ESRC postgraduate funding guidance

This guidance is for directors, managers and supervisors in doctoral training partnerships (DTPs) and centres for doctoral training (CDTs). It deals with the administration of Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) studentships and doctoral training grants.

The guidance covers:

award types and conditions
financial conditions of awards
managing studentships

Postgraduate students might also find this guidance useful as an overview of ESRC studentship conditions.

Do not use older versions of this guide.

Grant conditions

The conditions of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) training grants (TGs) apply to all ESRC TGs issued after 1 February 2014. See the latest terms and conditions for training funding.

Training content

ESRC provides studentships for full-time or part-time postgraduate study. As part of its role in supporting postgraduate study, ESRC requires accredited DTPs and CDTs to have training content in place or in development. See ESRC postgraduate training and development guidelines:

the second edition of the guidelines (from 2015) applies to DTPs and CDTs accredited in 2016 and studentships allocated between 2017 and 2023
the third edition of the guidelines (from 2022) applies to DTPs and CDTs accredited from 2023 and new studentships from October 2024

Where studentships can be held

Studentships can only be held in research organisations (ROs) that are part of an ESRC DTP or CDT.

DTPs and CDTs have been awarded to both single institutions and to consortia (temporary partnerships between institutions).

Consortia have a lead institution that administers the grant on behalf of the consortium, but these guidelines apply to all ROs within the consortium.

The grant award letter will say how long the DTP or CDT is accredited to allocate new studentships.

Doctoral training grants

Studentships allocated to DTPs and CDTs are funded through doctoral training grants.

Doctoral training grants provide funds to train research students, leading to the award of a recognised doctoral qualification, usually a PhD.

The training grant award holder

The doctoral training grant award holder is normally the principal applicant on the application for accreditation.

You change the name of an award holder by submitting a grant maintenance request through the Joint Electronic Submission system (Je-S).

The appointment of a new grant holder is subject to approval by ESRC.

Keeping student records

See UKRI training grant terms and conditions 7.2.

Use the UKRI Studentship Data System (SDS) to tell ESRC which students are funded through the doctoral training grant.

DTPs and CDTs are responsible for creating and maintaining student records, in partnership with ROs.

DTPs and CDTs must:

enter student details into the SDS
link details to the relevant training grant
maintain details throughout the studentship

ESRC can withdraw funding if DTPs or CDTs do not maintain student details. DTPs and CDTs must update student records within one month of changes.

As well as being used for administrative purposes, student details are published on Gateway to Research.

How the value of doctoral training grants is calculated

Doctoral training grants are calculated based on the:

number of students allocated to a DTP or CDT
notional cost of a studentship

The notional cost is set by the:

cost of a studentship
award length, adjusted for applicable enhancements (also see ‘London weighting’ section)

DTPs and CDTs are responsible for issuing awards to students. They must tell new students how they’ll be paid.

Payments of the training grant are:

made quarterly, in advance, in line with the profile
profiled (spread) over the duration of the grant

Award types and general conditions

You must follow the terms and conditions in this guidance if you’re:

receiving an ESRC studentship
supervising or organising studies of people receiving an ESRC studentship

Studentships can be held in research areas within doctoral training partnerships (DTPs) or specific centres for doctoral training (CDTs) that ESRC accredits for the quality and relevance of training they provide.

ESRC therefore makes awards assuming:

that research organisations (ROs) provide facilities for the proposed research or training in line with the Postgraduate Training and Development Guidelines
the policies, procedures and facilities in the ESRC accreditation submission will be applied to each award holder

It is the responsibility of DTPs and CDTs to nominate students for awards who meet academic and residential eligibility requirements.

Interdisciplinary studentships funded by different councils

Before October 2025, interdisciplinary studentships could be funded by drawing funds from training grants from two UKRI councils. Studentships funded on that basis can continue those arrangements, but no new studentships can be funded on that basis.

Where students must study and live

Students must carry out all activity they do as part of an ESRC award within the UK. Overseas fieldwork is an exception if it’s an integral part of study, conferences or training.

All students must reside within a reasonable travel time of the research organisation where they’re registered. DTPs and CDTs determine what is a reasonable travel time.

Student and supervisor must have direct contact.

Where studentships can be held

Studentships can only be held in research areas in ROs that ESRC has accredited as part of a DTP or CDT.

See a list of accredited DTPs and CDTs.

Full and part-time studentships

All studentships must be available full or part-time. DTPs and CDTs can determine the type of studentship to fund.

Studentships can be:

standard
collaborative (working in partnership with a non-academic organisation)

It can occasionally be difficult to make a collaborative award part-time if the partner needs research outcomes by a particular time. If so, DTPs and CDTs should discuss all funding options (and options for time commitment) with prospective partners.

Kinds of study ESRC does not fund

ESRC does not fund studentships for:

standalone master’s degrees
diploma studies
professional doctorates
international study
summer schools
going to conferences or seminars (unless as part of an award)

Structure of funding

Students who started awards before October 2024

DTPs and CDTs funding students before October 2024 would have specified the structure of funding they support across a range of training pathways.

The 2015 ESRC postgraduate training and development guidelines, which apply to students who started their awards before October 2024, emphasise the importance of core training in qualitative and quantitative research.

The guidelines set out the core research skills that all students in the social sciences need to gain during their studies. See course structure examples in the guidelines.

Students who started awards from October 2024

The 2022 guidelines, which apply to students who started their awards from October 2024, continue to emphasise the importance of providing broad-based social science research training to equip researchers with the knowledge and skills to lead a research career or to contribute to society in other ways.

Knowledge and skills can be gained through a combination of:

formal training
opportunities coming from being part of rich and diverse research training environments
recognised prior learning and experiences

Training must be student-centred (tailored to the needs of each student, rather than generic) and flexible.

DTPs and CDTs must develop training for individual students on an evidence-based development needs analysis (also called a training needs analysis). DTPs and CDTs need to do the analysis when students apply and to review it annually.

Accredited research areas can structure their programmes to fit their own situation and strengths. DTPs and CDTs must request substantial changes through the annual ESRC change request process.

Determining length of a studentship

For studentships starting from October 2024, DTPs and CDTs must determine the length of a studentship based on:

the individual student’s prior training and experience
needs of the research area and project

Mix of home and international students

All UKRI studentships must be open to both home and international students.

UKRI normally limits the proportion of international students that individual doctoral training programmes can appoint each year to 30%. The cap does not apply to associated studentships.

For ESRC, DTPs and CDTs allocating studentships in economics can allocate up to 50% of those awards to international students.

If DTPs or CDTs have difficulty recruiting students, which means the cap may be exceeded, they must contact ESRC before making an award decision.

ROs are responsible for determining whether a student is eligible as a home or international student.

See:

Costs and length of time that ESRC studentships cover

Depending on the student’s circumstances, ESRC studentships cover:

tuition fees
a stipend
other expenses

For new studentships starting from October 2024, the longest funding for a core studentship is 4.5 years (which would include a master’s and a placement). The DTP decides the actual length of an award based on the individual student.

