how much is phd funding uk

Studentships and doctoral training

Get a studentship to fund your doctorate.

UKRI studentships offer funding for doctoral research. They also offer you access to training, networking and development opportunities to help you build a research and innovation career.

Our expectations for research organisations, supervisors and students are set out in the statement of expectations for doctoral training .

You could get:

a minimum stipend of £19,237 per year for your living costs, which is paid to you in regular instalments
support for your tuition fees (minimum £4,786 per year)

The stipend is usually non-taxable and does not need to be paid back. Some research organisations may offer more if you study in London, or they or one of their collaborators might decide to top up the payment. This will be outlined in the studentship advert from the research organisation.

We normally pay the support for tuition fees directly to your research organisation.

The levels given here are for the academic year 2024 to 2025. UKRI’s approach to doctoral stipend and fee levels will be reviewed through the  new deal for postgraduate research .

Additional support for your doctoral studies

As a UKRI-funded doctoral student, you may be able to access additional funding to cover the cost of other related training and development opportunities.

This could include:

conference attendance
language training
overseas research visits
internships or placements with a non-academic partner

The availability of support will depend on the research organisation and the training grants they have on offer. You should contact the research organisation you are interested in applying to, to find out what you could get.

Extra support if you have a disability

If you have a disability, you may be entitled to a Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) on top of your studentship.

You should speak to your research organisation’s disability advisor to assess your needs. They can help put the right support in place, including a DSA application if necessary. You cannot claim DSA directly from UKRI.

DSA helps to cover the cost of any additional support that a person studying for a doctorate might need as a result of a disability, mental health problem or specific learning difficulty.

The allowance covers:

non-medical personal assistance
specialist equipment
extra travel costs
general expenses

Find out more about DSA in our framework .

If you are a research organisation you can download claim forms and guidance for DSA .

Who can apply

Any prospective doctoral student wishing to study at a UK research organisation, including prospective international students, can apply for a UKRI studentship.

All UKRI-funded doctoral students will be eligible for the full award, both the stipend to support living costs, and home-level fees at the UK research organisation rate.

How to find opportunities

Many UK research organisations offer some form of studentship funding from UKRI. These opportunities will depend on the subject you want to study and will normally be advertised by the research organisations.

Research organisations may have additional opportunities that do not involve UKRI. UKRI supports around 20% of all UK-based postgraduate researchers. You should speak to the research organisation you are interested in to find out what studentships are available.

You could also consider using a specialist website like   FindaPhD  to look for opportunities.

When to apply

Research organisations set their own deadlines for applications.

Many open for applications early in the academic year and close in January or February. This is not a hard and fast rule. It is important that you check the deadlines for the research organisation where you want to study.

How to apply

You cannot apply to UKRI for a studentship. You must contact the research organisation you are interested in studying with and use their application process.

For doctoral students who are already studying with a studentship, there are opportunities to get additional funding to support placements that are separate from your doctorate.  Find training and development opportunities .

Last updated: 14 February 2024

This is the website for UKRI: our seven research councils, Research England and Innovate UK. Let us know if you have feedback or would like to help improve our online products and services .

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PhD studentships

If you're looking to get PhD funding for a specific research project or field of study, Doctoral studentships can provide you with either a partially or fully-funded PhD

Who awards PhD studentships?

PhD studentships are most commonly awarded by the UK's seven Research Councils in the form of Research Council grants , with research funding overseen by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) .

Individual UK universities also offer scholarships and bursaries to PhD students, while many professional bodies fund Doctoral research in collaboration with these academic institutions.

For instance, research awards are offered by the following engineering organisations:

Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) - QUEST scholarships
Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE)
The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET)
Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng)

Additionally, CASE studentships (formerly known as Cooperative Awards in Science and Engineering) can be part-funded by any non-academic body in partnership with the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) . These four-year PhDs require the student to work at the organisation for at least three months.

You can also apply for funded PhD opportunities through many charities, foundations and trusts, including:

Action Medical Research
Alzheimer's Society
British Federation of Women Graduates (BFWG)
British Heart Foundation (BHF)
Cancer Research UK
Diabetes UK
Rosetrees Trust - PhD Plus
The Leverhulme Trust
Wellcome Trust

Before you start applying for a funded PhD, it's always a good idea to discuss this with a prospective supervisor first, as they're often able to provide tips on maximising the likelihood of receiving financial support.

How much can I receive?

Many PhD studentships, including those offered by universities, professional bodies, or charities, foundations and trusts, provide three years' funding paid at a similar rate to the Research Council grant:

Fees-only studentship - These cover a student's tuition fees, plus any associated project and training costs (a minimum of £4,786 per year in 2024/25).
Full studentship - These add a non-repayable, tax-free maintenance grant known as a 'stipend'. In 2024/25, this is worth a minimum of £19,237 and it can be used towards living costs - see UKRI - Find studentships and Doctoral training .

For example, at The University of Manchester, the School of Social Sciences PhD studentship includes tuition fees for three-and-a-half years and a maintenance grant of £18,622 (2023/24 rate) per year for living expenses, plus associated research costs - such as fieldwork and attending conferences - from the Research Training Support Grant.

However, you should be aware that some PhD studentship recipients are required to teach undergraduates. While this provides an excellent opportunity to gain vital employability skills, it can also be hugely time-consuming. You must be satisfied that tutoring won't negatively affect the quality of your research before accepting your place.

Is my programme eligible for a PhD studentship?

PhD studentships can start at any time of the year, but most begin in September, October or January.

Certain types of PhD, for example professional Doctorates, may not be eligible for a PhD studentship. The same applies to part-time or distance learning options.

Am I eligible?

PhD studentships typically demand that applicants have a Bachelors degree at 2:1 or above, plus a relevant Masters degree or professional experience at that level of study.

Those who already possess a PhD are often ineligible, while some PhD studentships are limited to students fitting certain criteria - for example, those from a disadvantaged background, from a certain country or of a certain ethnicity.

If you're a European Union (EU) national, you'll need to have settled or pre-settled status under the government's EU Settlement Scheme to be eligible for student finance in this country - and this includes PhD studentships.

How do I apply for a PhD studentship?

The application process can be lengthy, and competition is fierce.

Some PhD students will be automatically considered for financial support once they've been accepted by an institution, but many are required to make separate PhD funding applications. These are usually made directly to the university - even for those studentships from Research Councils, professional bodies, or charities, foundations and trusts.

You'll typically be asked for your PhD application form, a research proposal , a cover letter and your references. After the institution has reviewed your application, you may be invited to interview.

Throughout this process, the university will scrutinise what you'll bring to the institution. Applicants at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU), for example, are judged on:

the quality of their research project and how it connects with research currently being undertaken at the institution
how appropriate the supervisory team is
their calibre, academic qualifications and academic/research experience
whether the research can contribute towards the Research Excellence Framework (REF), meaning that interdisciplinary research will be preferred.

How do I increase my chances of getting a PhD studentship?

You can improve your chances of success by:

asking a friend or family member to proofread your application
carefully choosing your referees, ensuring that they'll speak positively of you
discussing your draft application with a relevant academic
explaining how your work will be unique and innovative
following the funding body's guidance regarding word counts and formatting.

What other PhD funding is available?

If you're unsuccessful with your PhD studentship application, you could consider:

crowdfunding
employer sponsorship
PhD loans .

Find out more

Explore 5 routes to getting a Doctorate .
Read about 5 challenges faced by PhD students .
Consider what to do next after completing a PhD .

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PhD Funding – A Checklist of Possible Sources

There are probably more funding opportunities for your PhD than you think. It is worth making sure you have investigated them all.

Funding bodies support PhD students in different ways. Some pay course fees only, some include a stipend (maintenance costs) or travel expenses, and others offer a one-off award to ease the financial burden of academic study.

Each funding body will have its own criteria for eligibility. At PhD level full funding will tend to be awarded on academic merit, but there are also some that take into account financial background and other criteria such as gender (such as in the case of the British Federation of Women Graduates).

Research Councils

The seven Research Councils invest in the region of £380 million into doctorate research every year. However, funding is made available through the participating universities rather than the research councils themselves. Universities set up Doctoral Training Partnerships (DTPs) or Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs) in order to receive funding.

It is then up to the universities to decide who to award studentships to – usually based on academic merit following a competitive application process.

Eligibility criteria and award amounts are standardised and you will find many other funded PhDs referring to research council rates when defining their own. Research council studentships include fees and a minimum stipend per annum which is paid tax-free.

The seven Research Councils include:

Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)

Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)

Medical Research Council (MRC)

Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)

Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)

The above organisations have been grouped together with Innovate UK and Research England in 2018, and the umbrella organisation is called UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) .

UKRI’s key objectives include providing funding for the training of new researchers.

Academic institutions

Universities, colleges and research institutes also fund their own studentships, and these are typically listed on the institution’s own website alongside its research council-funded studentships. Some will offer fees only, while others may offer a stipend as well. Amounts may vary although many use the research council rates as a benchmark.

Commercial and charitable organisations

A number of non-academic organisations help fund research at PhD level in collaboration with the university hosting the study. CASE (Cooperative Awards in Science and Engineering) studentships are for four-year PhDs. These are part-funded by a non-academic ‘co-operating body’ such as a UK industrial firm, public sector organisation or charity. Students spend at least three months of the PhD working in-situ at the co-operating body which makes a financial contribution to both the student and the project. Students often find these to be good avenues for finding full-time work at the end of their placement, and will have gained valuable hands-on work experience. There are also CASE-Plus studentships where students spend a further year working full-time on the premises of the co-operating body as an employee following the PhD.

A number of charitable organisations, foundations and trusts can help fund PhDs:

The Wellcome Trust

Cancer Research UK

The British Academy

The British Federation of Women Graduates

The Institution of Civil Engineers

Institution of Engineering & Technology

Institution of Mechanical Engineers

Royal Geographical Society

Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland

Leverhulme Trust

Action Medical Research

The Grundy Educational Trust .

Self-funding

If you are having difficulty in getting funding from the above sources, you may be able to fund your own way through a PhD. You may be eligible for Professional and Career development loans. It is wise to review the specific application criteria to ensure that you are eligible.

A further option is to study part-time while working. This could however place additional demands on your time and financial situation. Be aware that if you have managed to access some funding elsewhere, you may be prohibited from working during your PhD as part of the stipulations of the award.

The jobs.ac.uk website lists some excellent PhD opportunities as well as a wide range of jobs – do take a look at them!

For more PhD tips:

Your PhD Journey – Top Tips

What Can You Do With a PhD?

PhD Application Tips

What is a PhD and Why Should YOU do one?

