, present a project or make a project to get funds.

However, for some subjects like literature or history funds are not so important, but for subjects that need state-of-the-art instrumentations, trial and errors, additional utilities and chemicals; huge investment involves.

To avail funds for PhD, two questions must be answered first, who can get funds and who gives PhD funds?

Who can get PhD funds ?

Every funding scheme has criteria to obtain. Only those get candidacy who fulfil all the criteria. Here are some;

Bright students, scholars or gold medal holders can get funds for further studies like a doctorate.

Prospective student’s excellent research ideas or PhD projects can attract funds and investors- like the external funds.

Students of some special casts, races or religions can get special funding advantages. For example, students of the tribal cast can get funds easily in India, Africa and other countries. The aim behind it is to lift their social status. However, in those countries having cast based reservation system, special funds are reserved for some casts.

Funds are also reserved for economically backward students too.

Prospective students who have cleared any fellowship examination can also get PhD funding.

The teacher or lecturer can also get project funds for doing PhD.

Who gives PhD funds?

Universities: .

Universities usually provide funds to students- who obviously have a good potential to do a doctorate, to some extent. Commonly aren’t fully funded, university doctorate funds are given from the university research expenses. The funds are given in returns for teaching, assistantship, lectureship and research fellowship in which a candidate has to do a university job or college academic work too.

University funds are given to limited number of students every year.

Government funds:

The government of various countries also provides studentship or doctorate funds to students. Every government department has different funding schemes and criteria.

For example, the central university governing body provides direct grants to scholar students, the social welfare department gives funds to socially and economically backward students.

In addition to this, the government has several schemes for higher and international education, for example, the Rajiv Gandhi national fellowship scheme of India is for scheduled caste and scheduled tribe students.

Moreover, every government has its own research and education department that provides exclusive funds to PhD students.

Independent and industrial funds:

Industries and other organizations give funds to some excellent ideas, usually for robotics, engineering, physics and computer science. We will discuss this topic in-depth, somewhere in this article.

Besides, some NGOs and organizations also honor funds in public health, medical and other research programs- includes professional research.

Student finance and loans:

If no options are available to pursue funds for a doctorate, universities and colleges give PhD loans and finance options. Prospective students can pay loans after completing PhD or during the PhD by part-time jobs.

PhD funds options:

Research grant: .

Prospective students can get candidacy for a research grant by their bright academic background. Research grants are given to the Gold medalist students. This type of funds is popularly known as university research grants or university research funds and available for all the students for all the subjects (who hold higher grades).

Note that as we said above, services in academics and teaching are taken as payback by universities on behalf of the research grant.

The university research grant includes expenses of

Travelling and fieldwork
Stationery and publications
Laboratory expenses- chemicals, instrumentations, glassware, plasticware, and other utilities.
Outsourcing and other outer expenses if included in the research project.
Personal expenses- hostel rent, mess bill, college fees and other expenses.

Fellowship and scholarship:

A fellowship is awarded by universities, central bodies, governments of the country or private research center through the examination. Candidates can appear in the exam and if shortlisted, can get funds. Indeed, it is a straightforward process, sometimes a personal interview conducted by a governing body.

A personal interview is usually based on the PhD project and common discussion points are around it only. The major concern in the interview is the outcome of the project with respect to the expenses.

If a research project fails to justify the expenses, it can’t be passed during the interview. Nonetheless, if the outcomes of the doctorate are promising, regardless of high cost, they may avail funds.

The fellowship and scholarship may include expenses of

Overall project cost
Literature, subscriptions and publications
Stationary and travels for projects
Laboratory and utility expenses

Employers sponsorship:

Yes, you hear it right! Your research organization or company where you are doing a job can pay your PhD expenses. If doing a PhD is useful to the company or organization, they may take interest in you. If outcomes of your doctoral research in terms of copyright or patent are promising for a company they may invest in your PhD project.

However, in my personal opinion, the terms and conditions, in this case, are so brutal. For instance, in case you submit any patent, it must be a property of the company or organization or after completing a PhD you have to work for only that company for at least 15 years.

So I suggest you think twice before making a decision in this case.

Private funds:

Prospective students can even get funds outside universities- private funds or sponsorship are commonly given in engineering, robotics and other related fields. Although much like the employment sponsorship, here also the terms and conditions are sometimes a bit brutal for students. You can have to give full, partial or some credit or patent to the funding company.

In other cases, if they fund you, your product or research can only be used by their organization only. So you need to read all the terms and conditions before taking further steps.

There are plenty of funding options for national and international doctorate fund options available at various universities or government portals, you just need to search for them. However, the nature of the funds is also different. For example, some are fully funded while some are partial.

Related article: 50 various PhD degree full forms .

Fully funded, Partially funded and self funded PhD programs

Fully-funded phd: .

The rare but yet exists PhD funding option is the fully-funded PhD. Luckily all of your expenses are handled by the funding agencies starting from the actual recherche fund to your personal expenses.

Expenses of research, instrumentations, lab, fees, travel, sample collection, sample outsourcing and literature along with your stay, accommodation, fun, traveling, even weekend parties are handled by the funding bodies.

Private companies or organizations usually offer those types of fundings to avail of the patent copyrights.

Partially funded PhD:

Partial funding option is common and easily available through the government or university itself. It only covers the funds for academic and research expenses as we said above.

No living or accommodation costs are included in it.

Self-funding:

Students sometimes pay expenses by themself, however, those cases are rare but also common. For instance, personal or student loans are included in this type of funding.

A regular employee doing a part-time PhD, is not eligible for university funds and usually pays fees from their regular salary.

PhD- any doctorate, consume more time- 5 to 8 years and huge investments. One should have to plan their expenses for at least the next 5 years to do hassle less research.

You can consider it as a start-up, you need to make a project, proposals and present it to many, to the university, to guide, during an interview to the funding agency etc.

Everything during the PhD should be planned prior to backup options. And so the PhD funds too! Suppose if you aren’t eligible for the fellowship, go for project funding, sponsorship or even a personal loan.

You need to make backups. But it is important to understand what actually is included in the PhD funds and what not!

What is included in the PhD funds?

Here is the list of expenses included in the PhD project funds.

Overall project expenses
Stationary expenses
Journal, publication and subscription, books charges
College fees, tuitions fees, and university fee
Travel for PhD- sample collection, meeting, seminar and symposiums
Publication charges
Lab, utility, instrumentation and other charges
Sample processing charges

What is not included in the PhD funds?