ESRC does not normally fund:

full-time students for more than 4.5 years
the part-time equivalent based on the student’s actual time commitment

Students who transfer between full and part-time during their award will have their awards adjusted pro rata (proportionately).

Also see ‘Extensions’ section.

Students getting other funding

See UKRI TGC 5.2.3.

Students are not eligible for an ESRC award if:

they already hold an award from, or are financially supported in another way by, another organisation
ESRC considers that award, or other form of support, to be enough to cover maintenance or tuition fees

However, students can apply for an ESRC studentship if they get scholarships or grants from sources where the income is either:

clearly inadequate
less than an ESRC award

Example: a bursary from the student’s home country for further education overseas could be used alongside an ESRC award.

ESRC does not award new studentships to extend existing studentships.

Students already doing postgraduate study or equivalent

DTPs and CDTs cannot use ESRC funding for students who have already done a substantial proportion of their PhD. For example, you cannot fund a student entering their third year of full-time study.

Unless it would clearly be a good investment of public funds, DTPs and CDTs cannot award studentships to students who have already either:

done full-time postgraduate training at the same or higher level
had equivalent employment

DTPs and CDTs decide whether an award would be a good investment of public funds. They must consider an applicant’s individual circumstances and existing qualifications compared with other applicants.

Academic eligibility

Most students who get an ESRC award will have:

an undergraduate qualification from a recognised UK higher education institution
an equivalent international qualification
similar professional experience or qualifications

However, existing qualifications are not the only factor to consider when assessing a student’s potential to do a PhD. DTPs and CDTs can go beyond standard grade-based assessments and consider other prior experience and applicant potential.

ESRC can review applications and research projects if DTPs or CDTs raise concerns or concerns come up through assurance checking.

Eligibility for +3.5 year studentships

From October 2024, DTPs and CDTs can determine which of their accredited funding structures is most appropriate for individual students based on their skills and prior research training.

Applicants for +3.5-year studentships need to have done enough research training for them to go on directly to do a PhD. Each DTP or CDT must have procedures in place to verify and assess an applicant’s prior research training before awarding them a studentship.

ESRC will monitor the award structures that DTPs and CDTs allocate.

For a +3.5-year award in the social sciences, the student needs a strong grounding in the core conceptual, general research and subject or field knowledge skills needed to start a PhD in the social sciences.

The duration of studentships funded before 2024 does not change based on these new expectations.

Subjects that ESRC studentships cover

Seven research councils fund postgraduate study in the UK. Each council mainly funds studentships in its own range of subjects. For an ESRC award, the discipline must be mainly in the social sciences.

Some ESRC discipline areas fall between ESRC and other award-making bodies, particularly for doctoral awards.

CDTs have specialist areas determined by the funding opportunity they applied to. They focus on emerging interdisciplinary priority areas where studentships are at least 50% within social science disciplines.

DTPs and CDTs must allocate ESRC funding only to students either:

doing a PhD in the social sciences
whose field of study is at least 50% social science

ESRC can remove funding if a studentship does not meet these criteria.

Subject remit queries

If in doubt about whether a study area qualifies for a studentship, potential applicants, ROs, DTPs or CDPs must submit a remit query.

How students apply

Students must apply to the DTP or CDT that holds research council funding relevant to their discipline.

Applicants with a qualification from any subject or discipline can apply, as long as they meet ESRC’s academic and residential eligibility requirements.

Find out more about where studentships can be held.

Once the DTP or CDT has decided which students they will fund, they must enter the students’ details on the Studentship Data System within a month of the student start date. (Also see section on ‘Keeping student records up to date’.)

ESRC encourages DTPs and CDTs to find ways to co-fund studentships.

Financial conditions and allowances

Managing an ESRC studentships allocation

Find out about the terms and conditions of UKRI training grants.

Each doctoral training partnership (DTP) or centre for doctoral training (CDT) gets a studentships allocation each year, which represents the number of students DTPs and CDTs are expected to fund. ESRC issues single doctoral training grants and usually adds funding for new cohorts of studentships each year, for payment to begin from October.

Grants are cash-limited (have a set amount of money). ESRC will not accept requests for more funding, except for:

Disabled Students’ Allowance
London weighting (see ‘London weighting’ section)
allowed absences

DTPs and CDTs must meet the full costs of supporting their students from within the cash limit of their training grant. See ESRC guidance on how funding can be used flexibly.

Adding funds to an ESRC grant

ESRC only adds funds to a training grant above the annual allocation if there are both:

exceptional circumstances
no other contingency funds or training grants to draw on

DTPs and CDTs can allocate funds flexibly. For example, they might part-fund students with partners in the public, private or civil-society sectors.

DTPs and CDTs can also offer stipends above the minimum level to help to recruit or retain students in study areas of shortage.

Co-funding an ESRC studentship with other funds

At least 50% of the total cost of a studentship must be drawn from the ESRC doctoral training grant. If a DTP or CDT plans to co-fund ESRC funds with funds from another source, those other funds must reflect 50% of the full notional cost of a studentship (including the Student and Cohort Development funding; see relevant section in this guidance).

Calculating the value of a doctoral training grant

Studentships starting between 2017 and 2023

For studentships starting between 2017 and 2023, the value of a doctoral training grant was calculated using:

a notional cost
an estimate of the average length of a studentship (3.5 years)

This calculation was based on a 50:50 split of 1+3 and +3 awards.

Studentships starting from October 2024

The value of a DTP’s training grant from October 2024 is calculated using a spread of award durations, with the expectation that DTPs and CDTs will allocate a range of award lengths based on individual circumstances.

These durations in years are:

3.5
3.75
4
4.5

However, DTPs can use their total funding flexibly and do not have to allocate a specific proportion of awards to each of these durations.

Payments will be profiled (spread) over the duration of the grant and will be made quarterly in line with the profile.

Notional cost of a studentship

The notional cost of a studentship for the academic year 2026 to 2027 includes:

standard maintenance (stipend): £21,805
fees: £5,238
Research Training Support Grant: £940
overseas fieldwork: £450

Student and Cohort Development funding

On top of the notional cost, ESRC adds funding of £3,330 per student for student and cohort development activities. That amount includes £1,000 to support placement activities. See ‘Student placements’ section in this guidance.

The Student and Cohort Development allowance is for:

collaboration
interdisciplinary working
cohort development (such as conferences and networking events)
placement activities (including internships funded through the UKRI Policy Internships Scheme)
overseas institutional visits (OIVs)

Funding for interdisciplinary working allows students trained in a particular discipline to engage with other disciplines.

Indexation will be applied to stipend and fee rates, as appropriate, on the date of issue. Find out more about stipend levels.

DTPs and CDTs must undertake the activities they described in their accreditation application.

London weighting

On top of the notional cost, ESRC adds £2,000 for each student each year for DTPs and CDTs based entirely in London.

DTPs and CDTs with some, but not all, partners in London can claim the ESRC’s contribution to this allowance for students registered at their London partners. DTPs and CDTs must make a claim through Je-S or its successor by 31 October (via a grant maintenance request) once the students have started.