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Henrietta Nagy is a seasoned portfolio worker with over 10 years’ experience in the UK education sector. Henrietta writes educational content, designs academic courses, delivers university lectures, mentors entrepreneurs, and provides career development coaching. One of Henrietta's recent organisational clients is the Oxford University where she has facilitated over 100 hours of learning events. With 9 years of higher education studies internationally (including an MBA), she has worked with CEOs, academics, scholars, managers, women entrepreneurs, academic administrators and other consultants.

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Funded PhD research programmes 2025 UK

The University of Brighton regularly invites applicants for fully-funded PhD studentships across all its disciplines.

These allow motivated, high-calibre applicants for research degrees to join our thriving academic community and contribute to our rich and innovative research environment.

Our processes also often allow us to support promising candidates for applications to external funders and we regularly welcome self-funded applicants to programmes across all disciplines.

We will be advertising University of Brighton studentships later in the year. Meanwhile, please visit our PhD funding advice page for current offers or see below for further general advice about applying for a funded PhD in the UK.

Visit our PhD disciplinary programme lists

What UK PhD studentships are available ?

Depending on the discipline area, applicants for postgraduate research study may be:

applying to work on specific, defined research projects
applying to work with an academic department or individual with specific interests
or applying with a self-identified research topic proposal.

When available, studentships are open to home and international students and will be given to candidates who best fulfil the promise outlined by these academic departments.

Students may like to review the funding opportunities listed at the foot of the page or visit our PhD funding advice page .

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Can you be a researcher? Professor Bhavik Patel reassures applicants of all backgrounds that they can study for a PhD and aim for a research career.

How do I apply for a PhD studentship?

The application for financing schemes will usually involve:

submitting a full application through the university's PhD application portal, our University of Brighton portal is accessible from the PhD funded projects webpages . You will upload your research proposal as part of this process.
The submission must include two letters of reference, academic qualifications, a proposed project approach, a personal statement and your CV (resumé).
Shortlisted applicants are likely to be invited for interview.

What does PhD funding include?

The funding for the PhD usually covers the full fee and a stipend at the UKRI rate plus an allowance of £1,500 per year for researcher training for three years (or part-time equivalent).

Successful candidates benefit from expert supervisory teams, a programme of postgraduate researcher development workshops and membership of specialist, interdisciplinary research centres and groups. There will be introductions to a network of relevant researchers, careers advice and opportunities for interaction within and beyond the university. Through this, our PhD students have the best start possible towards ambitious careers that make use of their research degrees.

The University of Brighton fosters research careers and will provide doctoral training, attentive and expert supervision and access to world-class laboratories and equipment.

We are renowned as a leading applied university, with pioneer academics in disciplines from sport science to design history and applied science research that translates efficiently to the global challenge of worldwide health and wellbeing. Our strategy of 'practical wisdom' leads to real-world partnerships and beneficiaries across all disciplines while the development of community-university partnership practices have placed us among the best universities for many aspects of co-produced research and innovation.

We pride ourselves on the ways we work in partnership with those outside higher education, across the European Union and internationally. Through our research collaborations we work with a wide range of universities, both internationally and with universities in the UK. We are also founding members of two UKRI Doctoral Training Partnerships which, this year, are dealt with outside our University of Brighton studentship offer. We learn constantly from our involvement in these, and our rich resources are offered across all doctoral research programmes.

Recently the University of Brighton celebrated its performance in the Research Excellence Framework (REF2021) and the Knowledge and Exchange Framework (KEF2023). Over 87 per cent of our submitted impact case studies in REF2021 were rated as having 'outstanding' or 'very considerable' impact beyond academia. We are dedicated to developing this quality work with new students. Read more about the review of our research and knowledge exchange performance in REF2021 . Also, read more about our KEF2023 results, which placed Brighton in the top tier for economic and social benefits .

How will you build a relationship with your supervisor? Professor Annebella Pollen and Dr Tom Ainsworth are among those offering advice. This film was made by the University of Brighton for UKRI and also features academics from other institutions.

How do I increase my chances of getting a PhD studentship?

You must be able to show your suitability for a UK research degree if you wish to apply for fully-funded studentships.

This includes evidence either of a relevant and successful academic background or equivalent relevant professional/expert background in the applied subject area. Applicants from overseas will also have to fulfil any English language and visa requirements.

This will be true for studentships in the UK across most of the UK universities. It is usual for applicants either to have completed (or be about to complete) a masters degree, have an exceptional undergraduate record and references, or demonstrate the equivalent scholarly potential.

Supervisory staff and research students at the University of Brighton consider how important diverse thinking and inclusive practice are to their doctoral studies.

Can I get PhD funding at the University of Brighton?

We have a long-standing annual programme of funded PhD opportunities across all our disciplines, including several rooted in research council (UKRI) partnerships .

The initiatives allow postgraduate study for UK-based students as well as study in the UK for international students (depending on the PhD programme).

We are also keen to encourage students who might be able to self-fund their doctoral studies. Studying part-time, for example, is likely to prove more affordable and more easily balanced with professional life than you'd imagine.

We are dedicated to providing a welcoming and supportive atmosphere and structure for your studies. Show us your own qualities and your suitability for programmes as they become available and we will look forward to receiving your application.

Insitutions and funding bodies for PhD study

On the Funding pages of our website we post advice as to the regular and specific funding opportunities available through the University of Brighton, its partners and networks.

These include Doctoral Training Partnership and University of Brighton PhD studentship calls, individual studentship projects , University of Brighton international research scholarships and our alumni scholarships for current and past students.

We also include below some of the major funding options for international students wanting to do a PhD with us, each of which may support all or part of your studies.

Worldwide international funding schemes for PhD research

The british council.

The British Council offers a search engine for UK courses, institutions (including the University of Brighton) and scholarships.

Find out more about scholarships and funding through The British Council.

The Gen Foundation

The Gen Foundation considers applicants living in all countries. It is a charitable trust which principally provides grants to students/researchers in natural sciences, in particular food sciences/technology.

Find out more about grants to students and researchers from The Gen Foundation .

The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN)

The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) is dedicated to improving the quality of life of those in need, mainly in Asia and Africa, irrespective of their origin, faith, or gender. Our multifaceted development approach aims to help communities and individuals become self-reliant.

Find out more about research funding through the Aga Khan development network .

The Open Society Foundations

The Open Society Foundations are active in more than 120 countries around the world, using grant-giving, research, advocacy, impact investment, and strategic litigation to support the growth of inclusive and vibrant democracies. The four main themes of the Open Society Foundations are climate justice, equity, expression, and justice and they will award grants and fellowships throughout the year to organisations and individuals who share those values. The Open Society Foundations look for grantees who have a vision and whose efforts will lead to lasting social change.

Find out more about postgraduate funding through The Open Society Foundations .

International Education and Financial Aid

The International Education and Financial Aid (IEFA) provides students from all over the world comprehensive information on financial aid for studying abroad. Using the IEFA website, you can easily search the IEFA database for scholarships, grants, loan programs, and other options available to help finance your international education.

Find out more about international PhD research funding through the IEFA .

The Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds

The Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds (BIF) awards PhD fellowships of two to three-and-a-half years to outstanding junior scientists worldwide who wish to pursue an ambitious PhD project in basic biomedical research in an internationally leading laboratory.

Find out more about the Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds fellowships .

Resource sites for international PhD research funding

Internationalstudent.com.

InternationalStudent.com is a leading online resource for international students around the world providing advice pages for studying in the USA, UK and Australia for international students, plus a dedicated study abroad center for US students who want to travel abroad.

Find out more about international study through InternationalStudent.com .

ScholarshipTab

ScholarshipTab is an online portal that connects international students to available scholarship opportunities round the world.

Find out more about the Scholarship Tab resource .

International Education and Financial Aid (IEFA)

The IEFA provides students from all over the world comprehensive information on financial aid for studying abroad. Search the IEFA database for scholarships, grants, loan programs, and other options available to help finance your international education.

Find out more from the International Education and Financial Aid website .

The European Funding Guide

Scholarships and grants for students from the European Union

Find out more through the European Funding Guide

The Americas: Postgraduate doctorate funding from institutions and bodies to study in the UK

Marshall Scholarship: Provides for United States students to study abroad.
Benjamin A Gilman International Scholarship provides for United States students to study abroad.
American Student Loans and Federal Student Aid
Global Affairs Canada International Scholarships Program
Canadian Centennial Scholarship Fund
Canada's Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)
The Bolsas Lideres Estudar Program provides for Brazilian students studying in the UK .

Asia: Postgraduate doctorate funding from Asian institutions and bodies to study in the UK

The Charles Wallace Bangladesh Trust

The Charles Wallace Burma Trust

China and Hong Kong

Great Britain – China Educational Trust is a charity that promotes mutual understanding between the UK and China and aims to build long-term connections between the two countries. It delivers awards contributing towards university tuition fees and living expenses for Chinese nationality students studying for a PhD in any subject at a UK university.

Great Britain China Centre Chinese Student Awards offers scholarships of up to £3,000 for citizens of China and Hong Kong studying for a PhD in any subject at a UK university

The Hong Kong People Association (HKPA) aims to provide financial aids for further university education to students from Hong Kong who are not able to afford international tuition fees.

The Charles Wallace India Trust offers PhD funding for study in the arts, heritage conservation or the humanities.

The Inlaks India Foundation

The JN Tata Endowment award funds 90 to 100 scholars across disciplines ranging from the sciences to management, law and commerce and the fine arts.

The KC Mahindra Education Trust

The Persia Educational Foundation Abdolreza Ansari Scholarship is designed to support the education of students of Iranian descent enrolled in a Master or Doctorate programme in human rights or public service in the UK.

Momeni Iranian Financial Assistance Scholarships offer partial funding scholarships for international students of Iranian descent towards a PhD in any subject.

The Kenneth Lindsay Scholarship Trust

The Anglo-Jewish Association (AJA) provides funding for Jewish students to study a Masters or PhD in the UK.

The Japan-IMF Scholarship Program for Advanced Studies funds students of macroeconomics with a view to them working at the International Monetary Fund.

The Charles Wallace Pakistan Trust

Higher Education Commission (HEC) Pakistan . The HEC offers government scholarships for Pakistani students to study abroad in various countries, including the UK.

Saudi Arabia

The Cultural Bureau of the Embassy of Saudi Arabia (SACB) offers scope for full tuition fees and supporting fees for PhD level study.

Agency for Science, Technology and Research

The Thai Office of Educational Affairs

Europe: Postgraduate doctorate funding from European institutions and bodies to study in the UK

The European Funding Guide - Scholarships and grants in the EU.

France - Entente Cordiale scholarships for postgraduate studies provide funding to help students enrolling for a Masters or a PhD qualification in the UK or in France.

Italy - Il Circolo Italian Cultural Association is a UK-registered charity based in London with the mission to support deserving students with awards and scholarships.