Personal expenses like clothing, meal, party or other
Personal travel expenses
House rent or accommodations
Hospital or accidental charges
Engagement or marriage charges
Personal or family expenses

PhD students of STEM- science, technology, engineering and mathematics can’t survive on self-funding, their PhD costs are huge and they need funds from the first year. Although the chances of getting funds or a doctorate grant depends on many factors; but there are options, you do not worry about that.

Read more: 16 Proven Tips to Write a Thesis for PhD .

A comprehensive guide to avail PhD funds:

As I said, getting funds is nowadays easy though, hard to process you have to surf in the right direction.

If you are a scholar student or gold medal holder, you have funds even before choosing a topic to PhD. That is a rare case as I said.

Avoid it if you aren’t in these cases,

Talking with your supervisor makes things more clear as he or she has enough experience in this field, tell them about your project, start preparing it according to the requirements of the funding agency and apply to fund.

Generally, you can send funding applications directly to the university or online to government portals. Make sure to highlight the possible outstanding outcomes of the researcher.

Make a net and clear proposal centering only to get funds, include information of various costs (approximate) and write convincing proposals.

If all of the available options fail for you, don’t lose hope, you can apply for a student loan through the university portals. You can pay it by doing part-time jobs.

If you think that you can manage expenses by part-time jobs and working on weekends, you can go ahead in PhD without even funds.

But the story is still not over for you. After doing one or two years of hard work and groundbreaking research, you can still apply for funds again for the rest of the work or years. As I said, it is a process, it continues without the dead ends, it’s the end for you when you give up.

Related article: Defending a PhD thesis like a boss!- an in-depth Guide .

Conclusion:

Doing a PhD is actually a mixture of feelings- excitement, passion, hopes and patience one one side while depression, tension, lack of attention, frustration and rejections on another side.

Coming out of all these is actually the award for you; that is why doing a PhD is the hardest time in a prospective student’s life. 70% of students who get the admission and even funds left PhD midways due to so many reasons.

Strengthen your core, do hard work, above all odds you will get success one day.

Dr. Tushar Chauhan is a Scientist, Blogger and Scientific-writer. He has completed PhD in Genetics. Dr. Chauhan is a PhD coach and tutor.

About The Author

Dr Tushar Chauhan

Why is it called a Doctor of Philosophy?

Preparing for a PhD Viva

Tuition Fees

Detailed information on the different tuition fees can be found in the Finance section.

Note on Fees for EU Students

If you are unsure about the current fees status for EU Students, please see Notice to EU Applicants on our Tuition Fees page to help answer your questions.

About the Postgraduate International Deposit

All international students are required to pay a deposit. Find out more information about the deposit on our International pages .

Check Your Fee Status

If you are unsure what category of fee you should pay, we can offer you guidance and advice by filling out our Fee Status Form .

Further information on likely future stipend and fee levels is available as it tends to increase in line with inflation.

PhD Funding Categories at UEA

Directly funded project (uk students only).

This research project has funding attached. It is only available to UK citizens or those who have been resident in the UK for a period of 3 years or more. Some projects, which are funded by charities or by the universities themselves may have more stringent restrictions.

Non-UK Students: In most cases if you have the correct qualifications and access to your own funding, either from your home country or your own finances, your application to work with this supervisor will be considered.

Competition Funded Project (UK Students Only)

This research project is one of a number of projects at this institution. It is in competition for funding with one or more of these projects. Usually the project which receives the best applicant will be awarded the funding. The funding is only available to UK citizens or those who have been resident in the UK for a period of 3 years or more. Some projects, which are funded by charities or by the universities themselves may have more stringent restrictions.

Directly Funded Project (European Students Only)

This research project has funding attached. Funding for this project is available to citizens of a number of European countries (including the UK). In most cases this will include all EU nationals. However full funding may not be available to all applicants and you should read the full department and project details for further information.

Non-European Students: In most cases if you have the correct qualifications and access to your own funding, either from your home country or your own finances, your application to work with this supervisor will be considered.

Competition Funded Project (European Students Only)

This research project is one of a number of projects at this institution. It is in competition for funding with one or more of these projects. Usually the project which receives the best applicant will be awarded the funding. The funding is available to citizens of a number of European countries (including the UK). In most cases this will include all EU nationals. However full funding may not be available to all applicants and you should read the full department and project details for further information.

Directly Funded Project (Students Worldwide)

This research project has funding attached. Applications for this project are welcome from suitably qualified candidates worldwide. Funding may only be available to a limited set of nationalities and you should read the full department and project details for further information.

Competition Funded Project (Students Worldwide)

This research project is one of a number of projects at this institution. It is in competition for funding with one or more of these projects. Usually the project which receives the best applicant will be awarded the funding. Applications for this project are welcome from suitably qualified candidates worldwide. Funding may only be available to a limited set of nationalities and you should read the full department and project details for further information.

Self-Funded Students Only

If you have the correct qualifications and access to your own funding, either from your home country or your own finances, your application to work with this supervisor will be considered.

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We are involved in a number of partnerships in Doctoral training with other universities and research centres, which give our postgraduate research students the opportunity to work and become part of vibrant research communities.

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To be considered for a studentship you do not need to make a separate application. Please indicate on your application for admission that you wish to be considered for a studentship.

Studentships and stipends are financial awards granted by the University. Important practical information can be found at Studentships and Stipends .

Further information about postgraduate opportunities can be found on the Faculty Graduate School web pages:

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Making academics compete for funding does not lead to better science

New study challenges accepted science policy that more competitive funding and powerful top-down university management is the best way to boost the quality of science produced..

Universities and science policy makers across the world often subscribe to the mantra that more competitive funding and more powerful, top-down, university management are the recipe for boosting the quality of science and getting their research published in the highest ranked journals.

This has become part of today’s accepted science policy , but in our recent study , we show that these views are far from supported by evidence.

By comparing data from 17 countries, we found that while more spending produces more high-quality science, increasing competition for resources does not.

In fact, competitiveness of funding and research quality are negatively correlated.

What’s more, we found that top-down management of universities did not boost efficiency or scientific quality or research.

So, is it time to rethink how we produce more, higher quality research?

Science systems differ around the world

Researchers and policymakers tend to compare the scientific performance across various countries by looking at the ratio of public spending in research and development (input) to the number of published scientific articles they produced (output). They might also consider how often their articles are cited by other scientists.

However, simply dividing outputs by funding is unlikely to give an accurate portrait of the efficiency of a research system, as there is so much variation between how universities operate from one country to another.