Funds ESRC does not provide

While DTPs and CDTs can pay students enhanced stipends, ESRC will not provide extra funds for that.

ESRC does not provide extra funds:

for students doing a collaborative studentship (such as CASE)
to recruit or retain students in areas of student shortage or in priority areas

Managing funds in a doctoral training grant

DTPs and CDTs must meet the full cost of supporting their students from within the cash limit of their doctoral training grant. DTPs and CDTs may vire (transfer) funding across the budget headings within the doctoral training grant (apart from Disabled Students’ Allowance).

When ESRC can add more funds

ESRC will provide more funding for:

Disabled Students’ Allowance
London weighting (where applicable; see section in this guidance)
associated studentships (see Annex 2 in this guidance)

In other circumstances, ESRC only adds additional funds to a doctoral training grant if there are both:

unforeseen or exceptional circumstances
no other contingency funds or training grants to draw on

The UKRI Funding Service issues a final expenditure statement at the end of the grant. ESRC will seek reimbursement of any unspent funds.

The research organisation (RO) must pursue all debts that arise because of overpayments. The RO must return all reclaimed monies to the training grant.

Basic stipend

The stipend (maintenance grant) covers all normal living expenses. Students registered at an RO in London get an additional supplement of £2,000 a year on top of the basic stipend. Part-time students in London get a pro rata (proportionate) stipend and supplement.

ROs need to arrange payment of the stipend and additional allowances with students directly. Frequency of payments to students can vary between ROs. <

When a student withdraws or suspends their studies, DTPs and CDTs must update the Studentship Data System with the:

revised end date or termination date
reason for the withdrawal or suspension

Students must repay any advance payment to the RO if they withdraw or are suspended.

Tuition fee payments

See UKRI training grant terms and conditions (TGC) 4.7.

Approved fees

See UKRI TGC 4.

ESRC is not responsible for the fees of students who interrupt their studies before their ESRC award expires. If these fees have been paid in advance, the RO must ensure they are reclaimed and return them to the training grant.

The DTP or CDT will adjust fees accordingly for students who move from part-time to full-time status or the other way around, if they follow ESRC terms and conditions.

Students might become liable for paying fees after the termination date of their ESRC funding if, for example, they continue their studies on a self-funded basis or their studies were terminated retrospectively.

Research Training Support Grants

All students are eligible for a Research Training Support Grant (RTSG). Grants pay for expenses that the student or supervisor determines are necessary to support students’ research, such as:

UK fieldwork
overseas fieldwork (if other funding for overseas fieldwork is not enough to pay for it)
UK and overseas conferences and summer schools
language training courses usually undertaken in the UK before an overseas fieldwork trip
reimbursement of interpreters, guides or assistants
survey costs – for example, printing, stationery, telephone calls
buying small items of equipment – for example, cameras, recorders, films
gifts for local informants
books and other reading material not available through libraries

DTPs and CDTs must pool RTSG funding for flexible use across ESRC-funded students based on student needs and priorities. This might also include the purchase of small items of equipment that students can borrow. There must be clear and transparent mechanisms to allocate RTSG funding.

RTSG funds must not be:

top-sliced (have any portion spent before funds are distributed)
used to fund core provision that is the responsibility of the RO, DTP or CDT

Buying computer equipment using an RTSG

In exceptional circumstances, DTPs and CDTs can consider requests from students to buy laptops or other computer equipment using RTSG funds.

Such requests must be:

clearly justified based on the nature of the student’s research
essential for the student to complete their PhD

In these cases, any equipment bought for more than £200 must remain in the custody of the DTP or CDT once the RTSG is finished so it can be used across the DTP or CDT.

How ESRC calculates total RTSG funding

ESRC calculates total funding for the RTSG using a fixed amount per student each year. However, this is not a personal allowance for the student, and DTPs and CDTs must not administer it as a personal allocation.

It is the responsibility of DTPs and CDTs to make sure that funds are used responsibly. They must make RTSG funds responsive to the needs of individual students, rather than applying blanket policies. ESRC encourages students to discuss their needs with their supervisor early in their funding.

DTPs and CDTs are responsible for RTSGs. They will need to tell new students about payment arrangements.

Income Tax and National Insurance

See UKRI training grant terms and conditions (TGC) 4.

Part-time studentships

See UKRI TGC 5.3.

Studentships can be held part-time, with the time commitment between 50% and less than 100%. The minimum time commitment is 50%.

The length of a part-time studentship is based pro rata (proportionately) on:

the student’s actual time commitment
the structure of funding they have been allocated

For example, if following a +3.5 award structure at 50% time commitment, the part-time student can receive a seven-year award. Recalculate the value and duration of the studentship pro rata for any permanent or temporary periods based on actual time commitment.

Part-time students can apply for a fixed period of full-time study if the demands of the work mean the student would benefit from working full time.

ROs must make sure that part-time students compete on an equal footing with full-time students.

Fees-only awards (before August 2021)

Fees-only student fees are paid on the same basis as a full or part-time studentship. Fees-only students can claim RTSG and overseas fieldwork costs on the same basis as a full or part-time studentship but are not eligible for a stipend.

Where a studentship is awarded on a fees-only basis, it must be funded entirely from the ESRC training grant and cannot be co funded by another partner.

Disabled Students’ Allowance

See UKRI TGC 4.

DTPs and CDTs must submit claims by 31 October each year. Find guidance on how to submit and a claim form.

Overseas fieldwork

Who is eligible?

Students doing the doctoral part of their award can apply to their DTP or CDT for overseas fieldwork expenses. Master’s students cannot claim this allowance.

Normally, only full-time students do fieldwork. Part-time students can become eligible for an overseas fieldwork grant if they transfer for a fixed period to full-time status for the duration of the fieldwork.

However, there may be exceptions where it is impossible for a student to transfer to full time. For example, a student might have a disability or ongoing medical condition that prevents them from studying full time. DTPs and CDTs can consider exceptional requests.

See also the section ‘Changing to full-time study for fixed periods’.

Fieldwork expenses students can claim for

Students must make only one claim for overseas fieldwork expenses in the life of their award but this could include several trips.

Students must get approval for fieldwork and can’t claim for:

expenses retrospectively
extra costs they incur beyond those that have been approved

Students need to speak to their DTP or CDT about how to claim for overseas fieldwork expenses.

A student’s proposed overseas fieldwork should have been outlined in the project summary section of the SDS. However, if the decision to claim overseas fieldwork is made later, the SDS should be updated to show this.

UK government travel warnings

If the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) advises against visiting a country, the RO’s Finance Office must not authorise payment of any contribution towards fieldwork costs in that country.

ESRC recognises that international eligibility has opened up for UKRI studentships. Nationals of countries the FCDO advises against travelling to might want to do fieldwork in their home country as part of their PhD. DTPs and CDTs need to contact ESRC to discuss these requests.