Norway - Lanekassen - The Norwegian student loans and grants awarding body supports Norwegian students studying overseas.

Scandinavia - Fundraising.how - article database offering funding advice for Scandinavian students.

Sweden - CSN - loans and grants for Swedish students studying overseas.

Australia: funding for PhD study in the UK

The Australia Day Foundation offers grants to young Australians for fees and course materials.

Africa: funding for PhD study in the UK

Sudan - The Gordon Memorial College Trust Fund (GMCTF)

Funding a PhD

Find out how you can fund your studies from a range of opportunities, including their monetary value, benefits and eligibility requirements.

Key Resources

Guide to NERC PhD Funding

Key Takeaways NERC’s Role and Impact: The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) is a leading UK research council funding body,

Guide to EPSRC PhD Funding

If you’re a prospective PhD student seeking funding for your research, then look no further than the EPSRC. The Engineering

Guide to BBSRC PhD Funding

Introduction to BBSRC PhD funding Step into the world of BBSRC PhD funding, a key component of the UK research

Guide to STFC PhD Funding

Introduction to STFC The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) holds an integral position within the United Kingdom’s research and

PhD Loans – 2023 Guide for Doctoral Students

Get the latest advice about how PhD Loans work in the UK and how you may be eligible for a loan of up to £28,673 to fund your PhD programme.

PhD Studentships

Learn more about how PhD Studentships work in the UK and how you may be eligible for £15,609 towards funding your PhD programme.

How Much Does a PhD Cost in the UK?

The cost of a PhD can be divided into three key areas; tuition fees, living expenses and research expenditures. Learn more about what this can amount to.

Supporting Resources

How To Get A Marie Curie Fellowship – A Complete Guide

Learn more about this funding route, eligibility criteria and application process that will help you understand the grant and submit a successful fellowship application.

Bench Fees: A Short Guide

A bench fee is an additional charge made to PhD students. It covers expenditures related to your research such consumables and travel; learn more here.

PhD Salary in UK – Explained

The salary of a PhD student is governed by 3 key factors: assisting in undergraduate teaching, part-time technician work, or have secured a stipend; learn more here.

Gain valuable insight from our collection of exclusive interviews with both current and past PhD students. Learn from their best advice, personal challenges and career path after completing their doctorate.

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PhD funding

Create ground-breaking research with our funded PhD opportunities and PhD scholarships for UK and international students.

We add PhD scholarships throughout the year so keep checking this page for updates.

Find PhD funding and scholarships

Browse all available awards .

Other PhD funding sources

PhD funding sources for international students

Doctoral training centres and partnerships

You may be eligible for a PhD loan of up to £28,673. Read more about PhD loans .

The Alternative Guide to Postgraduate Funding

The University also subscribes to the The Alternative Guide to Postgraduate Funding Online . The Guide contains a huge database of funding opportunities, comprehensive guidance written by successful applicants, and numerous tools to help you prepare a winning grant application.

If you are a current Sussex student you can register for the Guide with your Sussex email address. If you are a prospective postgraduate student who has applied to Sussex, please use the following authentication PIN to register for the Guide: 6789

Our Doctoral Training Centres and Partnerships

We have scholarships and studentships funded by the following doctoral training centres and partnerships :

be.AI Leverhulme Doctoral Scholarships (Leverhulme Trust)
CHASE (funded by AHRC - the Arts and Humanities Research Council)
The Leverhulme Doctoral Scholarship Programme: From Sensation to Perception and Awareness
Sussex STFC studentships (funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council)
DISCnet Centre for Doctoral Training (funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council)
SeNSS – the South-East Network for Social Sciences (funded by the Economic and Social Research Council - ESRC)
SoCoBio Doctoral Training Partnership (funded by BBSRC – the Biotechnology and Biosciences Research Council)
Sussex EPSRC Doctoral Training Partnership (funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
UKRI Food Systems

Our doctoral training partnerships and centres funded by the UK Research Councils (UK Research and Innovation) are open to UK and International students according to the UKRI student eligibility rules . Up to 30% of each cohort of students may be International, but International PhD fees are not covered by the scholarships.

For information on eligibility, please check the current UKRI guidance .

Sussex PhD funding partners

We have scholarships and studentships funded by:

CHASE (funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council)
Science and Technology Facilities Council
South-East Network for Social Sciences (funded by the Economic and Social Research Council).

Ways to pay for your research, training and living costs

You can also:

look for a part-time job (on campus or in Brighton & Hove) - you may have working restrictions if you have a visa
teach other students (this depends on your project and where you're based, so check with your supervisor or research group)
apply for researcher funding while you study through the Doctoral School.

You may be eligible for the Disabled Students Allowance If you have a learning difficulty, health problem or disabiity. Email [email protected] for information on disability support.

Funded projects

For projects advertised as 'fully funded' or 'competition funded', your university fees will be paid and you will not need to apply for additional funding.

Competition funded projects will go ahead if the funding is awarded by the funding body. You can talk with the lead supervisor to find out more.

See our current research degree projects

Fees paid plus a living allowance

A funded project will cover your study fees.

Some projects come with an additional sum of money to cover things like accommodation, travel and maintenance expenses. This is tax free.

Fees paid with no living allowance

Some project funding will only cover your university fees. You will need to cover your living expenses yourself.

If you need help to cover your living costs, UK students can apply for a doctoral loan through Student Finance England. International students can check if they are eligible to receive a scholarship or bursary .

Projects advertised with no funding yet

Some advertised projects do not have funding secured yet. The lead supervisor will usually source funding once they have found a suitable PhD candidate.

Contact the lead supervisor to find out about the specific funding options if there’s a project you’re interested in.

Doctoral training partnerships and integrated PhDs

Some research degrees are run through doctoral training partnerships and come with guaranteed funding. Check the details in the advertised project for how to apply.

Funding your own project

You should tell your supervisor if you plan to self-fund your research project. You’ll need to say how you intend to pay your fees when you apply.

You could consider:

a postgraduate doctoral loan
external funding bodies (charities, government and the private sector)
university scholarships
your own funds
combining different funding sources

Take out a doctoral loan

You can apply for a government loan to cover your fees. Doctoral loans are not means tested and you can decide how much you want to borrow.

Find out about doctoral loans on GOV.UK

Apply for funding from a charity

You may be able to win funding from 1 or more organisations to help fund your PhD or research degree.

Learn about charity funding on FindAPhD

Get advice on funding your PhD

You can speak to the supervisor you wish you work with or contact the faculty graduate school.

Graduate school contacts:

Faculty of Arts and Humanities: [email protected]
Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences: [email protected]
Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences: [email protected]
Faculty of Medicine: [email protected]
Faculty of Social Sciences: [email protected]