For example, countries organise and administer their research budgets, finance PhD projects as students or employees, and pay for facilities and buildings in very different ways.

Furthermore, while in theory the R&D expenditure data are collected and organised in the same way everywhere, in practice this is not the case. Factors like these make R&D spending levels quite useless for comparing the performance of research from one country to another.

Read More: Scientists: There is too much focus on positive results

Alternative view

We propose an alternative way of comparing research systems internationally. Instead of looking at levels of spending per se, we focused on the relationship between changes in input (spending) and changes in high-quality outputs (as top 10 per cent most cited papers).

In other words, we compared how many additional top papers countries get out of each additional unit of spending on R&D.

This method has the advantage of sidestepping the structural and organisational differences between countries. The data are far from perfect, making definitive answers impossible at this stage. Nonetheless, we can use them to raise questions, challenge existing assumptions, and compare alternative theoretical approaches — the more so as traditional studies have strongly influenced current science policy decisions.

Wrong policy advice

Our analysis indicates that differences in overall funding accounts for nearly 70 per cent of the variation in highly cited scientific output between countries. In other words, spending more produces better science.

This leaves 30 per cent of the variation in scientific performance to be explained by factors other than funding. The obvious candidates already dominate research policy discussions:

Most science policy is at best fact-free but more probably harmful to the progress of science.

Sandström and Van den Besselaar.

The amount of competitive funding relative to core funding
Whether the allocation of core funding is performance-based
The degree of autonomy of the university (i.e. more or less top-down management)
Academic freedom of researchers (i.e. autonomy in selecting research topics and approaches).

Accepted science policy suggests that performance goes up when a greater share of funding is obtained via competitive means. So, more funding going into competitive grant schemes leads to better research – at least that is the idea. This type of funding, where researchers apply for funds for a project, and a team of expert reviewers decide which projects should be funded, covers between 30 and 60 per cent of public research funding in the different countries.

The rest of research funding (direct, or block grant funding) can be distributed competitively (performance based) or not. And the common view is that performance-based funding for institutions boosts their overall performance.

It also assumes that scientific performance increases with the level of autonomy of university management, meaning their ability to make decisions on staffing, academic affairs, and spending without direction from the government.

In recent decades, these ideas have shaped research policy in most nations. As a result, the share of competitive project funding is increasing, as is the freedom of university management to control their own strategies and budgets. Increasingly, more countries have adopted a performance-based funding system for universities. These three interventions, it is claimed, make research more efficient.

Our research disagrees.

Read More: Norwegian academics face serious work-family life conflicts

Ex-post evaluation systems are OK, but competition has gone too far

In our data, increasing competition for resources did not improve research efficiency and quality (as shown in the first graph, above). In fact, competitiveness, which is defined as the amount of competitively awarded project funding as a proportion of total R&D funding, and research quality were negatively correlated.

Countries that relied more on competitive sources of funding, such as the UK and Finland, show smaller gains in high quality output as they increased overall spending than countries with a high level of non-competitive, institutional funding, such as the Netherlands and Spain.

We also found that countries with a retrospective national research evaluation system (known as NRES--you can read more about this at the end of the article), where regularly expert committees evaluate the performance of research organisations of the previous five or so years, are considerably more efficient.

Autonomous management is detrimental to efficiency

Contrary to what is generally claimed, we saw no positive effect of university autonomy on research efficiency.

Financial autonomy of universities, measured as their degree of control over their long-term budgets, and a nation’s research performance do not correlate. What’s more, the other dimensions of university autonomy, such as control over staffing, teaching, governance, and work environment, correlate negatively with efficiency.

That is, the more freedom institutions have to make decisions in these areas without interference from government, the smaller the marginal gains from research spending.

The reason for this may lie in the relationship between institutional autonomy and academic freedom, as more autonomy for universities typically goes hand-in-hand with more power for managers at the expense of faculty.

Data on academic freedom are sparse, but those available show a negative correlation between academic freedom and managerial autonomy at university level.

Consequently, more autonomy may result in less academic freedom and this again may result in a lower quality of research, as shown in the second graph above. In this graph, the horizontal axis gives the autonomy score of countries – the higher the score the larger the organisational autonomy; the Y-axis shows the level of efficiency. The figure shows that the higher the autonomy, the lower efficiency. The correlation is fairly strong: 0.58.

Read More: Basic research crisis? Many results cannot be replicated

Towards characteristics of efficient science systems

Well-functioning, efficient, science systems seem to be characterised by a research evaluation system that evaluates the work done in the past, combined with high institutional funding, and relatively limited university autonomy in the form of managerial power.

Less efficient systems seem to have strong focus on control, through some combination of a high level of competitive project funding (which controls what researchers are going to do) and powerful university management (which controls even more). These relationships are summarized in the third figure above.

It is worth reiterating that the paucity and quality of the data make these conclusions somewhat provisional and that better data are needed from more countries. Even more important is to include other types of output beyond highly cited papers, to see how returns to society depend on institutional and structural characteristics.

Overall, we would claim that most of science policy is hardly evidence based, and that received wisdom is at best fact-free but more probably harmful to the progress of science.

The characteristics we found for the better performing systems would probably suit as a superior alternative to a roadmap for future science policy advice.

--------------- Read this article in Danish at ForskerZonen, part of Videnskab.dk

Scientific links

Sandström and Van den Besselaar. (2018) Funding, evaluation, and the performance of national research systems. Journal of Informetrics 12. DOI: 10.1016/j.joi.2018.01.007

External links

Ulf Sandström
Peter Van den Besselaar

Excessive funding for popular research creates science bubble

Research grants are increasingly being awarded to the same few popular research fields. This results in homogenised projects that rarely deliver what they promise. The phenomenon is similar to real estate bubbles, argue two Danish philosophers.

Long term funding cuts put the squeeze on DMI

Asking a national meteorological institution to save two per cent each year is the wrong way to go, say scientists and industry professionals.

Calls for better integration of international researchers

Norwegian universities are much too concerned with counting international researchers and students, and they care too little about how the researchers are integrated into the environment. This is according to Julien S. Bourrelle, a research fellow at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

Arctic research on the rise

With an increased interest in the natural resources of the Arctic, geologists are increasingly drawn to research on the archipelago of Svalbard.

Do dinosaur bones turn to stone?

Many young people think that social media can help their mental health

Norwegian kids with diabetes have gained better control over their blood sugar levels.

They all hang out together, but family is most important for Norwegian orcas

Why do farts stink.

On the hunt for mammoth remains in Norway

Girls who had a lot of environmental toxins in their blood started menstruating earlier.