Duration of allowance and what it covers

A student’s overseas fieldwork visit normally lasts up to 12 months.

If a student can demonstrate a strong case for a visit longer than 12 months, DTPs and CDTs can grant fieldwork of up to 18 months. Students who stay in the field for longer than they have formally agreed with their supervisor and the RO’s Finance Office cannot:

make retrospective claims for expenses
extend the period of their award or thesis submission date

Overseas fieldwork must:

be an integral part of the PhD
take place during the life of the award

Studentships will not be extended to reflect periods in the field.

The overseas allowance does not cover:

loss of the supervisor’s teaching time
expenses of any family members accompanying the student

Calculating the value of overseas fieldwork expenses

The notional cost of a studentship is calculated to include an amount for each student but it’s unlikely that all students will do overseas fieldwork. DTPs and CDTs can allocate actual funds towards fieldwork based on the funding available within the doctoral training grant. ESRC will not normally supplement the grant for extra fieldwork costs.

Once the DTP or CDT has calculated the allowance, it is the student’s responsibility to manage the funds they’ve been allocated.

If the student abandons fieldwork or it is unsuccessful and they return to the UK early, the DTP or CDT must recover the fieldwork allowance minus any reasonable expenses the student has had.

Student placements

For studentships starting from October 2024, ‘Research in Practice’ has been introduced as a core component for all ESRC-funded students. See the Postgraduate Training and Development Guidelines 2022 for details.

As part of Research in Practice, ESRC-funded students must have the opportunity to undertake a high-quality placement in academia, policy, business or civil society organisations.

DTPs can choose when students do placements to suit students’ needs but placements cannot take place:

within the first few months of the PhD
during a master’s period

Students must have the chance to do either part-time or full-time placements. Placements can be physical, virtual or hybrid.

Funding for PhDs is 3.5 years as standard, which includes funding for a three-month placement. Students who do not do a placement will not get the additional three months of funding.

Grant announcement and schedule of payments

An announcement letter and payment schedule (which can be downloaded from Je-S) will usually be available at least two months before the first grant payment.

The grant holding RO must confirm acceptance of the grant. ESRC will take this notification as acceptance of the grant on the terms and conditions stated in the offer document to ROs and will activate profiled (scheduled) payments.

ESRC will usually add funds to the grant each year to reflect the new cohort of students.

ESRC’s right to terminate grants

ESRC reserves the right at any time to:

revise or amend the conditions of a grant
suspend or terminate a grant

ESRC will try to give the DTP or CDT, and the grant holder, at least six months’ notice of changes or termination.

ESRC will consider paying final instalments to cover outstanding unavoidable commitments.

Final expenditure statement

See UKRI training grant terms and conditions 9 and 10.2.

UKRI supports administration of grants on behalf of the research councils.

DTPs and CDTs can email GrantsPostAward@funding.ukri.org with queries about training grants.

Managing the studentship

Varying an award

ESRC accepts that in some circumstances it’s appropriate to:

extend an award
convert it to part or full-time
suspend it
terminate it

DTPs and CDTs should manage funds through the doctoral training grant so that any variations to the award (except for Disabled Students’ Allowance) should first be funded via the grant.

Extensions

As well as the types of leave set out in the UKRI terms and conditions of training, ESRC studentships can be extended for:

difficult language training (DLT)
overseas institutional visits
placements (for studentships that began before October 2024)

The total allowed extension period for these reasons is normally no longer than a year. This is in addition to the extensions set out in UKRI training grant condition 8.

Research organisations (ROs) must change student funding end dates for any of these reasons on the Studentship Data System (SDS).

Difficult language training

DTPs and CDTs can consider granting up to 12 months’ extra funding if a student needs to acquire a working ability with a difficult language for:

fieldwork (including UK fieldwork)
other parts of their research

Students doing a pre-described (pre-set) master’s course cannot apply for DLT.

It must be mentioned in the student project summary within the student record on the SDS if the student expects to do DLT.

Length and cost of DLT extensions

DTPs and CDTs can only consider extensions beyond six months if the student needs to spend a long period overseas to gain difficult language skills. If the student has already done a pre-described master’s course, they are likely to have gained some language skills and are unlikely to need an extension beyond six months.

Extensions for DLT do not automatically involve overseas fieldwork costs. DTPs and CDTs should only consider covering overseas fieldwork costs alongside an extension where it is impossible to learn the language outside of the fieldwork site.

How to request DLT training

Students need to request DLT through their DTP or CDT.

Once it has accepted the request, the DTP or CDT needs to tell ESRC within a month through the SDS.

Students allocated an award that includes language training cannot apply for another extension for language training.

See Annex 1 for guidelines for considering DLT requests.

Overseas institutional visits

The Overseas Institutional Visits (OIVs) scheme funds international engagement for ESRC-funded students.

The scheme funds extensions to studentships of up to three months, plus travel and subsistence costs.

The scheme funds allow students to:

do specialist research training unavailable in the UK
develop language skills
establish research links to aid their career
disseminate (communicate) early research findings
go to seminars relevant to their research

Depending on the purpose and duration of the visit, an OIV can also form part of a ‘Research in Practice’ placement. See ‘Student placements’ section in this guidance.

How DTPs and CDTs can run OIV schemes

DTPs and CDTs can administer OIV scheme funds flexibly and use their own funds to supplement ESRC funding but:

they must have a fair and transparent process for allocating awards
applications must be student-led
applicants must be in the ‘research’ component of an award and not during a master’s
visits must relate to completing the PhD
visits must not start within the first three months of the studentship
visits can last a maximum of 13 weeks (although DTPs and CDTs can respond to the needs of the student)
visits in the final year of a studentship must end at least three months before the end of an award and before an extension period
visits must not be for overseas fieldwork, because this is funded differently
visits must involve visiting a higher education institution or an organisation with a substantive research office outside the UK
visits cannot be to countries the UK government advises against travelling to

Family members and disabled students

DTPs and CDTs can consider requests within an OIV application for extra costs for family members to travel with the student, for example if they have caring responsibilities. Requests must be within any scheme maximum.

The Disabled Students’ Allowance might cover some costs for relevant students.

Absences

See UKRI’s training grant conditions (TGCs) for leave, covering:

family leave
medical leave
additional leave
absence costs

If institutions allow leave that differs from the UKRI TGCs, they or a third party must fund it themselves.

DTPs and CDTs should suspend the UKRI studentship if a student is getting other funding for that leave.

Transferring to different ROs, DTPs or CDTs

See UKRI TGCs 7.1.2 and 7.1.3.

ESRC will only consider transfers to an accredited research area that, at the time of the transfer, is appropriate for the research project.

Students must withdraw from their ESRC award if they transfer to:

an RO or research area that is not accredited by ESRC
a subject outside ESRC’s remit

DTPs and CDTs must get permission in advance from ESRC to transfer a studentship to a different DTP.

A transfer to another RO within the same DTP does not need ESRC approval, but the transfer must still be within an accredited research area.