Support and money while studying

Course modules
Acoustical engineering
Biomedical and medical engineering
Civil engineering
Every day I’m completely immersed in an environment that’s creative in all aspects
Everything I learn feels so relevant, even If it’s a subject rooted in the past
Maritime engineering
Photonics and optoelectronics
Social statistics and demography
A missing link between continental shelves and the deep sea: Have we underestimated the importance of land-detached canyons?
A seismic study of the continent-ocean transition southwest of the UK
A study of rolling contact fatigue in electric vehicles (EVs)
Acoustic monitoring of forest exploitation to establish community perspectives of sustainable hunting
Acoustic sensing and characterisation of soil organic matter
Advancing intersectional geographies of diaspora-led development in times of multiple crises
Aero engine fan wake turbulence – Simulation and wind tunnel experiments
Against Climate Change (DACC): improving the estimates of forest fire smoke emissions
All-in-one Mars in-situ resource utilisation (ISRU) system and life-supporting using non-thermal plasma
An electromagnetic study of the continent-ocean transition southwest of the UK
An investigation of the relationship between health, home and law in the context of poor and precarious housing, and complex and advanced illness
Antibiotic resistance genes in chalk streams
Being autistic in care: Understanding differences in care experiences including breakdowns in placements for autistic and non-autistic children
Biogeochemical cycling in the critical coastal zone: Developing novel methods to make reliable measurements of geochemical fluxes in permeable sediments
Bloom and bust: seasonal cycles of phytoplankton and carbon flux
British Black Lives Matter: The emergence of a modern civil rights movement
Building physics for low carbon comfort using artificial intelligence
Building-resolved large-eddy simulations of wind and dispersion over a city scale urban area
Business studies and management: accounting
Business studies and management: banking and finance
Business studies and management: decision analytics and risk
Business studies and management: digital and data driven marketing
Business studies and management: human resources (HR) management and organisational behaviour
Business studies and management: strategy, innovation and entrepreneurship
Carbon storage in reactive rock systems: determining the coupling of geo-chemo-mechanical processes in reactive transport
Cascading hazards from the largest volcanic eruption in over a century: What happened when Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai erupted in January 2022?
Characterisation of cast austenitic stainless steels using ultrasonic backscatter and artificial intelligence
Climate Change effects on the developmental physiology of the small-spotted catshark
Climate at the time of the Human settlement of the Eastern Pacific
Collaborative privacy in data marketplaces
Compatibility of climate and biodiversity targets under future land use change
Cost of living in modern and fossil animals
Creative clusters in rural, coastal and post-industrial towns
Deep oceanic convection: the outsized role of small-scale processes
Defect categories and their realisation in supersymmetric gauge theory
Defining the Marine Fisheries-Energy-Environment Nexus: Learning from shocks to enhance natural resource resilience
Design and fabrication of next generation optical fibres
Developing a practical application of unmanned aerial vehicle technologies for conservation research and monitoring of endangered wildlife
Development and evolution of animal biomineral skeletons
Development of all-in-one in-situ resource utilisation system for crewed Mars exploration missions
Ecological role of offshore artificial structures
Effect of embankment and subgrade weathering on railway track performance
Efficient ‘whole-life’ anchoring systems for offshore floating renewables
Electrochemical sensing of the sea surface microlayer
Engagement with nature among children from minority ethnic backgrounds
Enhancing UAV manoeuvres and control using distributed sensor arrays
Ensuring the Safety and Security of Autonomous Cyber-Physical Systems
Environmental and genetic determinants of Brassica crop damage by the agricultural pest Diamondback moth
Estimating marine mammal abundance and distribution from passive acoustic and biotelemetry data
Evolution of symbiosis in a warmer world
Examining evolutionary loss of calcification in coccolithophores
Explainable AI (XAI) for health
Explaining process, pattern and dynamics of marine predator hotspots in the Southern Ocean
Exploring dynamics of natural capital in coastal barrier systems
Exploring the mechanisms of microplastics incorporation and their influence on the functioning of coral holobionts
Exploring the potential electrical activity of gut for healthcare and wellbeing
Exploring the trans-local nature of cultural scene
Facilitating forest restoration sustainability of tropical swidden agriculture
Faulting, fluids and geohazards within subduction zone forearcs
Faulting, magmatism and fluid flow during volcanic rifting in East Africa
Fingerprinting environmental releases from nuclear facilities
Flexible hybrid thermoelectric materials for wearable energy harvesting
Floating hydrokinetic power converter
Glacial sedimentology associated subglacial hydrology
Green and sustainable Internet of Things
How do antimicrobial peptides alter T cell cytokine production?
How do calcifying marine organisms grow? Determining the role of non-classical precipitation processes in biogenic marine calcite formation
How do neutrophils alter T cell metabolism?
How well can we predict future changes in biodiversity using machine learning?
Hydrant dynamics for acoustic leak detection in water pipes
If ‘Black Lives Matter’, do ‘Asian Lives Matter’ too? Impact trajectories of organisation activism on wellbeing of ethnic minority communities
Illuminating luciferin bioluminescence in dinoflagellates
Imaging quantum materials with an XFEL
Impact of neuromodulating drugs on gut microbiome homeostasis
Impact of pharmaceuticals in the marine environment in a changing world
Impacts of environmental change on coastal habitat restoration
Improving subsea navigation using environment observations for long term autonomy
Information theoretic methods for sensor management
Installation effect on the noise of small high speed fans
Integrated earth observation mapping change land sea
Interconnections of past greenhouse climates
Investigating IgG cell depletion mechanisms
Is ocean mixing upside down? How mixing processes drive upwelling in a deep-ocean basin
Landing gear aerodynamics and aeroacoustics
Lightweight gas storage: real-world strategies for the hydrogen economy
Long-term change in the benthos – creating robust data from varying camera systems
Machine learning for multi-robot perception
Marine ecosystem responses to past climate change and its oceanographic impacts
Mechanical effects in the surf zone - in situ electrochemical sensing
Microfluidic cell isolation systems for sepsis
Migrant entrepreneurship, gender and generation: context and family dynamics in small town Britain
Miniaturisation in fishes: evolutionary and ecological perspectives
Modelling high-power fibre laser and amplifier stability
Modelling soil dewatering and recharge for cost-effective and climate resilient infrastructure
Modelling the evolution of adaptive responses to climate change across spatial landscapes
Nanomaterials sensors for biomedicine and/or the environment
New high-resolution observations of ocean surface current and winds from innovative airborne and satellite measurements
New perspectives on ocean photosynthesis
Novel methods of detecting carbon cycling pathways in lakes and their impact on ecosystem change
Novel technologies for cyber-physical security
Novel transparent conducting films with unusual optoelectronic properties
Novel wavelength fibre lasers for industrial applications
Ocean circulation and the Southern Ocean carbon sink
Ocean influence on recent climate extremes
Ocean methane sensing using novel surface plasmon resonance technology
Ocean physics and ecology: can robots disentangle the mix?
Ocean-based Carbon Dioxide Removal: Assessing the utility of coastal enhanced weathering
Offshore renewable energy (ORE) foundations on rock seabeds: advancing design through analogue testing and modelling
Optical fibre sensing for acoustic leak detection in buried pipelines
Optimal energy transfer in nonlinear systems
Optimizing machine learning for embedded systems
Oxidation of fossil organic matter as a source of atmospheric CO2
Partnership dissolution and re-formation in later life among individuals from minority ethnic communities in the UK
Personalized multimodal human-robot interactions
Preventing disease by enhancing the cleaning power of domestic water taps using sound
Quantifying riparian vegetation dynamics and flow interactions for Nature Based Solutions using novel environmental sensing techniques
Quantifying the response and sensitivity of tropical forest carbon sinks to various drivers
Quantifying variability in phytoplankton electron requirements for carbon fixation
Resilient and sustainable steel-framed building structures
Resolving Antarctic meltwater events in Southern Ocean marine sediments and exploring their significance using climate models
Robust acoustic leak detection in water pipes using contact sound guides
Silicon synapses for artificial intelligence hardware
Smart photon delivery via reconfigurable optical fibres
The Gulf Stream control of the North Atlantic carbon sink
The Mayflower Studentship: a prestigious fully funded PhD studentship in bioscience
The calming effect of group living in social fishes
The duration of ridge flank hydrothermal exchange and its role in global biogeochemical cycles
The evolution of symmetry in echinoderms
The impact of early life stress on neuronal enhancer function
The oceanic fingerprints on changing monsoons over South and Southeast Asia
The role of iron in nitrogen fixation and photosynthesis in changing polar oceans
The role of singlet oxygen signaling in plant responses to heat and drought stress
Time variability on turbulent mixing of heat around melting ice in the West Antarctic
Triggers and Feedbacks of Climate Tipping Points
Uncovering the drivers of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease progression using patient derived organoids
Understanding recent land-use change in Snowdonia to plan a sustainable future for uplands: integrating palaeoecology and conservation practice
Understanding the role of cell motility in resource acquisition by marine phytoplankton
Understanding the structure and engagement of personal networks that support older people with complex care needs in marginalised communities and their ability to adapt to increasingly ‘digitalised’ health and social care
Unpicking the Anthropocene in the Hawaiian Archipelago
Unraveling oceanic multi-element cycles using single cell ionomics
Unravelling southwest Indian Ocean biological productivity and physics: a machine learning approach
Using acoustics to monitor how small cracks develop into bursts in pipelines
Using machine learning to improve predictions of ocean carbon storage by marine life
Vulnerability of low-lying coastal transportation networks to natural hazards
Wideband fibre optical parametric amplifiers for Space Division Multiplexing technology
Will it stick? Exploring the role of turbulence and biological glues on ocean carbon storage
X-ray imaging and property characterisation of porous materials
Postgraduate Taught Diversity Scholarship (Environmental and Life Sciences)
Southampton Business School Postgraduate UK Scholarship
Southampton Genomics Talent Scholarship
Southampton History Patricia Mather and Helen Patterson Scholarship
Southampton MA Holocaust scholarships
Southampton Philosophy David Humphris-Norman Scholarship
Southampton UK Alumni Music Scholarship
The National Institute for Health and care Research South Central INSIGHT Programme
Winchester School of Art Progression Scholarship
Southampton Physics and Astronomy Achievement Scholarship
GREAT Scholarships 2024 – Greece
Undergraduate scholarships for UK students
Winchester School of Art Postgraduate Global Talent Scholarship
Engineering Global Talent Scholarship
Southampton University Corporate Civil Engineering Scholarship Scheme
Merit scholarships for international postgraduates
Merit scholarships for international undergraduates
Scholarships, awards and funding opportunities
Becas Chile Scholarship
Chevening Scholarships
China Scholarship Council Scholarships
COLFUTURO Scholarships
Commonwealth Distance Learning Scholarships
Commonwealth Master's Scholarships
Commonwealth PhD Scholarships
Commonwealth PhD Scholarships for high income countries
Commonwealth Shared Scholarships
Commonwealth Split-Site Scholarships
FIDERH Scholarships
Fulbright Awards
FUNED Scholarships
Great Scholarships 2024 – India
Great Scholarships 2024 – Bangladesh
Great Scholarships 2024 – Mexico
Great Scholarships 2024 – Nigeria
Marshall Scholarship
Saïd Foundation Scholarships
British Council Scholarships for Women in STEM
Xiamen University PhD Scholarships
GREAT scholarships for justice and law 2024 – Indonesia
Scholarship terms and conditions
Southampton Education Civic Scholarship
Southampton Ageing and Gerontology Talent Scholarship
Southampton Canadian Prestige Scholarship for Law
Southampton Presidential International Scholarship
Continuing professional development
Archers Road
City Gateway
Erasmus Park
Highfield Hall
Orion Point
Wessex Lane
Cancer Sciences Protein Facility
Geotechnical Centrifuge
Maritime Robotics and Instrumentation Laboratory (MRIL)
Active Living
Advanced Fibre Applications
Advanced Laser Laboratory
Advanced Project Management Research Centre
Antibody and Vaccine Group
Astronomy Group
Autism Community Research Network @ Southampton (ACoRNS)
Bioarchaeology and Osteoarchaeology at Southampton (BOS)
Bladder and Bowel Management
Cell and Developmental Biology
Centre for Defence and Security Research
Centre for Developmental Origins of Health and Disease
Centre for Digital Finance
Centre for Eastern European and Eurasian Studies (CEEES)
Centre for Empirical Research in Finance and Banking (CERFIB)
Centre for Geometry, Topology, and Applications
Centre for Global Englishes
Centre for Global Health and Policy (GHaP)
Centre for Health Technologies
Centre for Healthcare Analytics
Centre for Human Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration
Centre for Imperial and Postcolonial Studies
Centre for Inclusive and Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CISEI)
Centre for International Film Research (CIFR)
Centre for International Law and Globalisation
Centre for Internet of Things and Pervasive Systems
Centre for Justice Studies
Centre for Linguistics, Language Education and Acquisition Research
Centre for Machine Intelligence
Centre for Maritime Archaeology
Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Culture (CMRC)
Centre for Modern and Contemporary Writing (CMCW)
Centre for Music Education and Social Justice
Centre for Political Ethnography (CPE)
Centre for Research in Accounting, Accountability and Governance
Centre for Research on Work and Organisations
Centre for Resilient Socio-Technical Systems
Centre for Transnational Studies
Child and Adolescent Research Group
Clinical Ethics, Law and Society (CELS)
Computational Nonlinear Optics
Cyber Security Academy
Data Science Group
Digital Oceans
EPSRC and MOD Centre for Doctoral Training in Complex Integrated Systems for Defence and Security
Economic Theory and Experimental Economics
Economy, Society and Governance
Electrical Power Engineering
Environmental Hydraulics
Gas Photonics in Hollow Core Fibres 
Geochemistry
Global Health (Demography)
Global Health Community of Practice
Gravity group
Healthy Oceans
High Power Fibre Lasers
Hollow Core Fibre
Human Genetics and Genomic Medicine
Infrastructure Group
Institute of Maritime Law (IML)
Integrated Photonic Devices
Integrative Molecular Phenotyping Centre
Interdisciplinary Musculoskeletal Health
International Centre for Ecohydraulics Research (ICER)
Language Assessment and Testing Unit (LATU)
Laser-Direct-Write (LDW) Technologies for Biomedical Applications
Law and Technology Centre
Long Term Conditions
Magnetic Resonance
Mathematical Modelling
Medicines Management
Molecular and Precision Biosciences
Multiwavelength Accretion and Astronomical Transients
National Biofilms Innovation Centre (NBIC)
National Centre for Research Methods
National Infrastructure Laboratory
Nature-Based Ocean Solutions
Nonlinear Semiconductor Photonics
Ocean Perception Group
Operational Research
Optical Engineering and Quantum Photonics Group
Paediatrics and Child Health - Clinical and Experimental Sciences
People, Property, Community
Photonic Systems, Circuits and Sensors Group
Physical Optics
Primary Care Research Centre
Product Returns Research Group (PRRG)
Quantum, Light and Matter Group
Silica Fibre Fabrication
Silicon Photonics
Skin Sensing Research Group
Southampton Centre for Nineteenth-Century Research
Southampton Ethics Centre
Southampton Health Technology Assessments Centre (SHTAC)
Southampton High Energy Physics group
Southampton Imaging
Southampton Theory Astrophysics and Gravity (STAG) Research Centre
Stefan Cross Centre for Women, Equality and Law
String theory and holography
The India Centre for Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development
The Parkes Institute
Tony Davies High Voltage Laboratory
Ultrafast X-ray Group
Vision Science
WSA Exchange
Work Futures Research Centre (WFRC)
Departments

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Education and learning
Student finance

Funding for postgraduate study

You can get funding for postgraduate study through loans, studentships, bursaries and grants - you might also get help from your employer.