You live your life mostly in nitrogen – without even thinking about it

Antidepressants don´t make wildlife happier: how the pills you take impact nature

Drug waste in the ocean affects behavior and reproduction of both fish and other organisms. But what is happening under the sea surface?

Did you know energy possibly speaks?

Understanding the language of energy flows can help us prevent energy blackouts due to climate change and cyber attacks

Frame Your Future

Faqs: prospective applicants.

If you are a prospective QUADRAT DTP applicant, please review the below FAQs before submitting your application. If you cannot find the answer to your question please email the DTP Coordinator at [email protected]

Please scroll down the page for FAQs specifically for international applicants, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI), and interviews.

FAQs - ALL applicants

Are quadrat studentships funded.

All studentships are funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). Please see our funding page for up-to-date figures – these change annually. Funding covers UK Level tuition fees (set by the department), an annual maintenance stipend for living expenses (paid monthly in arrears) and a research training and support grant (known as RTSG) of £9,000 for the duration of your PhD.

Where training is compulsory, most costs will be covered by QUADRAT (some but not all subsistence will be included – variable depending on the training/field course).

How many studentships are available?

W e typically offer 20 NERC-funded studentships annually . This breaks down to 5 studentships per partner school. Our funding covers 6 intakes of students in total (120 students total).

A maximum of 30% of each intake can be allocated to international candidates – in a typical intake of 20 students, this equates to a maximum of 6 places for international candidates. This cap is enforced by NERC/UKRI who fund the QUADRAT DTP.

What does 'competition funded' mean?

A ‘competition funded’ project means that we advertise more project titles than there are available studentships. What this means in practice is that we interview for all of the advertised projects, and the strongest candidates are recruited – the strongest candidates therefore dictate which projects are successful.

We do this for inclusivity. By advertising more projects, we offer a really wide variety of PhD opportunities for prospective applicants, therefore giving more candidates the opportunity to apply for a project in the subject area they are interested in, and more candidates the opportunity to demonstrate their strengths.

The alternative model is ‘directly funded’ projects which in practice would mean we choose 20 project titles to advertise. This mechanism excludes strong candidates who do not have an interest in the subject areas advertised.

How long are the studentships for? Can I do the PhD programme part time?

Studentships are 42 months ( 3.5 years ) or part-time equivalent (min. 50%).

The PhD studentships can be full of part time. If you are interested in a part time studentship this must be agreed in advance with the QUADRAT DTP Coordinator and the project supervisor. Some projects are more suited to part-time study than others depending on content, so it is important to discuss this with the project supervisor.

Full time: 42 months (3.5 years)

Part time: up to 84 months (7 years)

What is the deadline and how do I apply?

Student applications must be submitted by TBC for entry in October 2024.

Projects will be listed on the QUADRAT website and on FindaPhD.com. Please see our website for detailed information about how to apply . Remember, you can apply for a maximum of 2 projects. Don’t wait for the deadline, please apply as early as you can.

You must submit the QUADRAT application form and your supporting documents and 2 references. It is your responsibility to ensure all documents are submitted by the relevant deadline. Late and incomplete applications will not be considered.

The QUADRAT application is a single stage process. You are required to complete the QUADRAT application form and submit your supporting documentation. All complete and eligible applications will be reviewed by the project supervisor. If you have any queries about the content of the project, please direct these to the project supervisor.

Am I eligible to apply?

The DTP is funded by NERC which follows Research Councils UK’s harmonised postgraduate terms and conditions regarding student eligibility. UK and international candidates are eligible to apply. See our website for more details, the important points are quoted below:

To be classed as a Home student, you must:

be a UK National (meeting residency requirements), OR
have settled status in the UK (meeting residency requirements), OR
have pre-settled status (meeting residency requirements), OR
have indefinite leave to remain or enter into the UK

January 2022 update: Republic of Ireland (ROI) candidates will now be considered to have a home fee status for entry in October 2022. Please be advised that the same residency requirements apply provided these candidates have lived either in the UK or ROI for at least 3 consecutive years immediately prior to the start date of the studentship. We cannot yet confirm fee status for ROI candidates beyond the 2022/23 academic year.

If you have further questions regarding eligibility please contact [email protected] .

What are the residency requirements?

You must have been ordinarily resident in the UK for at least 3 years immediately prior to the start of the studentship (01 October 2022). UK Nationals who have temporarily been abroad to study during this period will still be eligible for home fee status.

Republic of Ireland (ROI) candidates will now be considered to have home fee status for entry in October 2022. Please be advised that the same residency requirements apply provided these candidates have lived either in the UK or ROI for at least 3 consecutive years immediately prior to the start date of the studentship. We cannot yet confirm fee status for ROI candidates beyond the 2022/23 academic year.

Applicants who do not meet the above criteria will be classed as an international fee-paying student.

I applied last year; can I reapply this year?

Yes, you are more than welcome to reapply in a subsequent year.

Do I need to have a master’s degree to apply?

No, you need a minimum of a bachelor’s degree with honours to apply (or international equivalent) for these studentships. Candidates are expected to achieve a minimum of a 2.1 at undergraduate level and as such, any offer made will be conditional upon you achieving and evidencing this.

Please note that there is strong competition for our studentships and many of the applicants will already have a master’s degree.

Can I do an MRes / Is this a 1+3 studentship?

No, we do not offer an MRes option or follow the 1+3 model. Our studentships are 3.5 years entirely at PhD level.

Can I apply for more than one project? Where are projects advertised?

You can apply for up to 2 projects, if applying for two projects, please submit 2 separate applications. You will be interviewed for a maximum of 1 project.

All of our projects are advertised on our Find a PhD page and on our website . The word limit on Find a PhD is restricted so you will find additional supplementary information on our website so please make sure you read both adverts carefully before applying.

Can I apply to QUADRAT and other DTPs / PhD projects?

Yes, you can apply to multiple programmes / funding sources however you can only hold one offer of PhD study.

Where will I be based?

Students will be registered and based in the institution and school of their lead supervisor.

If a project has a partner organisation, students will have the opportunity to work at the partner sites – the length of which depends on the project and the partner organisation.

Can I apply with relevant work experience in place of the academic criteria?

Yes, both Aberdeen University and Queen’s University Belfast will accept relevant work experience in place of the required academic requirements. The school PGR administrator will be able to advise regarding these requirements. School contacts can be found here: https://www.quadrat.ac.uk/contact/

Should I contact the supervisor before applying?