How to arrange a transfer

To apply for a transfer to a different DTP or CDT, DTPs and CDTs must submit to ESRC a:

request from the student explaining why they’re requesting the transfer and the research area, DTP and RO they want to transfer to
statement from the original DTP or CDT director relinquishing (handing over) the studentship and confirming that no alternative supervision is available within the DTP or CDT
statement from the new DTP or CDT director confirming that they accept the studentship

Transfers of studentships between DTPs or CDTs could be implemented through a contract or memorandum between institutions and include:

relevant funds, including allowances already agreed for a student
monitoring of academic progress

It is the responsibility of the DTP or CDT to update the Studentship Data System after a student transfer.

ESRC reserves the right to withdraw funding if student details are not maintained.

Transferring between part-time and full-time registration

See UKRI TGC 7.1.1 on who can approve changes from full-time to part-time study or the other way around.

A student can apply to transfer from a full-time to part-time studentship award or the other way around. The DTP or CDT must consider each case on its own merits.

ESRC recommends that changes of mode of study take effect from the beginning of a quarter (that is, 1 October, 1 January, 1 April or 1 July). This makes the calculation, payment and reconciliation (checking the balance) of students’ funding more straightforward.

Permanent transfers

For studentships that started before October 2024, the rules for permanent transfers are:

requests to transfer to part time in the final six months of an award, or for a transfer that will apply to only the last six months, must have prior approval from ESRC
if in the last six months of the award, or for a transfer that will apply to only the last six months, a case can only be considered in very exceptional circumstances, such as health reasons that prevent full-time study or students returning from maternity leave
in exceptional circumstances, requests to transfer to part time in the last six months to take up part-time work can be considered if the student’s supervisor confirms that the transfer would not hinder the student’s ability to complete their degree

For all studentships, the rules for permanent transfers are:

holders of collaborative awards need the agreement of the collaborating partner before ESRC can consider a request
a transfer is not normally allowed for acute health problems where suspension of the award is the appropriate action
where a health problem prevents a student from permanently studying full time, DTPs and CDTs can consider a case for a transfer to part time
a transfer from part time to full time cannot involve employment that would prevent the student from working on the PhD full time
DTPs and CDTs can consider a transfer from full time to part time if a change in domestic circumstances means that a dependant requires more of the award holder’s time or where the award holder has taken up part-time employment
a fixed period transfer from full time to part time can be considered where a student wants to undertake a fixed-term period of part-time employment relevant to their PhD
fixed-period transfers cannot be considered within a pre-described master’s programme reserved for the research training element of the studentship

Part-time transfers in the final six months of a degree

For transfers to part-time in the final six months of a degree, DTPs or CDTs must provide ESRC with a short statement including:

the request from the student
confirmation from the supervisor and RO agreeing to the change of study mode
details of how the change will affect completion of the doctorate

If the transfer is due to the student doing a period of part-time work, include in the request confirmation of the time commitment for that period of work (which must be a maximum of 50%).

DTPs and CDTs must calculate the remaining length of the studentship based on:

funding the student has already received
the student’s time commitment (minimum 50% for part-time students)

If ESRC approves transfers to full-time

If a DTP or CDT approves transfer of an award from part time to full time, the stipend, fees and other allowances are offered on a full-time equivalent, depending on the period remaining on the award.

Other terms and conditions will be the same as for full-time students, particularly those relating to part-time working. If a student transfers from full-time to part-time registration, they will be eligible for the normal allowances paid to part-time students.

DTPs and CDTs must calculate the revised thesis submission date on a pro rata (proportionate) basis when both:

students are funded through DTPs and CDTs with a funding start date between 2017 and 2023
a transfer takes place within the last six months of the award

For example, the revised submission date would not automatically move to two years from the funding end date if the student both:

has three months full time left on their studentship
wants to transfer to part time (50% FTE), with three months remaining on the ESRC award

This scenario would add an extra three months to the submission date and therefore be 15 months from the funding end date.

Changing to full-time study for fixed periods

Few part-time students want to convert to full time but some benefit from a fixed period of full-time study to do fieldwork, for example, or to analyse a very large dataset.

There might be other valid reasons for a temporary change to full time. The DTP or CDT must consider each case on its own strengths.

In the case of a change of status for fieldwork, the student must provide evidence that they’re proposing extensive fieldwork.

Part-time students can apply for fixed periods of full-time study of between three months and one year. They must take these periods as a single block, not at intervals.

A student can make more than one such request, but they cannot be awarded more than one year in total over the whole period of the award.

What a request for transfer of status must include

In any request to their RO for a fixed period transfer of status, the student must detail:

the period of the transfer
what work they will do
the benefits to them and their thesis
why they can’t do the work part time
other relevant details such as training they need or supervisory arrangements
a statement confirming that they have been released from their job for the period and that they will be working full time on their PhD

Importantly, ESRC will not pay a stipend if a student is doing more paid work than is allowed for full-time students. So for any block of full-time study, the student must take unpaid leave from their employment.

Terms and conditions for students changing status

For any approved change of status period, a part-time student has the same terms and conditions as a full-time student. They must stay within the restrictions that apply to ‘other work’ for the period. The DTP or CDT will pay a stipend and full-time fees to the student pro rata (proportionately).

The DTP or CDT must also recalculate the length of the studentship based on the change in status.

Part-time students’ requests for a change of status for a fixed period need to be:

supported by their supervisor
submitted to the DTP or CDT for a decision

Part-time students doing a pre-described master’s programme reserved for the research training element of their studentship cannot change to a fixed period of full-time study.

Students funded through DTPs and CDTs with a funding start date between 2017 and 2023

When these students change from full to part time, ROs must set their submission due date in the Studentship Data System (SDS) to 24 months after the end of the studentship, unless the transfer is very late in the funding period.

ESRC considers students in these circumstances case by case.

Students funded through DTPs and CDTs with a funding start date from October 2024

When these students change from full to part time, the submission date is the revised funding end date.

Updating the SDS

ROs must update the SDS after a student transfer. ESRC reserves the right to withdraw funding if student details aren’t maintained.

Monitoring academic performance

It is the responsibility of the RO to make sure that students progress academically. If they do not, ROs can withdraw funding, working with the DTP or CDT.

ROs should follow departmental codes of practice and internal quality-control mechanisms.

All seven research councils subscribe to the Quality Assurance Agency’s UK Quality Code for Higher Education on postgraduate research programmes. This means ROs getting research council funding must follow the agency’s code.

If at any point during the master’s or PhD studies, ROs do not consider the student of the standard needed to complete the PhD, they must withdraw funding. Supervisors should address any concerns about students’ progress in a timely way.

If ROs, working with the DTP or CDT, withdraw funding in these circumstances, they must reclaim any overpaid stipend or allowances from the student. ROs do not have to confirm satisfactory progress to ESRC regularly but they must report student terminations within the SDS.

ESRC normally expects supervisory arrangements to be in place at the beginning of a studentship for individually tailored studentship projects to be developed.

