UKRI considering financial support for research students

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UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to consult with the sector on financial support for UKRI postgraduate research students, due to the increasing cost of living.

The funder is talking to sector groups on a range of options and will communicate any decision in the summer.

UKRI-supported students, which includes students funded by UKRI’s seven research councils, receive at least a minimum stipend.

Typically, the minimum stipend is revised in line with a measure of inflation annually. In line with this approach, the minimum stipend is due to increase by 2.9% at the beginning of the 2022 to 2023 academic year. This reflects the rate of inflation from October 2020 to September 2021.

UKRI had already committed to reviewing the stipend and how it is set as part of its long-term work on the New Deal for Postgraduate Research.

Future stipend rates

A decision on the stipend for the 2023 to 2024 academic year is likely to be communicated in the spring of 2023.

Top image:  Credit: Ziga Plahutar, E+ via Getty Images

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