Yes, we would always recommend making contact and discussing the project with the supervisor before you apply. The student-supervisor relationship is very important and it is vital that you communicate as much as possible so that you can establish what it would be like to work together for 42 months.

How do I choose my PhD project?

A good place to start is our Find a PhD page and our list of projects . Once you have narrowed down and area of interest, you can contact the project supervisor and discuss the project and your suitability for it in more detail before deciding whether or not to apply.

Do I need to submit a research proposal / personal statement?

No – QUADRAT asked instead for a cover letter. This should ideally be 1-1.5 A4 pages in length and should briefly outline your relevant experience and why you think you are a good fit for the project. It should be addressed to the primary supervisor of the project you are applying for.

If you submit 2 applications, please also submit 2 cover letters – these should be project specific and should be addressed to the Primary Supervisor.

I haven’t yet completed my studies; how can I submit a transcript?

You can request or download (from your student portal) a provisional or interim transcript which details all of your courses and grades to date but is still an official document. Please ask your school admin team for information about how to obtain this at your institution. Once your studies are complete we would require a final copy of this document.

What is an academic CV?

An academic CV concentrates on your academic career and work experience which is relevant to your degree discipline. This should include your educational history including relevant modules and projects, internships, placements etc. please keep your CV to a maximum of 2 pages including 2 referee contact details.

What does a strong application look like? How can I make my application stand out?

There is no clear answer for this – it is very much dependent on the project you are applying for, and the applicant pool in any given year. This will be determined by the supervisory team reviewing your application.

We would recommend you focus on:

demonstrating your research experience,
highlighting relevant and transferrable skills (skills can also come from extra-curricular activities as well as from your education e.g. leadership, project management, teamwork),
internships and placements,
academic references are very important

Do my references have to be academic?

Yes, your references should ideally be academic since this gives us the best idea of your suitability for PhD study in this academic subject area. We cannot accept personal or character references. Relevant employment references can be submitted if appropriate academic referees cannot be provided, but they must be relevant to the PhD project you are applying to.

You can either submit these with your application, or ask your referees to send your reference directly to [email protected]

References should be dated and recent and on institutional letter headed paper – references that have not been written recently may not be accepted.

Will you contact my referees?

No, we will not contact your referees – we expect you to submit complete references with your application, not just referee contact details. You need to request a reference from your referee well in advance of the deadline. It is your responsibility to make sure your references have been submitted by the relevant deadline.

The project I wish to apply for is with my current Honours Project supervisor - can they still be included as an academic reference?

No, we would not be able to accept a reference from the project supervisor themselves. Please seek out alternative referees in this case.

Is there scope to modify projects slightly / to take a project in a slightly different direction to what was originally proposed?

Yes, within reason. QUADRAT funding comes from NERC and UKRI who have a very specific scientific remit. All of our projects must fit with those remits and they go through a rigorous review process before being advertised. Any changes to a project would have to be submitted to QUADRAT and approved by the management board.

FAQs - international applicants

Are international candidates eligible to apply.

Yes, international candidates are now eligible to apply to QUADRAT however international places are limited by NERC to 30% of the annual intake – a typical intake is 20 students. 30% therefore equates to a maximum of 6 places annually.

Do you really recruit international students?

Yes, we do recruit international candidates however international places are limited by NERC to 30% of the annual intake – a typical intake is 20 students. 30% therefore equates to a maximum of 6 places annually. Although we have limited spaces available, we receive overwhelming interest and applications from overseas candidates, creating a large amount of competition. Typically, we do offer the full 6 international places each year.

How many studentships are available for international candidates?

Our recruitment of international candidates is capped at 30% of the cohort which means we can recruit a maximum of 6 international candidates per year. This is a cap not a quota.

Are international candidates eligible for the same funding as UK candidates?

Yes, all successful candidates will receive the same funding through QUADRAT studentships. This covers:

UK level tuition fees (fee waiver for international candidates)
Monthly maintenance stipend
Research training support grant (RTSG)

See our funding webpage for up-to-date figures – these change annually.

Do international candidates have to pay the fee gap if only UK level tuition fees are covered by the studentship?

No, QUADRAT has committed to a fee waiver for all successful international candidates. This means the fee gap will not have to be covered by the individual.

Does the studentship cover Visa costs?

No, the studentship does not cover visa costs, immigration health surcharge or relocation costs either for the candidate or for family members. Please research these costs before submitting an application.

What other costs should I expect as an international candidate?

It should be expected that there will be significant costs associated with relocation to the UK which are not covered by the QUADRAT studentship. This can include but are not limited to the following:

Immigration Health Surcharge
Relocation costs
Travel costs
Tax implications

For visa and immigration advice please contact the relevant team below:

University of Aberdeen: https://www.abdn.ac.uk/study/international/visa-information.php

Queen’s University Belfast: https://www.qub.ac.uk/sites/iss/VisasImmigration/

Where can I get visa advice?

How do i know if my qualifications are equivalent.

Please submit your documents in English – these need to be officially translated, we cannot accept self-translated documents for verification purposes. We will review your documents and use the international standard ECCTIS procedures to assess whether your foreign qualification is equivalent to the entry requirements for QUADRAT.

Why do I need to submit my documents in English?

Your degree certificates and academic transcripts are one of the most important parts of your application because it allows us to see whether you have completed relevant and useful courses related to the project you are applying for, and to see the grades you have achieved. This is key to assessing your suitability for the project.

Translated documents should include the stamp or mark of the translator which indicates it is an official document. You may be able to ask your institution to provide you with a copy in the English language.

There will be a fee attached to the translation of documents however this is essential to your application.

When do I need to submit my English Language certificate?

This document must be in date. If you have this certificate please submit it with your application, otherwise you can submit it later once you have it. If you are successful at interview and an offer of study is made, it will likely be conditional on our receipt of this certificate if English is not your first language.

Typically, if you have already undertaken study in an English-speaking country, this would no longer be required. See below for full details:

University of Aberdeen: https://www.abdn.ac.uk/study/international/requirements-pg-266.php

Queen’s University Belfast: https://www.qub.ac.uk/International/International-students/Applying/English-language-requirements/

Where can I find information about accommodation?

Both institutions have extensive support and dedicated teams to help students find accommodation. Please see the below links for full details:

University of Aberdeen: https://www.abdn.ac.uk/accommodation/

Queen’s University Belfast: https://www.qub.ac.uk/accommodation/

Where can I find information about living costs?