Supervisor and student should have frequent contact to review progress and identify training and development needs. See the Postgraduate Training and Development Guidelines 2022 on analysis of student development needs.

Deferring studentship start date

ESRC studentships normally start on 1 October. Later starting dates are possible in exceptional circumstances, for example if the student is ill or needs to give notice to an employer. The DTP or CDT will determine whether circumstances are exceptional.

DTPs and CDTs get an annual allocation of studentships and should not hold an award open to allow a student to defer until the next academic year. In those circumstances, funding for the award should come from the next year’s allocation.

Studentships allocated on a 1+3.5 or 2+2.5 basis should be held consecutively. DTPs and CDTs must treat any breaks between the master’s and PhD as suspensions, not deferrals.

DTPs and CDTs can consider suspensions between the master’s and PhD, subject to criteria, which must be counted in the total period of suspension. (See ‘Suspending a studentship’ section.)

Terminating a studentship

ROs, in conjunction with the DTP or CDT, must only terminate a studentship as a last resort. When they identify a student as having trouble, the supervisor and institutional authority must make every effort to work with the student so they can complete their studies.

If they do terminate the studentship, ROs must submit the termination date and reason to ESRC through the SDS.

ESRC can terminate a studentship, or vary its conditions, at its absolute discretion (meaning: for whatever reason) at any time.

See also UKRI training grant terms and conditions (TGC) 2.8, 7.1.4 and 7.2.3.

If students submit their thesis early

ESRC funds students to do a PhD, so if they submit a doctoral thesis before their studentship ends the RO must terminate their funding. In these circumstances, if the supervisor agrees and they’ve consulted the student, it is reasonable for the student to:

give up to four weeks’ notice to complete domestic arrangements
take up to two weeks’ leave

As an exception, ROs can provide a short period of continued funding if the student:

has an agreed programme of study related to the publication of their research
proposes to pursue that study programme until the next quarter payment

Continued funding following submission of the thesis must not extend beyond the current financial quarter.

Employment, repaying money and ongoing fees

If a student takes up paid full-time employment before the expiry date of their award, the award will terminate on the date employment starts.

If an award is prematurely terminated for any reason, the student must repay any monies including stipend, fieldwork contribution and so on, overpaid to them.

Students may become liable for paying institution fees after the termination date of their ESRC funding.

Suspending a studentship

See UKRI TGC 7.

Studentships are meant to be held continuously. However, sometimes students need to interrupt their studies, for example:

because of their own or dependants’ persistent health problems
to take up a short-term post that’s highly relevant to their thesis or research training

It is the responsibility of the DTP or CDT to work with the RO to consider suspension requests.

The RO must enter the details of an approved suspension in the SDS within one month of the suspension being approved.

Suspensions are only possible during the funded period of the studentship.

When suspensions are allowed

The DTP or CDT can approve a suspension if:

the suspension period is no longer than 12 months in any one instance (for both full and part-time students)
total periods of suspension are no longer than 12 months during the lifetime of the award (for both full and part-time students)
the student’s supervisor has given their permission for the student to suspend their studies
for collaborative awards, the collaborative partner must also give their approval for any suspension
the student’s supervisor certifies that the suspension will not delay the submission of the final thesis by more than the length of the suspension
the request is made in advance: retrospective requests (meaning: after the suspension has taken place) must not be accepted

Suspensions during a master’s year

Because of the kind of training students do in a master’s year of a 1+3.5 award (and equivalent structures), a suspension during that year might need to be for a full year. That would allow the student to rejoin their course at the stage that they left it, so they finish their training before their doctoral study. However, whether they could take a year would depend on the structure of the course and how often training is provided.

Students with a 1+3.5 or 2+2.5 type award can only suspend between the master’s and PhD if the request meets the criteria in this section.

Other suspension details

Suspension periods are reflected in the funding end date and, therefore, the expected thesis submission date. They are considered when ESRC thesis submission rates are calculated.

If an award is suspended for any reason, the student must repay to the RO any monies including stipend, fieldwork contribution and so on overpaid to them.

If there is any doubt about whether a student will continue their studies, ROs must put a temporary hold on stipend payments until the issues have been resolved.

Exceptional suspension periods

In exceptional cases, DTPs and CDTs can submit a request to ESRC either:

for a suspension of more than 12 months
where the total periods of suspension would be more than 12 months

DTPs and CDTs would need to submit a request regardless of the reasons for the previous suspensions.

Suspensions not allowed

ESRC does not:

allow indefinite periods of suspension
normally consider suspensions for more than 24 months

Students funded through DTPs or CDTs with a funding start date from 2017 to 2023

ESRC does not allow extensions for these students if they interrupt their registration after their ESRC funding has finished. In these cases, the RO can consider an extension to the student’s submission date.

Changing project details

See UKRI training grant terms and conditions 7.2 and UKRI training grant guidance, TGC 7.

Changing supervisor

The Head of Department, School or Faculty will have appointed appropriate members of staff to act as supervisor or adviser (sometimes more than one in each role) to the student and to be responsible for their progress. The principal supervisor must be from:

within the student’s research area
an RO within the DTP or CDT

The student’s Head of Department, School or Faculty:

needs to approve any requests to change a supervisor
can turn down a supervisor they consider unsuitable because, for example, they lack experience

Before approving a change of supervisor or department, ROs must consider any impact on the student’s submission date.

New supervisors

New supervisors must be aware of their responsibilities towards their students as laid out in both:

the appropriate version of the ESRC postgraduate training and development guidelines
this guidance

ROs must enter any supervision changes on the SDS within a month of the agreed change.

Thesis submission date

Councils expect doctoral projects to be designed and supervised in a way that allows students to submit their thesis within the funded period, as defined at the outset of the project.

It is the responsibility of ROs, not ESRC, to inform students of any changes to their submission date resulting from suspensions or extensions.

When a DTP or CDT alters a submission date on the SDS, they must add a reason for the change. These changes will be monitored as part of the submission rate survey.

Students funded through a DTP or CDT with a funding start date between 2017 and 2023

Students should aim to submit by the end of their funded period. Students will find it much more difficult to finish their thesis while employed full time.

Full-time students must submit no later than one year after their funding end date. Part-time students must submit within two years of their funding end date.

When a student submits their thesis within the funded period of the award, the date of submission normally becomes the funding end date.

Extending the submission date

ROs can consider extending a student’s submission deadline by up to 12 months if they become pregnant during their period of study or have problems relating to:

an accident
illness
exceptional personal circumstances

Students must provide medical evidence for requests due to pregnancy or illness.

The extension period should reflect the actual time lost.

ROs cannot extend the submission date for periods of employment (no matter how relevant they may be to the writing-up of a thesis or to career opportunities) after the award has finished.

Beyond changes resulting from suspensions and extensions, ROs can approve extensions to submission dates. However, these extensions can only be for unexpected and exceptional circumstances that have occurred since the ESRC funding finished.

ROs cannot consider extensions to the submission date in retrospect (meaning: after the extension has happened).

How students apply for a submission date extension

To apply for a submission date extension, students must apply to their appointed contact at the DTP or CDT two to three months before their submission deadline date.