You can now apply for funding for the 2024 to 2025 academic year.

Search for postgraduate funding on the Scholarship Search website or Prospects website .

Postgraduate Master’s Loan

If you’re starting a master’s degree, you could get a Postgraduate Master’s Loan to help with course fees and living costs. You can get up to:

£12,471 if your course starts on or after 1 August 2024
£12,167 if your course started between 1 August 2023 and 31 July 2024
£11,836 if your course started between 1 August 2022 and 31 July 2023

Postgraduate Doctoral Loan

If you’re starting a doctoral degree, you could get a Postgraduate Doctoral Loan to help with course fees and living costs. You can get up to:

£29,390 if your course starts on or after 1 August 2024
£28,673 if your course started between 1 August 2023 and 31 July 2024
£27,892 if your course started between 1 August 2022 and 31 July 2023

It is not based on your income or your family’s and it’s paid directly to you.

Studentships

Studentships are postgraduate positions that have funding attached for fees, living expenses or both. They’re mainly funded by UK Research and Innovation .

Teacher training, social work, medical and healthcare courses

You can apply for funding for:

Initial Teacher Training
social work - through a social work bursary
some medical or healthcare courses - through an NHS bursary
most medical or healthcare courses - through a student loan

Graduate-entry medical students can also get support from Student Finance England for fees charged over £3,465.

Charities and trusts

Charities and trusts sometimes provide grants, often for students from poorer backgrounds or those who’ve achieved academic excellence. Find out more at your local library in these publications:

the Educational Grants Directory
the Charities Digest
the Grants Register
the Directory of Grant Making Trusts

You can also use the Family Action grant search .

Learned societies

Societies sometimes offer funding for postgraduate or postdoctoral research. They include:

the British Academy (for humanities and social sciences - postdoctorate only)
the Royal Academy of Engineering (for engineering)
the Royal Society (for science - postdoctorate only)

You might be able to get funding from:

an individual - sometimes people donate awards to help postgraduates (these are usually offered through your university or college)
your employer - they might sponsor you if the course is relevant to your job
a Disabled Students’ Allowance
the Student Awards Agency for Scotland if you’re from Scotland

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For students

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Programme and module information
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PhD funding

Postgraduate Doctoral Loans

Funded centres
Funding by faculty
EPSRC Studentships
Black British Researchers Studentships
CSC Scholarships
Exeter Paris-Saclay Studentships
Alternative funding

How can I fund my PhD?

There are all sorts of ways to fund your research degree, including research council studentships, career development loans, and employer sponsorship. These web pages will help you understand what kinds of funding are available, when it is released and how you can apply for it.

Before you start looking into how to get funding, remember to consider how much a research degree is likely to cost.

It is always a good idea to contact the Postgraduate Research team in the Faculty or Academic department you are interested in studying in for details of their specific funding opportunities.

Funding postgraduate research degrees

University funding for PhDs

Class of 2024 Postgraduate Progression Award

We are pleased to offer graduating University of Exeter students completing their degree this summer and progressing direct to a research degree (eg MPhil/PhD) with us in 2021/22 a scholarship towards the cost of their first year tuition fees. Please note that this award is not recurrent for postgraduate research students.

Please visit our Class of 2024 Progression Award page to learn more.

Terms and conditions apply .

University of Exeter Alumni Scholarship

We are pleased to offer other University of Exeter alumni beginning a research degree (eg MPhil/PhD) with us in 2024/25 a scholarship towards the cost of their first year tuition fees. Please note that this award is not recurrent for postgraduate research students. The scholarship is available to any University of Exeter graduate who has completed one of the following:

graduated from an undergraduate or postgraduate degree awarded by the University of Exeter
completed an inbound Study Abroad semester/year at the University of Exeter
completed a credit-bearing University of Exeter International Summer School

Please visit our Alumni Scholarship page to learn more.

Terms and conditions apply

QUEX Institute Partnership with The University of Queensland

The University of Exeter and The University of Queensland have partnered to establish the QUEX Institute, a multi-million pound partnership designed to bolster their joint global research impact.

The partnership will strengthen a joint commitment to co-produce research of the highest quality, boost industry and business collaboration, and publish high-level policy reports designed to inform and shape key government initiatives across the globe.

Each year, 6 generous, fully-funded studentships are available for the best applicants, 3 offered by the University of Exeter and 3 by the University of Queensland. This select group will have the chance to study in the UK and Australia, and will graduate with a double degree from the University of Exeter and the University of Queensland.

How much? Full tuition fees, stipend of £15,000 p.a, travel funds of up to £15,000, and RTSG of up to £15,000 are available over the 3 year programme

Who is eligible? Applicants should be highly motivated and have, or expect to obtain, either a first or upper-second class BSc (or equivalent) in a relevant discipline

When is it available? Applications for 2022/23 entry are now closed.

For more information about the partnership, please visit the QUEX pages .

University of Exeter Sanctuary Scholarships

The Sanctuary Scholarship scheme enables individuals seeking asylum and refugees who are not able to access student finance to study at the University of Exeter. To find out more, check eligibility and apply, please see the Sanctuary Scholarships page on our funding database.

Research council PhD studentships

How much? Full tuition fees and a generous living allowance (approximate total £20,000 per year)

Who is eligible? Home and International students with outstanding academic records

When is it available? Autumn to early spring

Research Council-funded PhD studentships generally pay your tuition fees (usually in the region of £4,500 to £5,000 per year) as well as providing a generous living allowance (approximately £17,668 per year) enabling you to concentrate fully on your research full-time. Because of this, Research Council studentships are very desirable and highly competitive.

There are seven research councils in the UK which distribute government funding for research. They are presided over by Research Councils UK , and each one faces a different area of research. In alphabetical order, they are:

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)

Please be aware that the specific subjects covered by each council can and do overlap in some instances, depending on specific topics, for instance, History can fall under both the ESRC and the AHRC depending on the precise topic.

Types of award

Research Council studentships generally come in three kinds: open awards; thematic awards; and project awards. Awards given in the humanities and social sciences are usually open or thematic, meaning they are open to any pitch relevant to the specific funding council, or else are tied to a specific research area within the funding council - for instance the medical humanities.

Awards given in the sciences are usually project-based, and can be highly specific; rather than applying for funding to research your own idea, you are essentially applying for a place working on a pre-defined research project, such as genome sequencing a specific organism.

Who is eligible?

Any prospective doctoral student wishing to study at a UK research organisation, including prospective international students, can apply for a UKRI studentship.

All UKRI-funded doctoral students will be eligible for the full award – both the stipend to support living costs, and fees at the UK research organisation rate.

This is a change in the criteria and will come into force for the start of the 2021 academic year. Please note up to 30% of full studentships are also available to international students which are defined as EU (excluding Irish nationals), EEA, Swiss and all other non-UK nationals.

If you have any queries about your residency status, you should speak to the appointed contact for the individual studentship before applying.

For the academic criteria, applicants should have a first or 2:1 honours degree (or equivalent) in a relevant subject. Equivalence may be demonstrated by qualifications gained outside of the UK or an undergraduate degree plus relevant postgraduate study, or experience in their chosen field.

Where can I find PhD studentships?

Research Council studentships are listed on the relevant Doctoral Training Partnership and research topic pages. In addition, all our current PhD studentship opportunities are searchable via the search box available on every page of this Postgraduate Research site. You will find them listed in the 'PhD Projects' tab in the search results page.

When are studentships available?

Research Council studentships are generally open for applications during autumn and winter , although deadlines vary and some can be as late as April. Because they are competitive and attract the very best-qualified students, it is best to start looking, and be ready to apply, from September. This means you may need to start considering funding for your PhD before teaching for your Masters has even begun, if you wish to progress directly from a taught postgraduate programme to a research degree.

Doctoral Training Partnerships

The vast majority of funding for PhDs that comes from the research councils is via Doctoral Training Partnerships (DTPs). These are consortia of universities who together receive bulk funding for research into specific areas. By sharing resources, expertise, and facilities, Doctoral Training Partnerships can provide outstanding support and training for PhD candidates researching within them. Most Doctoral Training Partnership-funded PhDs work on a joint-supervision basis, where your primary supervisor is from one institution and your secondary supervisor is from another.

The University of Exeter is a partner in numerous Doctoral Training Partnerships , and is one of very few universities to be part of partnerships facing every research council.

How much? Up to £27,892 if your course starts on or after 1 August 2022

Who is eligible? UK nationals and Irish citizens, or those with 'settled status'

How do I pay it back? Once you are earning over £21,000 a year, you will pay back six percent of your income each year. If you already have a Postgraduate Master’s Loan then you’ll make a combined repayment of six percent covering both postgraduate loans.

Full information can be found at Gov.uk .

Funding solely for international students

As an international student your first action when looking for PhD funding should be to check grant-awarding bodies in your own country (for instance the Ministry or Department of Education), and your local (or nearest) office of the British Council . The British Council manage a small number of international studentship grants in some countries and should be able to tell you what other awards may be available to you.

As with anyone seeking funding for a PhD, it is also worth contacting the department you with to study within, to find out more about internal funding opportunities available to outstanding candidates.

Funding opportunities for international PhD students are subject to the usual rules regarding immigration and visas .

All International Students

British Chevening Scholarships

For students wishing to follow full-time taught or research postgraduate-level courses in any subject at UK universities or colleges in the public sector. Most scholarships are mainly for one year, but awards are also occasionally given for shorter vocational courses/research attachments. Awards are given to cover all or part of the cost of the period of study. Contact the British Embassy, British High Commission or British Council Office in your own country.