University of Aberdeen: https://www.abdn.ac.uk/study/international/tuition-fees-and-living-costs-287.php

Queen’s University Belfast: https://www.qub.ac.uk/about/Living-in-Northern-Ireland/Cost-of-living/

Can I do a QUADRAT PhD remotely?

QUADRAT DTP PhD studentships cannot be undertaken remotely . Both home and International students must be resident in the UK for the majority of their studies.

FAQs - Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

Does quadrat accept applications from international candidates.

Yes, as of the 2021-22 student intake (cohort 3), UKRI and NERC have widened the eligibility criteria for DTP recruitment to include international applicants to the DTP. However, recruitment of international candidates is capped by NERC, at 30% of the annual cohort (this equates to a maximum of 6 places in a cohort of 20). This is a cap not a quota.

Where can I find information about EDI at Aberdeen & Queens?

Both institutions are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion. There are a number of student support networks in place which students can get involved with. There are also staff networks. QUADRAT regularly advertises through these networks and asks these groups for guidance and to review our processes.

University of Aberdeen: https://www.abdn.ac.uk/students/support/equality-diversity-inclusion.php#panel4031 and https://www.abdn.ac.uk/students/support/equality-diversity-inclusion.php

Queen’s University Belfast: https://www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/HumanResources/diversity-and-inclusion/

Does QUADRAT capture EDI data from applicants?

Yes, QUADRAT is required to report EDI statistics to NERC as part of our annual report. We report on this data for 3 categories: all applicants, applicants shortlisted for interview, and appointed applicants. All data is anonymised.

What EDI data does QUADRAT capture?

QUADRAT captures the data categories requested by NERC and UKRI. These are: gender, age, ethnic origin, disability, and sexual orientation.

How does QUADRAT capture applicant EDI data?

Our application form links to a compulsory EDI form with a series of questions. We always give the applicant the chance to choose the ‘prefer not to disclose’ option.

This form outlines the reasons we need to capture this data, and how it will be used. The information is stored safely and confidentially by the DTP Coordinator and is not shared.

We include an optional ‘equality statement’ question to give candidates the chance to share further information with us if they wish – in this way we try to capture ‘whole person’ information so that we can factor personal circumstances into the decision-making process. This statement is the only part of the EDI information which will be shared with the project supervisor since it can directly influence the information which has been provided in the application.

How is the captured EDI data used?

NERC believes that everyone should feel welcomed, valued and included, and we challenge discriminatory or biased behaviour. We thrive to fund the best of the best, regardless of their background. To keep improving our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy, we gain information on the diversity profile of our applicants. This is important for NERC but also the University to put effective policies in place to offer equal opportunities.

Please be assured that the data you supply will be only be used for monitoring purposes and in conjunction with the review of your application. As such it will only be handled by the QUADRAT DTP Coordinator and will only be shared with individuals who are integral to the interview and selection process. Only anonymised data will be reported to NERC.

Does QUADRAT use the ‘whole person’ approach to recruitment?

Yes, we have developed an ‘equality statement’ which is an optional part of the application form for candidates. The guidance for this section is as follows:

“ We understand that everyone’s circumstances are different and cannot be easily defined. This statement is optional – please use this space to include any other information you would like us to consider alongside your application. This includes any circumstances, past or present, that you feel might have influenced the opportunities you had/have to develop skills related to this application. Such circumstances may be directly or indirectly related to education per se. This will allow the panel to assess, from your point of view, your skills relative to opportunities. ”

Does QUADRAT allow for 'reasonable adjustments' during the application/interview process?

Yes, it is very important to us that we make sure we provide any specialist support required by our applicants, both throughout the application process, at interview, and beyond. You can find out more about this in our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Hub .

Where can I find out more about QUADRAT's EDI processes?

We have developed this Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Hub . This hub houses information on the following topics:

DEI Statement
Recruitment Strategy
Reasonable Adjustments
Health and Wellbeing Resources, and much more…

FAQs - Interviews

When will interviews take place and will they be on campus.

Interviews are usually scheduled to take place over the last week of February and into the first week of March, annually. Dates will be provided on our How to Apply webpage where there is an ‘interviews’ information tab. Interviews cannot be accommodated outwith the given dates.

All interviews will take place over Microsoft Teams.

When will I hear if I have been invited to interview?

Interview invitations are usually sent out in early to Mid-February. Our recruitment timeline and key dates are listed on our How to Apply webpage.

How can I prepare for interview?

We would recommend speaking with the project supervisor, they will be able to help you prepare. You should treat a PhD interview like a formal job interview. Make sure you follow the presentation brief in full. Think about how your education to date has prepared you for PhD study. Don’t make assumptions that the interview panel know how suitable you are – you have to show them why you are the right candidate for the position. Be clear and concise in your answers.

Is there an interview task or presentation?

Yes, candidates who are invited to interview will be asked to prepare a pre-recorded presentation. Details instructions on the content and format of this presentation will be included in your invitation to interview email.

Does QUADRAT allow for 'reasonable adjustments' during the interview process?

Faqs - other, why is cohort so important.

You will develop a strong network of colleagues and friends to support you through your PhD studies. This will become your academic community who you can bounce ideas off and collaborate with now and in the future.

What is RTSG?

This is your Research, Training and Support Grant (RTSG) provided in direct support of your research activities during your PhD e.g. the day-to-day running of your research project, lab consumables, non-QUADRAT conference attendance, project fieldwork expenses etc. The RTSG should not be used for the cost of supervisor travel or costs. Supervisors should find alternative sources of funding.

Studentships include an RTSG budget of £9,000 for use over the duration of the 42 month studentship.

Can an academic supervise two students?

An academic can only be primary supervisor to one student in any QUADRAT cohort and cannot be primary supervisor to students in two consecutive cohorts, however they can be secondary supervisor to any number of others. More information about supervision can be found here .

Academics may also be supervising a number of other non-QUADRAT PhD students.

QUADRAT Sponsors and Partners

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CORRESPONDENCE
11 October 2022

Research funding: dial back the competition

Thomas Schaubroeck 0

Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology, Belval, Luxembourg.

You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

You call for lotteries as a tie-breaker in applications for research funding ( Nature 609 , 653; 2022 ). But there is an argument for rethinking funding allocation so that it’s not invariably competitive and it will reduce the chances of a tie.

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Nature 610 , 257 (2022)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-03179-5

Competing Interests

T.S. works at a research institute, is paid through both competitive and non-competitive funding and has applied to various competitive schemes. Some applications were successful. Others were not.

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What does ‘fully funded’ PhD project really mean?