Student and supervisor must support a request in writing.

ROs must update the SDS with any change to the submission date.

Students funded through a DTP or CDT with a funding start date from October 2024

For these students, the funding end date and expected thesis submission date are the same. This applies to all ESRC-funded students and might differ from institutional regulations. DTPs and CDTs must make students aware:

of this difference in policy
that it is a condition of their ESRC funding

DTPs and CDTs should recalculate the expected submission date when they extend or suspend a studentship for the reasons described in this guide or in line with UKRI terms and conditions.

Extensions for exceptional circumstances

Subject to ESRC approval, ROs can consider submission date extensions when students have exceptionally challenging circumstances.

Where an RO has written permission from ESRC it can draw funding for other leave types or allowances, if these leave types and other sources of funding are offered to other similar students in the RO’s university regulations or equivalent.

ROs can also consider extensions to expected submission dates if the RO continues to provide a stipend after the end of the ESRC studentship from either:

its own funding
other third-party funding

DTPs and CDTs must submit requests to extend the submission date to ESRC for approval.

Aggregate submission rates

ESRC monitors the aggregate submission rate for all ESRC-funded research students within each RO, calculating the overall rate at a DTP or CDT level.

DTPs or CDTs that fall below a 70% submission rate risk getting a sanction that makes them ineligible to host or get ESRC research studentships for the following one or two years.

Information requirements

See UKRI training grant terms and conditions (TGC) 7.2.

Publication of results and thesis abstracts

See UKRI TGCs 11.4 and 11.5.

The student and their supervisor decide whether to publish the results of a student’s work.

The ESRC research data policy defines the roles and responsibilities of ESRC, grant holders and others for research data. ESRC strongly encourages students it funds to offer copies of any machine-readable data they create or repurpose during their award for deposit with the UK Data Service (UKDS).

UKDS guidance on managing and sharing data is useful for ESRC-funded students producing data of any kind during their grant.

UKDS also offers advice on handling data.

Research ethics

See UKRI TGC 3.1.

As an important source of public funding for postgraduate training in the social sciences, ESRC has an obligation towards the public and academic community to try to make sure that such training:

is carried out in a professional way
does not give rise to distress or annoyance to individuals

It is the responsibility of ROs to make sure that appropriate ethical mechanisms are in place. ROs should consult ESRC’s framework for research ethics.

ESRC expects ROs to properly consider any ethical issues that students’ research projects might give rise to.

Other grants or awards

Students must inform their RO and DTP or CDT immediately if they receive, or are applying for, a grant or an award from another body to support their postgraduate work.

A student must not hold two awards for the same purpose at the same time.

Employment during a studentship

See UKRI TGC 5.2.2.

ESRC encourages studentship award holders to do some paid teaching or other research work during their studentship, as long as they spend at least 1,650 hours each academic year on their doctoral research and research training. Their programme of postgraduate training must be compatible with their research work, and their supervisor must approve.

The figure of 1,650 hours is based on recommendations about the difference between full and part time. It equates to a 37.5-hour week for 48 weeks (1,800 hours), less eight weeks’ holiday each year, reducing 1,800 hours to 1,650.

Demonstrating, teaching and other types of employment must not be a compulsory part of research training. ROs should provide a range of development opportunities for their students.

In coming to this decision, ESRC considered that:

it is generally assumed that payments made as part of UKRI studentships are not regarded as income for income tax purposes
income earned from employment duties is taxable in the normal way
ESRC expects ROs to formally recognise and record as employment the contribution of research students to demonstration or teaching work
ROs must not take remuneration costs for duties considered to constitute employment from the student’s stipend covered by the doctoral training grant
DTPs and CDTs should give research students information about their entitlements and responsibilities in undertaking a postgraduate research programme at the outset of their studies

Maximum amount of employment allowed

A student cannot be paid for more than 37.5 hours a week from ESRC funds. For that reason, additional employment beyond their full-time studentship cannot be supported from ESRC grant funding.

Students can do a small amount of other paid work. ESRC does not encourage such work, especially when students should be fully engaged in research training and thesis preparation.

Avoiding overcommitment

Students should not be overcommitted during the period of their award. During the period of their award, full-time ESRC studentship award holders cannot hold a:

full-time job
permanent part-time job
temporary role for an extended period

Part-time ESRC studentship award holders cannot hold a full-time job.

Suspending award for temporary employment

If a student wants to suspend their award for a period because of temporary employment that’s relevant to their research area, the maximum suspension period depends on whether the employment is full or part-time.

The normal maximum suspension of 12 months applies if the employment is full time but may be calculated pro-rata (proportionately) if the employment is part time.

Student grievance and complaints procedure

Complaints about applications

All applications for ESRC studentship funding are administered through DTPs and CDTs. If an applicant has a complaint or concern about the processing of their application, they must raise it as soon as possible through the specific RO, DTP or CDT (whichever is appropriate).

Problems with supervision or other academic matters

If a student has serious problems with supervision or any other academic matter that cannot be resolved at department level, they should first follow the RO’s own grievance procedures.

It is important that concerns are raised as soon as possible and preferably during the funding period, although ESRC recognises that this might not always be possible or appropriate.

If the matter is still unresolved, depending upon the location of the RO, the student could take the case to the:

Students must address appeals against decisions by the RO, DTP or CDT to the RO, DTP or CDT itself.

See how to make a complaint against UKRI.

Other expectations

Collaborating with other organisations

The ESRC postgraduate training and develoment guidelines emphasise the importance of collaborating in research, training and skill development with public, private and civil-society sector organisations.

Fhttps://www.ukri.orgor doctoral training partnerships (DTPs) that allocated studentships between 2017 and 2023, ESRC’s target is that at least 30% of each cohort will be involved in some form of collaboration with other public, private or civil society organisations. This percentage might increase for specific centres for doctoral training (CDTs), which ESRC will confirm in the funding opportunity.

ESRC is not always prescriptive about the type of collaboration but rather asks DTPs and CDTs to demonstrate that studentships:

are developed by collaborating with other organisations
involve substantive user engagement and knowledge exchange as part of the award

This kind of collaboration could be achieved through collaborative studentships and other opportunities such as internships and placements.

What counts towards the collaborative target

To count towards the collaborative target:

collaborations must be with a non-academic organisation in the public, private or civil society sector
collaborations must include substantive knowledge exchange and not just one way engagement (for example, data collection)
activities do not need to be co-funded, unless specified in the funding opportunity, though there are clear benefits to securing co-funding

For DTPs that support studentships from October 2024, ESRC expects that at least 15% of each cohort supports collaborative studentships developed in partnership with non-academic organisations in the public, private or civil society sector.

Collaborative awards do not have to be co-funded, unless specified in the funding opportunity and grant offer letter, but ESRC encourages institutions to find co-funding to support collaborative elements of studentships. Co-funding helps doctoral training grant funding go further.

Monitoring and reporting

See ESRC guidance on monitoring and reporting for the doctoral training network.