British Council Fellowship Programmes

Full scholarships for professionals in fields considered by the British Council to be of special importance in the candidate's own country. Grants are for postgraduate study or research and range from short attachments to research leading to a PhD. Grants vary in size – from small grants to fellowships which will cover fees and living expenses. For details, contact the British Council in your own country, or write to: Fellows and Scholars Department, The British Council, 10 Spring Gardens, London SW1A 2BN (tel: 020 7930 8466) or International Student Services Unit, Regional Services Dept, The British Council, Bridgewater House, 58 Whitworth Street, Manchester M1 6BB (tel: 0161 957 7000).

Commonwealth Students

The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) is the world's first and oldest international university network, established in 1913.

A UK-registered charity, the ACU has over 500 member institutions in developed and developing countries across the Commonwealth. The ACU administers scholarships, provides academic research and leadership on issues in the sector, and promotes inter-university cooperation and the sharing of good practice – helping universities serve their communities, now and into the future.

Commonwealth Scholarship Plan

Full scholarships for Commonwealth students to enable them to study in other Commonwealth countries. Grants are for one to three years and usually cover the cost of travel, tuition fees and living expenses. In some cases, additional allowances may be available for help with books and clothes. For details, write to: Commonwealth Awards Division, Association of Commonwealth Universities, John Foster House, 36 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PF; [email protected]

For Commonwealth students specifically interested in PhD study in the UK and at the University of Exeter, Commonwealth Scholarships for PhD and split-site PhD study are available. These are aimed at talented graduates from selected countries and normally close in June for study commencing the following September. Please see the UK's Commonwealth Scholarship Commission website for details.

DFID Shared Scholarship Scheme

Scholarships for students in developing Commonwealth countries for taught courses at postgraduate (or in certain cases undergraduate) level. Preferred subjects are those relevant to the economic and social development of your own country. For details, contact the British High Commission or British Council in your own country, or write to: Department for International Development, 94 Victoria Street, London SW1E 5JL (tel: 0300 200 3343 / +44 (0) 1355 84 3132)

Canadian students

The Canadian Centennial Scholarship Fund is a charity which provides funding for academically exceptional Canadian students already registered on a postgraduate programme in the UK. The programme has to be full-time and last longer than one year. For full details please visit their website .

Chinese students

China Scholarship Council and University of Exeter PhD Scholarships

The Great Britain-China Educational Trust (GBCET) administers its own awards, and also makes awards with funds contributed by the Sino-British Fellowship Trust, the Universities' China Committee in London, and the Han Suyin Trust. The awards are meant to contribute towards applicants' university tuition fees, and living expenses.

The British Association for Chinese Studies (BACS) provides a detailed overview of the state of funding available to researchers and students for China-related studies in the UK.

European Students

European Union (EU) citizens can apply and qualify for a full award including fees and stipend for UK research council studentships. Each consortium of UK research council studentships cannot allocate more than 30% of the total number of awards to International students, including EU citizens.

The EU provides some grants to promote the exchange of students and academic staff within Europe, such as the SOCRATES and LEONARDO Programmes. The European Commission (EC) also makes some awards to students from developing countries. Contact the EC office in your own country or write to the European Commission, Directorate General III, Rue de la Loi 200, B-1049 Brussels, Belgium. Further details can also be found on the Community Research & Development Information Service (CORDIS) web site .

Research collaboration in Europe extends beyond the EU and residents of European countries with organisations affiliated to the European Science Foundation may also be eligible for certain schemes.

Indian Students

Inlaks Shivdasani Foundation

The major objective of the Foundation is to identify exceptionally talented young Indian students and support them financially to develop their special skill and talents to the maximum. It achieves this by awarding scholarships to outstanding young students to continue their post-graduate study/research abroad. Over the last three decades, more than 350 scholars have benefited from these scholarships.

Pakistani Students

The Higher Education Commission is an excellent site detailing scholarships available to Pakistani students wishing to study abroad.

USA Students

Fulbright Scholarships

Full scholarships for United States graduates to enable them to study in the UK. Write to the Graduate Students Programs, Institute of International Education (IIE), 809 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017- 3580, USA

British Marshall Scholarships

Full scholarships for United States citizens, who are under 26 and are graduates of United States universities, to enable them to study for a degree in the UK. For details, write to: Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission, John Foster House, 36 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PF; tel: 020 7387 8572; [email protected] . Application forms are available from United States universities and colleges, British Consulates General in the United States, or British Information Services, 845 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10022, USA

Charities, trusts, foundations and philanthropy

How much? Varies: from £10 to £10,000 or more

Who is eligible? Varies according to provider

When is it available? Varies according to provider

If you are not one of the lucky few able to secure a fully-funded studentship, there are still lots of ways to fund your PhD. A 'portfolio funding' approach - using lots of different, small awards and sources of funding rather than relying on one source - can really help you. Applying to educational charities can be an effective way of building up a portfolio of funding.

There are all sorts of philanthropic organisations dedicated to helping people pay for educational pursuits. These vary from major charities with millions of pounds dedicated to specialist research, to small trusts offering modest grants to help pay for books or travel. Some are very niche in their remits (funding just research into specific topics, such as the Research Society for Victorian Periodicals , or by people from specific places or social groups), and others are much more general. It is worth researching opportunities thoroughly, and writing speculative letters to appropriate bodies who may not have formal application processes.

Finding out about what opportunities are available can be tricky; many bodies have minimal websites that are not updated regularly, and some don't have websites at all. Writing, calling, or following potential funders on social media can help.

When applying, you will need to outline the case for why you deserve funding in much the same way as you would outline your academic case for being able to do a PhD. It is worthwhile mentioning if you have already secured any awards, as this demonstrates that organisations already think you are worth funding.

Print directories of funding bodies

The Grants Register is an annual publication listing charities and other bodies that provide grants, including for education. We have copies in our libraries . We also have copies of The Directory of Grant-Making Trusts , a similar publication.

Find out more about charities, foundations, and trusts on our alternative funding page .

Employer sponsorship and industry funding

How much? Varies according to sponsor

Who is eligible? Varies according to sponsor

When is it available? Varies according to sponsor

Responsible employers are always keen to develop their employees through training. While a 3-4 year full-time PhD may seem like an extreme example of staff development, it’s not unheard of, especially in technology-driven businesses and the medical and legal professions. Museums and heritage groups, and tech industries working on cultural projects (such as mobile apps), are often open to funding / working with humanities researchers. We also offer specific professional doctorates , which are studied for alongside work, in education and engineering .

Getting the support of your employer is obviously key, and you’ll need to put together a proposal for your training in much the same way as you’d need to construct a business plan for any new commercial venture.

Likewise companies often approach the University of Exeter with proposals to fund research that can further their business, and often the best way of doing this is via PhD students. Specific opportunities that arise are listed in our Postgraduate Research search alongside other studentships, but it may be worth talking to relevant academics in your field to find out about other possibilities that could be created for outstanding candidates.

Working while studying

How much? Varies

Who is eligible? Anyone

When is it available? All year

Working full or part-time while studying for a research degree can be incredibly demanding, but is a possibility for the many academically-capable PhD candidates who just miss out on the limited funding available. Almost 90% of students funding a PhD in this way are studying part-time, for obvious reasons.

Working while studying can also help give you key work-related skills that might be quite different to those you gain as a researcher, but just as valuable to future employers. It can also, crucially, give you a much-needed break from the intensity of PhD research.

There are several things you will need to consider. For instance, the University has regulations on how many hours you can work alongside your studies . You will also need to make sure your employer is understanding regarding the demands that your studies will make on your time; while some research degrees allow for great flexibility of time, others will demand your presence at specific times in laboratories or workshops.

There are several opportunities to work here at the University itself while studying for a PhD, such as being a Residence Life Mentor , or through the Temporary Staff Bank .

Private loan providers

Some financial institutions offer specialist loans for postgraduate students. An internet search may help you identify any potential schemes, but please be aware of the terms and conditions of the scheme and the annual percentage rate in order to identify the total cost of your loan.

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PhD Fees in the UK for International Students

Maisie Dadswell
July 31, 2024

PhD fees in the UK for international students vary based on several factors, including your field of study, the university you are doing your doctorate research with and which city the university is in. The cost of a PhD in the UK is generally anywhere from £15,000 to £35,000 for annual PhD tuition fees. To help you budget, this article will cover all the variable factors before covering several potential finance options which can help you to fund your studying in the UK.

Even if the fees seem steep at first, don’t get disheartened; there are plenty of funding sources for international students – there is a reason why UK universities, including UWS London, are such popular academic destinations for PhD students beyond our high academic standards.

It is also worth bearing in mind that PhD tuition fees tend to increase each year in line with inflation. Always ensure you are budgeting with the most up-to-date PhD tuition fees, and take into account that for self-funded students, tuition fees may be marginally higher in the second and third years. The good news is that whatever your field of study and preferred university, PhDs will be vastly cheaper than undertaking a taught undergraduate or postgraduate degree in the UK as an international student. Along with covering the typical cost of PhD fees, we have also outlined additional expenses and living costs you may have to budget for. Luckily, as a full-time, student you’ll never have to worry about paying council tax.

PhD fees in the UK for international students

For domestic students in the UK, the average cost of PhD tuition fees is around £4,500. However, this can rise to £20,0000 – depending on the subject. The main reason there are vast differences in the price of PhD tuition fees is the resources that research students will require; typically, STEM students pay the highest tuition fees due to resources such as tech support, servicing, and equipment. The PhD students who can expect to pay minimum fees are students looking for a doctorate title in the arts, social sciences or humanities.

Part-Time PhD Fees

If you want to study part-time, you can expect to pay 50% of the full-time fees. However, this can vary, and not all PhDs are available on a part-time basis. If you are looking to be a part-time PhD student around your work or any other responsibilities, always check with the institution where you want to study if this is viable. You will also need to check if your visa restricts part-time PhD study.

Research Support Fees

Research support fees don’t apply to every international PhD student in the UK. However, you may need to pay research support fees, which will go towards covering the cost of any specialist materials you use during your research. For students carrying out their research in a laboratory setting, these support fees are also referred to as bench fees and cover the cost of any consumables used in addition to the facilities where any research and experiments are carried out.

Some universities will include bench and research fees in the tuition fee, while other institutions will quote them separately. Even if the PhD tuition fees aren’t all-inclusive, universities will always be 100% transparent and upfront about the costs. As the additional tuition fees can vary significantly due to the nature of the research that you are undertaking, bench fees and support fees will usually be discussed during the application process. Other universities prefer to make them available on request. Typically, where applicable, bench fees range between £1,000 – £10,000. You will only pay the higher bench fees if you are using expensive equipment and consumables; most UK universities keep the rates the same for domestic and international students.

How to Enquire about PhD Fees in the UK for International Students

To ensure that you are working with the correct figures when you’re budgeting or applying for funding for your PhD fees and living expenses, always be proactive in your search for accurate information by contacting the UK universities you are keen to study with.