I\’ve been thinking a lot lately about the recruitment of PhD students, given it\’s the time of year when prospective graduate students start looking for labs to join during the next academic year. I\’m keenly interested whenever I see an advert, particularly one of those that list the position as \’fully funded\’. This, coupled with my lab\’s financial realities has got me to thinking.. What does \’fully funded\’ really mean***?

When people say a PhD project is fully funded in advert, do u mean the research, salary, both? Seems like there is var. in meaning. #newPI — Matt MacManes (@PeroMHC) November 16, 2014

5 years of salary provided from grant +/- fully funded research,
Between 1-4 years of salary from grant (the rest from teaching assistantship) +/- fully funded research
No salary from grant (have to teach every semester for salary and tuition) +/- fully funded research

Now, be sure that none of these students are actually paying for tuition, and very few of them have other jobs, so in a sense, they are all full funded, its really what they have to do for the salary, and for how long, that varies. Same thing with research – I don\’t think anybody is paying for Illumina sequencing from their savings acct, the research too is largely \’fully funded\’. What varies a lot is how hard people are working for their research dollars.

My own PhD was of the no salary and no funded research. For my salary, I taught when I had to, was lucky enough to receive a couple of multi-year fellowships. For research, I applied for and received many small grants, got a NSF DDIG, and learned to be very thrifty (e.g. homemade Taq). My reward for this was ultimate freedom (kinda sorta) to choose my own project. I was at Berkeley, and most of my friends in Evolutionary Biology were in similar situations. I didn\’t feel like I had it worse than most (but maybe I did). There were a few labs that paid grad student salary for maybe a year , and research was paid assuming you worked on whatever the PI worked on.. I\’m pretty sure this is the norm for those of us working on the NSF dime outside of the Biomedical Sciences, no? What my query on twitter, I got a few responses, which were very enlightening.

@PeroMHC generally I take it to mean salary. That the research is funded is a given, no? — David Schoppik (@schoppik) November 17, 2014

@PeroMHC student (stipend) or postdoc salary, usually for the length of the grant, unless they will work on it for limited time (NIH/DOD) — Dave Bridges (@dave_bridges) November 16, 2014

@PeroMHC I would assume research as a PhD project. I never assume full salary as a student since many programs require TAing at some point. — Sciencegurl (@sciencegurlz0) November 16, 2014

It seems like there is a big divide between those of us working in Biomedical Sciences (NIH supported) versus non-Biomed (NSF supported). Those of you supported by the NIH seem to support your students at 100% (both salary and research are covered, no teaching or grant writing) while the NSF-supported researchers do not (simply no budget for this). Students woking for typical NSF-style labs will have to teach, perhaps a significant amount, for salary and to pay tuition. They will often have to find money for research. Is this a fair assessment of the differences?

As a student looking for a position, this might be problematic, no? Fully funded means different things to different people, and this may not be entirely clear. I guess for me, I would be happy to trade support for freedom, though I could see why a student might not.. For me, having to look constantly for funding as a PhD student was good training for the academic realities. I feel like I\’m better equipped to budget and search for $$ because I had to as a grad student. So.. what does this mean for my prospective students? Hard to say.. I\’ll probably try a variety of models.

All this brings us to our central question, what does fully funded actually mean? Can I reasonably say, for instance, that offering a year of salary, guaranteed teaching assistantships, and money for research is fully funded? I\’m guessing that in NSF-labs this is about as good as it gets. In NIH-style labs, student might be able to get a lot more support. So, for students looking at prospective graduate student positions, know that fully funded might mean something different to different PIs. Ask questions, get details!

*** Discussion limited to the US academic system.

I think that if i was choosing a lab, and one lab claimed to have a ‘fully funded’ project, my impression would definitely be that i wouldn’t have to obtain my own salary support, i would have protected time to do 100% research and there would be enough money in the lab to support research costs on that project. I guess there is some wiggle room in there, like if you are pretty sure the person will get put on a training grant or something but the word fully seems kind of absolute. As with most things, its probably better to clarify this with the PI, or be direct with the incoming student. More broadly, I wonder how many students take this into account, relative to mentoring history, other lab funding, project interest, location etc.

[email protected]

image-4026d5dca0c87f253e89e8b4650e1cb75486d845-1400x800-png

PhD programme

Members from the Centre teach on three post-graduate masters courses at the University of East Anglia. These courses have a significant competition policy element and students who enrol through one of these schools will receive training in their discipline from both the associated school and from CCP members.

Our Research Student Community

Students' whose PhD is related to competition policy will be assigned a supervisor who is a CCP faculty member, enabling PhD students to become eligible join the Centre. In becoming a member, students are given the unique opportunity to interact with a large community of researchers and faculty from different disciplines across a wide-range of activities, in addition to receiving training in their discipline from the associated school. The Centre also offers a comprehensive range of activities to contribute to students' learning plans, such as networking opportunities with representatives from the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills and the Competition and Markets Authority, and occasionally offering students the opportunity for work as Research Associates on various small projects.

In order to fully benefit from Centre members extensive knowledge, expertise and contacts, student members are expected to attend and participate in the weekly seminars, our biannual research review day, the CCP Annual Conference and our PhD Workshop.

Whilst the Centre does not run a PhD programme directly, you can study for a PhD at the UEA through the Centre's affiliated Schools: School of Economics; Political Science, Norwich Business School and UEA Law School, depending on your area of interest.

For more information on which PhD courses the Centre are involved with contact the relevant UEA admissions team:

To apply for a PhD in the School of Economics, Norwich Business School or UEA Law School contact the Faculty of Social Sciences Graduate School. Email: [email protected].

To apply for a PhD in Political Science contact the Faculty of Arts and Humanities. Email: [email protected].

The following organisations are subscribed to the CCP Membership Scheme and their support is gratefully acknowledged:

PhD studentships

The School of Economics is inviting applications for Funded PhD Studentships across five topics this year:(1) Market structure and competition in digital markets(2) Indicators for measuring competition(3) Competition and income inequality(4) Privacy and data provision in digital applications(5) Competition and information in the health care sectorThe application deadline is 15 March 2021, please address any queries to [email protected]

CCP and the University of East Anglia

Masters courses.

image-57b446c01a7041a911f766973f1579fccc13e791-700x701-png

Online CCP certificate

The Centre delivers a variety of courses aimed at students, academics and practitioners. Our popular Economics of Competition Policy for Economists for practitioners who are new to practical competition policy runs every October.