Annex 1: Difficult language training

This section provides guidelines, not hard and fast rules, for interpreting appropriate extensions for difficult language training.

Consider each case on its merits. For example, a student with a degree in Arabic is unlikely to get a nine-month extension for learning the language.

At the same time, the ‘groups’ listed are not watertight categories. In some circumstances, a student learning a Group B language might get more than nine months.

Extensions for difficult language training do not automatically get overseas fieldwork funding. Research organisations should only consider paying fieldwork costs if the student can demonstrate that they can only learn the language in the field.

DTPs and CDTs must draw funding for difficult language extensions and overseas fieldwork from the doctoral training grant. ESRC won’t provide any extra funding.

Language groups

Group A

Includes unwritten languages or languages in the early stage of being analysed and for which no grammars, vocabularies or other learning aids are available.

Examples are Amerindian or Papuan languages. A case can be argued for an extension of 12 months.

Group B

Includes:

languages for which limited descriptive and learning resources are available
languages with intrinsic difficulties for English speakers because they are click, tonal, object-verb-subject, agglutinating and so on
languages that require knowledge of a non-alphabetic script, such as Chinese, Japanese, Arabic and languages from south or South-East Asian

A case can be argued for an extension of nine months.

Group C

Includes difficult languages (as defined in Group B) that have been well described in grammars, vocabularies and so on but also:

for which no learning aids exist
would have to be learnt mainly in the field from unskilled teachers

This group includes various African, Melanesian, and Amerindian languages plus some in the Indian sub-continent. A case can be argued for an extension of six months.

Group D

Includes languages like those in Group C but for which intensive learning materials exist such as courses, language laboratory, materials, tapes and so on (this includes all European languages). A case can be argued for an extension of three months.

Annex 2: Associated studentships

Associated studentships:

add value to the proposed research outlined in the grant application
give the student the opportunity of a distinct and independent course of enquiry

ESRC allows associated studentships only on strategic funding opportunities. Guidance for the opportunity will say if associated studentships can be supported and, if so, how many.

If allowed, associated studentships can be requested as long as:

the grant applied for is for three years or more
the project lead or project co-lead UK is approved by their RO to act as a primary supervisor for PhD students and is based within a doctoral training partnership (DTP) or centre for doctoral training (CDT)
the student or students are in an ESRC accredited DTP or CDT, and they are studying in an accredited research area

Maximum number of studentships

Applicants can usually apply for up to three studentships on a single application.

The studentships must be:

embedded within a DTP or CDT eligible to support new studentships on the date the studentship starts
subject to the same terms and conditions as a standard studentship
have funds managed within the training grant

Before submitting an application that includes an associated studentship, the applicant must get a letter of support from the relevant DTP or CDT director. The letter must confirm that the DTP or CDT will support the student or students for the project.

The studentship must not displace the normal research support required on the grant. Through being embedded within a high-quality research team, the studentship should help the student to develop their substantive research skills, alongside broader professional development. The main research grant project should:

still be viable without the studentship
have distinct objectives that are not reliant upon the studentship

Studentship funds

If successful, the studentship funds will be removed from the main research grant and paid alongside standard ESRC studentships (once the student has been recruited and the DTP or CDT has made a grant maintenance request for the funds).

ESRC also expects such students to submit their PhD by their funding end date. They will be included in ESRC’s monitoring of research organisation (RO) submission rates. Non-submission will therefore affect the RO’s postgraduate submission rate.

ESRC awards funding for associated studentships based on peer reviewed applications. Grant holders cannot make changes to the studentship projects or the number of studentships it funds, without ESRC approval.

Associated studentships can outlast the grant they are linked to, but more than 50% of the studentship must take place during the life of the grant.

Associated studentship costs

Associated studentships are subject to the standard rules for ESRC studentships and so should be calculated on the same notional-cost basis. This includes Research Training Support Grant (RTSG), overseas fieldwork and student and cohort development costs. Applicants cannot apply for funding beyond the notional cost.

Support is available for students with needs under the Equality Act 2010. Disabled Students’ Allowance may be claimed separately.

Studentships are not costed under full economic cost arrangements but if awarded, the grant will meet the full 100% cost of normal provision. The cost associated with the studentship or studentships must be costed as part of the overall value of the application in the ‘project student’ section of the application.

This should include:

student stipend
fees
RTSG
overseas fieldwork
Student and Cohort Development funds

Additional costs

No additional costs, for example travel and subsistence, conference attendance or items of equipment, should be costed into the grant. If they are costed, they will be removed from the final award.

Application requirements

For each studentship, the application will need to indicate the:

name of the student, if known at the point of application
length of the studentship in years
proposed start and end date of the studentship

Associated studentships are open to both home and international students, subject to the eligibility criteria in the UKRI terms and conditions of training grants. All students will receive a full award, to include a stipend and fees at the home level.

Exceptions

Normally, applicants for associated studentships must be studying within either an:

accredited DTP or CDT
accredited research area

Where a grant is funded as part of a cross-council initiative, students can study within institutions and departments that are not accredited to ESRC. See the specific funding opportunity for an initiative like this to find out whether studentships can be applied for.

Applying on the UKRI Funding Service

If funding opportunities allow applications for associated studentships, applicants will need to provide as part of their application:

a summary statement of the PhD topic or topics to be studied, including the duration of each studentship and justification for the length of the programme of study
the proposed start and end date of the studentship or studentships
the name of the main supervisor and organisation
confirmation that the DTP or CDT director supports the proposed studentship arrangements

The summary statement must include a clear account of how the associated studentship is independent from, but will add value to, the principal research objectives set out in the application.

The application must include a letter of support from the DTP director that confirms the accredited subject area the studentship will be based in.

Submitting student details

ESRC seeks to maintain a high standard of training and supervision. To do that, it relies on the cooperation of administrators, heads of departments and others who support students.

ESRC:

supports high-quality training for postgraduate students
believes in applying policies and practices consistently to promote equality of opportunity and to eliminate unlawful discrimination

ESRC expects ROs to:

be fair and transparent in recruiting students
select and treat students based on their merits, abilities and potential, regardless of background or any protected characteristic defined in the Equality Act (2010)

ESRC is prepared to sanction ROs in breach of equal opportunities legislation.

Keeping student records up to date

ROs must submit student details through the Studentship Data System (SDS) within one month of the studentship start date. ROs must keep student records up to date on the SDS through the lifetime of awards.

In line with the UKRI research grant terms and conditions, the DTP or CDT must raise a grant maintenance request within three months of the student’s start date to claim costs for the associated studentships. ESRC will not add costs until it gets confirmation that the student or students have been recruited.

ESRC reserves the right not to reimburse costs, either in part or in full, where costs are not claimed within three months.

The request must include the:

name of the student
research grant reference they are associated with
funding start and end dates
full cost being requested

ESRC will confirm the details and add the funding to the DTP grant. The amount added to the grant will reflect the:

notional cost in place at the time of nomination
duration of the studentship requested in the original application

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