When you are getting in touch with the university, state if you are an international or EU student, and pose these questions:

How much are the fees for the programme, and what is included/excluded in the fees?
Are there any extra-departmental research fees, printing costs or administration fees?
Does fieldwork incur additional costs?
Are the bench/research support fees the same for international students?
Are there any bursaries or scholarships available that I may be eligible for?

PhD Funding for International Students Studying in the UK

International students are eligible for many PhD scholarships in the UK; these scholarships and other funded projects are open to international students of all nationalities. Scholarships and grants can be provided by universities, government bodies and charities.

Funded PhDs for International Students

There are ample options to explore based on your field of research; to make your search for funding easier, many PhDs in the UK are advertised to domestic and international students with funding options attached. This is incredibly common for Science, Technology, Engineering and Medicine (STEM) subjects, but it isn’t unheard of for the Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities to offer the same funding options. Applying for a PhD with attached funding options isn’t worlds apart from applying for a job. If you are accepted as a candidate, you will receive a ‘salary’ in the form of tuition fees, research expenses and a grant which will go towards your living costs. If funding isn’t attached to a PhD project, you can use platforms such as FindAPhD to browse all the current projects offering funding to international students. To broaden your search, you can also use the search bar to sift through your different options. At the time of writing, FindAPhD has over 4,000 PhD projects and scholarships in the UK.

Research Council Studentships

Research Council Studentships are also frequently made available to international students in the UK looking for PhD funding. The more than generous financial support comes from UK Research and Innovation. If you receive funding from UK Research and Innovation, you will receive a monthly stipend to cover your living costs and a fee waiver. The waiver will allow you to pay the drastically reduced domestic rate instead of the PhD fees in the UK for international students. Whichever university funding you apply for, bear in mind that most funding is either provided in a bid to support widening participation or based on academic merit.

Government PhD Loans

If you aren’t eligible for a scholarship, grant, or funding from UK Research and Innovation, Government PhD loans are also available to some international students. Usually, to qualify, you will either need to be able to prove you have a settled status in the UK, be an Irish national or be part of the EU settlement scheme. These loans will cover your tuition fees and living expenses; you only need to repay the loan when you earn over the threshold amount.

Living Costs in the UK for PhD Students

The living costs for international students in the UK will vary greatly depending on your circumstances, lifestyle and where you live. The most expensive city for living costs, excluding rent, is £894 for London, while the cheapest is £577 for Bradford – based on 2022 figures. With rent included in London, it can cost £1,309 per month if you are living off campus, or £1,237 if you are living on campus.

How Much Does it Cost for a PhD in London?

London is renowned for its vibrant culture, history, and world-class education, making it a top choice for students pursuing higher degrees. However, it’s essential to note that London is also the most expensive city in the UK. The cost of living in the capital can be higher than in other parts of the country. While pursuing a Ph.D. in London offers incredible opportunities and access to prestigious institutions, potential students should be prepared for higher living expenses.

Additional Costs for International Students

Your PhD fees, rent and living costs will be your greatest expenses as an international PhD student. However, there are additional expenses which you may need to account for:

Visa Processing Fees – to apply for a visa outside of the UK, it will cost £363. If you are extending your visa or switching to a student visa, the processing fee is £490.
University Application Fees – these fees aren’t especially common in the UK; however, they aren’t unheard of.
Language Tests – if you are studying your PhD in a second language, you will need proof that you possess sufficient language skills. In some instances, you will be required to sit a language test and achieve a certain score.

The Best London Boroughs for Home Study

Students have much to consider when viewing and moving into their student accommodation. As well as the feel of the home, it is important to

Undergraduate degree vs postgraduate degree: key differences

Going to university and choosing the right educational path are likely going to be some of the most important decisions in your life. This means

Do You Get Paid for a PhD?

Do You Get Paid for a PhD? For many students who don’t have the luxury of never worrying about money, one of the main considerations

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Science and Technology Studies

STS offers degrees at each university level: undergraduate, masters, and PhD

Funding Your Doctorate

PhD programme: fees and funding

Fees and funding.

Information on tuition fees: UCL Tuition Fees

Part-time fees are pro-rata of full-time fees.

Scholarships

UCL scholarships available to STS applicants

UCL Research Excellence Scholarship

Open to exceptional applicants from any country. Up to 40 scholarships are awarded across UCL

DEADLINE FOR FUNDING APPLICATIONS: Friday 10th January 2025 (TBC)

If you are applying for UCL RES funding, you must also submit your PhD application by Thursday 2nd January 2025 23.59 GMT

UCL Research Opportunity Scholarship

UCL's Research Opportunity Scholarship (UCL-ROS) supports BAME postgraduate research degree students. 7 scholarships are awarded across UCL

If you are applying for UCL ROS funding, you must also submit your PhD application by Thursday 2nd January 2025 23.59 GMT

External scholarships for STS applicants:

London Arts and Humanities Partnership (LAHP)

The LAHP AHRC Doctoral Training Partnership funds up to 80 research studentships per year across all subject areas covered by LAHP. Applications for funding should be made directly to LAHP, and open on 25th November 2024 (TBC)

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS TO FUNDER: 5pm 24th JANUARY 2025 (TBC)

UK students with excellent academic records in history of science or philosophy of science are encouraged to apply. Please note that in order to be eligible for this funding you must have established your supervisor before applying to LAHP for funding. We strongly recommend that interested individuals contact potential supervisors by late November, and you will need to have submitted a standard UCL PhD admissions application complete with references, by the STS January deadline. However you are advised to submit a complete application earlier if possible.

More information can be found on the London Arts and Humanities Partnership website.

Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)

The department has ‘+3’ and '1+3' recognition from the ESRC in the category of Science and Technology Studies. Studentships are available to UK and EU applicants intending to pursue a PhD and who have already received a foundation in research training (+3), or who wish to pursue a PhD after completing an ESRC-recognised MSc (including those within the department) (1+3). Applicants with such qualifications who are interested in the areas of public understanding of science, science policy research, social history of science, or the sociology of science and technology are encouraged to discuss the possibility of applying for an ESRC grant with the departmental graduate tutor at the time of their application. See the ESRC Doctoral Training Programme website for further details. You can also visit the main ESRC Website to find out more about the council itself.

DEADLINE FOR PRELIMINARY APPLICATIONS Monday 13th January 2025 23:59 GMT TBC (Applications open October 2024).

If you are applying for ESRC funding, you must also submit your PhD application by Thursday 2nd January 2025 23.59 GMT

British Society for the Philosophy of Science

The British Society for the Philosophy of Science offers scholarships for doctoral work in the philosophy of science at a UK university. Scholarships are only available to students applying to degree programmes in philosophy or in philosophy of science. Further details are available from the BSPS website .

The next scholarship competition will run in 2025

Overseas students are encouraged to apply for Commonwealth and British Council Scholarships in those countries where they are administered.

A list of other scholarships available to students applying to UCL is available via the UCL Scholarships page.

Graduate Prospectus 2023/24

Graduate Prospectus

How to Apply

Funding your phd, visiting doctoral students, support for current students: .

Can we help? support for current students STS PhD Moodle site.

Reading Groups

STS hosts a series of reading groups, run by current PhD students, to discuss interesting, thought provoking material in relevant fields.

STS Research Space

The STS Research Space is an initiative to assist PhD students with a wide range of academic and non-academic problems.

The STS Research Space

The Savvy Scientist

Experiences of a London PhD student and beyond

PhD Salary UK: How Much Do PhD Students Get Paid Compared to Graduates?

Considering whether to stay in university as a PhD student or to leave and get a job? If so, you may be wondering “How much do PhD student get paid?” and “How does a UK PhD salary compare to a graduate salary?” .

In this post I delve into the details and reveal that the difference in take home pay between a UK PhD stipend and a grad position can actually be much lower than it first appears!

If you’re looking to know how much a PhD could boost your career and salary after finishing your doctoral degree I’d suggest checking out my post: Is a PhD Worth It ? See details here for how much people earn in academia after getting their PhD .

I also have a complementary post covering my monthly expenses as a PhD student. You may also wish to check out my guide to the application process , PhD FAQs and article on how I got a PhD scholarship .

February 2024 : This post has been updated to include figures for the 2023/24 academic year.

Do PhD students get paid in the UK? If so, how much do PhD students get paid?

Before we delve into the details let’s first cover whether PhD students get paid in the UK. Generally, yes, most PhD students get what is called a PhD stipend to support themselves during their PhD. Importantly, a PhD stipend (in the UK at least) is tax free .

It is worth noting though that not all PhD projects automatically include funding. Funding may also not be applicable for every applicant. For example sometimes it may only be available to home students i.e. those from the UK.

Therefore some students may resort to self funding their PhD. In STEM subjects self funding a PhD is pretty rare and often only happens because of limitations in funding eligibility. I’ve personally worked with a mix of funded and self-funded (often by parents) PhD students, though most are certainly funded by grants and scholarships.

If your project doesn’t already include funding, for most people I strongly advise trying to find funding rather than considering self funding. For more information on this check out my post on PhD Funding in the UK.

2023/24 UK PhD Salary

PhD salary outside of London: In 2023/24 most new PhD students in the UK will receive a PhD stipend worth at least £18,622 per year .
PhD salary in London : In 2023/24 most new PhD students in London will receive an increased stipend to account for cost of living , which is typically around £20,622 per year .

Notice that the PhD stipend for outside of London is at least £18,622 per year. I’ve seen several advertised at the London rate. There are also some available at an even higher rate. For example I know of CDTs in Bristol paying more like £24,000 tax-free.

Your PhD stipend will usually provide funding for 3.5 years, although it can occasionally be for 3 or 4 years.

These values are for most PhD studentships including those awarded by all UK research councils following the UKRI guidelines .

Certain scholarship schemes pay upwards of £25,000 per year, such as the £25,150 (2024/25 rate) President’s PhD Scholarships at Imperial. For details on how to get such a scholarship, check out this article where I go over how I got awarded my own PhD scholarship.

The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network (ITN) runs all across the EU. As well as nice training and exchange opportunities it pays a staggering stipend of approx £40,000 – £45,000 . The grant level is reviewed each year and increases if you have family dependents. I personally wish I’d known about it earlier and highly recommend anyone interested puts a reminder in their diary for when the next call opens!

Is a UK PhD stipend taxable?

Here is what PhD stipends look like compared to some fairly typical starting grad salaries in the UK:

Bar charts summary of the advertised differences in salary between PhD student stipends and graduate salaries. These don't factor in taxes and other charges for employees which students do not pay.

At first glance a PhD stipend doesn’t stack up well against the higher wages of a graduate salary which can sometimes be twice this amount or more. But crucially PhD stipends for students are tax free !

There are a few other financial perks that come with being a student so I was intrigued to find out how the two salaries really compared. The results may surprise you!