IMAGES

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Fully funded PhD vs Self funded PhD & Direct PhD from UK
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PhD admission 2024 || @SAHITYAMCOMPETITIONCLASSES by Shashank sir PhD new application form 2024 ||
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PHD ADMISSION 2024 /|| PHD ENTRANCE ONLINE APPLICATION FORM 2024 || #phd_entrance
Preview: Benefits and challenges of regional competition agreements

COMMENTS

Funding Your PhD
With a doctoral loan, you can borrow a maximum of £28,673. However, you cannot borrow more than £12,716 in a year. The average PhD fee for a domestic student can range from anywhere between £4,500 and £20,000. It is unlikely that you can fund your tuition fee and living costs with the doctoral loan. You can always supplement your PhD ...
All of your PhD funding options explained
All of your PhD funding options explained. "I want to do a PhD but I'm worried I can't afford it.". If this sounds like you then you're in the right place. Read our post to find out more about PhD funding at the College of Medicine & Veterinary Medicine. "I want to do a PhD but I'm worried I won't have enough money to live on.".
PhD Competition funding? on PostgraduateForum.com
Competition funding usually means that the project is going up again other projects from the same institution for funding, all the projects advertised interview candidates and then the institution and the people giving the funding decide which projects/students are the best and give funding to those. It can be that they are advertising 10 and ...
A Simple Introduction to PhD Funding
A Simple Introduction to PhD Funding. Written by Mark Bennett. Funding for PhD study is a little more complicated than it is for other degrees. There are lots of different ways a student can be funded and your situation may also change during the 3-4 years (or more) it takes to complete a doctorate. This short guide is here to introduce PhD ...
Funding Options for PhD Students
Funding October 7, 2023. Pursuing a PhD is a significant commitment of your finances and time. From tuition, living expenses, books, travel, research, and other costs, doctoral programs can cost over $100,000. Determining how to pay for this investment in your education and future career can feel like a full-time job all on its own.
Funding your Postgraduate Research
These may be advertised as fully funded (with fees and a stipend) or competition funded, meaning the projects compete against other projects at each institution. Self-fund, or search for funding or a studentship once you have an offer. You devise your own PhD topic, find a supervisor, write a research proposal and apply to the relevant programme.
How to Find Funding for a PhD
Funding may be available from external funding bodies such as trusts and charities, research foundations, government agencies, the private sector, or your home government. Your prospective supervisor and previous undergraduate/master's study advisors may have sources of knowledge in this area. If you are currently studying at a university, your ...
How Doctoral Training Partnership PhD Funding Actually Works
Studying a PhD can be an expensive endeavour, and to complete one you will need some form of funding.There are many different ways to fund a PhD, from university scholarships and doctoral loans to self-funding and options for international students.. The ins-and-outs of how these different forms of funding work can differ a fair bit.
The Myth of the Fully-Funded PhD: Using Scholarships to Mitigate the
Though many graduate students receive admissions offers that are referred to as "fully-funded," such funding packages require PhD students to teach multiple years in exchange for tuition waivers and teaching stipends. Once students start to work for the university and balance their many responsibilities, ...
Applying for a QUADRAT DTP PhD position, a step by step guide
What is a competition funded PhD? A competition funded PhD means that not every PhD project that's advertised will receive funding. A wide range of high quality projects are advertised to allow more candidates to apply and be considered, and it is therefore more inclusive. Which projects receive funding is based on the quality of the ...
What Does Fully Funded Actually Mean?
What Does Fully Funded Actually Mean? Funding August 10, 2023. You may have heard that many PhD programs are fully funded — universities pay doctoral students to attend school and even provide health insurance. The thought of getting paid to earn an advanced degree in a subject that deeply interests you may seem like a good deal - so what ...
10 universities offering 2024's best fully-funded PhDs
Apply here. 2. University of Iowa. The Tippie College of Business at the University of Iowa offers a fully-funded PhD programme in fields such as accounting, economics, business analytics, and marketing. Tuition and fees are covered, and students are provided with a generous nine-month stipend of about US$20,000.
PhD Studentships
Studentships are scholarships awarded to PhD students, with funding provided by either a Research Council, university, private body or research charity. Most studentships are linked to a specific research project or a field of study. Can either be partially funded (covering fees only) or fully funded (covering fees and providing an allowance ...
Explaining Funded PhD Programs
A funded PhD term is suitable for those whose entire PhD cost or expenses are managed by someone else, for instance, a university or a government department. Fellowship, research project, scholarship, grants, crowdfunding and employment sponsorship are some of the options for funded PhD, popularly. Getting funds for a huge project like a PhD is ...
Find your way to PhD funding
The simplest way to find PhD funding is to look for existing projects with your current university, or from another that specializes in the same area. Make time to consider your options as the course progresses. You could be preparing to step into work once you have completed your masters degree. Or you could have already considered the ...
Postgraduate Research Fees and Funding
Competition Funded Project (European Students Only) This research project is one of a number of projects at this institution. It is in competition for funding with one or more of these projects. Usually the project which receives the best applicant will be awarded the funding. ... Self-Funded PhD Research. Partnerships in Doctoral Training .
Making academics compete for funding does not lead to ...
By comparing data from 17 countries, we found that while more spending produces more high-quality science, increasing competition for resources does not. In fact, competitiveness of funding and research quality are negatively correlated. Efficiency (vertical axis) by share of project funding (horizontal axis).
FAQs: Prospective Applicants
A 'competition funded' project means that we advertise more project titles than there are available studentships. What this means in practice is that we interview for all of the advertised projects, and the strongest candidates are recruited - the strongest candidates therefore dictate which projects are successful. We do this for ...
Research funding: dial back the competition
Research funding: dial back the competition. You call for lotteries as a tie-breaker in applications for research funding ( Nature 609, 653; 2022 ). But there is an argument for rethinking funding ...
What does 'fully funded' PhD project really mean?
Here are the logical possibilities. 5 years of salary provided from grant +/- fully funded research, Between 1-4 years of salary from grant (the rest from teaching assistantship) +/- fully funded research. No salary from grant (have to teach every semester for salary and tuition) +/- fully funded research.
ESRC PhD Funding
ESRC studentships are awarded on a competition basis, with the funding being allocated to the best applicants. Typically, the normal requirements for an ESRC PhD is a first or upper second (2.1) class honours degree (or equivalent). If you hold a lower honours grade (2.2), a Masters (or equivalent experience) may help with your application.
PhD programme
PhD programme. Members from the Centre teach on three post-graduate masters courses at the University of East Anglia. These courses have a significant competition policy element and students who enrol through one of these schools will receive training in their discipline from both the associated school and from CCP members.
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