Below is a high level overview and I’ll delve into each of the numbers in depth later in the post.

Bar charts summary of the differences in tax-home salary between PhD student stipends and graduate salaries

Grad salary vs PhD salary starting numbers

As mentioned earlier, in 2023/24 a typical PhD stipend outside of London is at least £18,622 . Within London this will typically increase slightly to account for cost of living to around £20,622 . These rates rise every year for new students, but do not rise for each year of the PhD. So for new students considering starting in 2024/25 a UK PhD salary will likely be around £19,100 outside of London.

For the sake of simplifying the comparison I averaged the 2023/24 PhD stipend to £19,622 for all PhD students studying in the UK.

A fairly typical grad salary, for someone qualified enough to be considering a science PhD, is around £30,000 . Of course this is an average salary so needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. As the number can vary dramatically it may be considered too low by some, but I think it’s a good benchmark accounting for different regions of the UK.

I’ve included higher and lower graduate salaries too in the summary charts for this post.

Bar chart showing the starting situation: £30,000 salary for the grad and £19,622 stipend for the PhD student

Salary Gap: £10,378

On the face of it the PhD student would be earning £10,378 less per year: around 35% lower! This is enough of a difference to put off a lot of potential PhD candidates who’ve likely spent the last few years building up student loans.

But unlike normal wages, PhD stipends are tax free so maybe things aren’t as bleak for PhD students as it seems? Let’s explore how they really compare.

Income Tax & National Insurance Contributions

Bar chart showing national insurance and income tax reducing the graduate salary. The PhD stipend is unaffected.

The 2023/24 Personal Income Allowance is £12,570. This means that you can earn up to this amount and not pay any income tax. Earnings from £12,571 up to £50,270 fall into the basic rate bracket of 20% tax.

PhD Student Salary: PhD stipends are tax free and incur no income tax or national insurance contributions. Remaining stipend: £19,622

Professional Salary: On £30,000 you’d pay £ 3486 in income tax and NI contributions of £2004 . Remaining wage: £24,510

Salary Gap: £4888 Income tax and national insurance contributions have immediately almost halved the difference in take-home pay from £10,378 down to £4888!

Student Loan Repayment

PhD Student Salary: Even with a PhD stipend you are officially an unwaged student so you won’t make student loan repayments as a PhD student. Remaining stipend: £19,622 [see footnote 1]

Professional Salary: The amount you may have to pay for student loan repayments depends upon when you started your undergraduate course. If you started your undergraduate course since 2012 you pay student loan repayments on earnings above £27,295. Meaning on a salary of £30,000 you’d pay £243 a year on student loan repayments. If you began your undergraduate course before 2012, repayments start on salaries above £22,015 and would be £541 a year . Most of you likely completed your undergrad degree recently so we’ll go with the more recent, lower, repayments. Remaining wage: £24,267

Salary Gap: £4645

Council Tax

PhD Student Salary: Another cost that students are exempt from is council tax. Though be careful if you share a house with non-students since council tax must then be paid on the property. [2] Remaining stipend: £19,622

Professional Salary: Council tax varies greatly between council boroughs, and depends on the property you live in. For example in Cardiff I lived in a one bed flat and the annual council tax was £1050 per year. During my PhD in London council tax for a lovely three bed house in Clapham it was £1000! Now that I live in Bristol it is over £2000 per year for a three bed house. I’ll go to the liberty of saying on average it would be £1150 per year and would be divided between two people: -£575 each. Total: £23,692

Salary Gap: £4070

Private Pension Contributions

PhD Student Salary: Although universities pay a PhD stipend to students, you are not a member of staff and hence do not make private pension contributions. Remaining stipend: £19,622

Professional Salary: Legislation has been phasing in making contribution to private pensions mandatory. The upside is that employers match your contribution up to varying percentages: sometimes up to about 10% of your salary. Additionally there are tax benefits to contributing so overall you could see it as boosting your salary looking at the longer term view. [3]

I believe there are troubling times ahead for 20-somethings and personally am not relying on a state pension existing by the time we all reach retirement age. Therefore I wholeheartedly recommend making a decently sized contribution at least up to the same amount that your employer matches. For the purposes of this comparison I won’t deduct anything for private pension since it’s not really being deducted so I’ll call this one a draw. Total: £23,692

Student Discount

Ah the obvious one! Student discount may have been the first thing you thought of when you saw this article, but I’m not going to include it in this analysis.

A student card does allow a significant amount to be saved, not only on luxuries such as entry to attractions and deals in shops but also travel. For example in London, an 18+ student oystercard gets you 30% off travelcards. For a monthly zones 1-3 ticket this would save about £50 a month: over £600 a year!

The reason I’ve not included it? How much you use student discount depends on your circumstances and lifestyle and I wanted to keep the analysis widely applicable. Also, there are ways around needing to pay for travel at all: I started cycling to university every day in London .

Curveball: the £12,570 Tax-Free Personal Income Allowance

So far the recent grad is still earning an additional £4842 per year: almost a third more than the PhD student. Owing to the fact that PhD students are exempt from income tax, national insurance contributions, council tax and student loan repayments the gap in earnings has shrunk considerably.

One last calculation I wanted to try was to consider the scenario of a student earning some additional money on the side. It is a common thing to make extra money with teaching assistant, tutoring and consultancy opportunities. In fact I think every PhD student I know does at least a little. There are of course non-academic routes to make additional money too.

I have written a post about some of the ways that I make extra money , many of which are in fact available to non-students. Do be careful to check that this is acceptable at your institution. My favourite way to make extra money is matched betting which is tax-free for everybody. You can find my complete guide to matched betting here .

Tax-free side-hustle

Currently you can earn £12,570 tax free in the UK . Given that the PhD stipend itself is tax free, unlike an equivalent worker you wouldn’t pay any tax on extra earnings up to this threshold. This might sound insignificant but it’s not.

Admittedly, unless you’re very entrepreneurial, it is unlikely that you would make use of the whole tax-free opportunity. But earning several thousand pounds per year on top of the stipend is certainly common.

As pointed out by a reader, John, in the comments below: a consideration should be that that some universities limit how much paid work you can do per month. Even so, there are lots of ways to make money and your time as a student could even be a great time to start your own business .

I’ve been paid more than £25 an hour doing pretty simple work for the university , so these earnings can mount up quickly.


Higher rate	For duties requiring a larger element of preparatory work such as most types of tutorials and seminars.	£28.75
Lower rate	For duties requiring little preparation or marking such as demonstrating.	£17.06

To illustrate the extra earning potential afforded to PhD students, let’s consider the most extreme case where the tax-free earnings are maximised.

Since 2017 there has been a £1000 tax-free trading allowance for workers in the UK , meaning even those in a normal taxable job can earn £1000 on top of their salary from side-hustle jobs. Therefore the grad will pay additional taxes on £11,570 instead of £12,570.

Bar chart showing how much less of a £12570 side-business that graduates retain (£7884) compared to PhD students (all of it).

PhD Student Salary: An enterprising student maxing out the tax-free allowance could earn £12,570 a year and pay no national insurance either, leaving additional take-home pay of £12,570 . With a PhD stipend of £17,062 the student would in total earn £32,192 for the year. They’d keep 100% of those extra earnings.

Again, yes it is unlikely that someone would really earn this much on the side but it is common to make at least several thousand throughout the year.

Professional Salary: As a grad on £30,000 per year in your main job, to have an equivalent side-hustle earning £12,570, in total you’d pay tax on £41,570. Income tax would be £5800: £2314 higher than on their base salary of £30,000. NI contributions would be £3335: £1331 higher. Plus student loan repayments would be £1284: £1041 higher. Student loan repayments really start increasing considerably when you’re earning more. These additional taxes and costs total deductions of £4686, leaving the professional with extra take-home pay of £7884 . Including their day-job the total they’d be left with is £31,576 .

For this extra £12,570 of work, the student would pocket 100% of it and the professional would keep £7884 ( 63% ). Looking at the pre-tax difference in their earnings: at face value the student would be earning £32,192 and the grad £41,570: a difference of £9378. Yet once taxes are considered the final result is two people with remarkably similar take-home pays: a difference of £616 in favour of the student!

Check it out:

Bar chart showing how much less of a £12570 side-business that graduates retain (£7884) compared to PhD students (all of it) compared to if they don't have a side business.

Under these circumstances the student would in fact take home £616 more per year than the professional! I used the maximum tax-free allowance to highlight the point and yes it’s unlikely that many students will fully utilise it. Yet the point stands that any additional earnings are much better retained by PhD students.

If someone was running a fully-fledged business on the side then the difference becomes even bigger as the grad salary approaches the next tax bracket for earnings of £50,271 and above, at which point the rate of income tax doubles.

There are very few legal ways of making money which are tax-exempt for everyone. One of these rare cases is also my favourite way to make money on the side: matched betting. Intrigued? I’ve written a huge guide to it here . In this rare instance none of the grad’s extra earnings get eroded by tax.

Grad salary vs PhD student salary conclusion

Starting from a difference of £10,378 in salary, taxes and other outgoings have knocked £6308 off the graduate’s wage. This brings the difference in earnings down to £4070. This equates to £339 per month. More than nothing, but not a huge difference. And this doesn’t include any extra earnings on the side which the student can do a much better job of retaining.

Surprised how small the difference is? I certainly was whilst I was writing this.

Here is a chart for comparing a wider range of salaries:

This analysis doesn’t take in to account the extra earning power that gaining a PhD could bring, nor the potential lifestyle benefits of being a student such as autonomy and flexible working hours which it could be argued level the playing field even further. Plus the opportunities afforded to PhD students, which everyone should seize. And yes, student discount if you use it.

Furthermore if you consider the opportunity to make an additional £12k+ per year before incurring tax any difference in earnings can become close to negligible!

I hope that this post has helped explain that the wage gap between UK PhD stipends and grad salaries is not as dramatic it first seems. Perhaps it’s even encouraged you to consider a PhD. If so I’ve written posts to help with your application and an article on how to improve your chances of securing a PhD scholarship . Also if you’re curious you can read about life as a PhD student along with profiles of PhD students around the world .

If you’d like personalised help with your PhD application I am now starting to offer a small number of one-to-one sessions. Please contact me to find out more or click here to book a call.

What do you think about this comparison between a UK PhD stipend and grad salary? Do you think there are any additional factors that I have overlooked? Please share your thoughts in the comments below and if you’ve enjoyed this post you can subscribe to hear about more content:

[1] Some people might say that by continuing studying you’re simply delaying your student loan repayment. Considering most people don’t pay it off in the 30 odd years until any outstanding balance is wiped I think it’s fair to say that this doesn’t ring true.

[2] No council tax is paid on a property if all occupants are students. If you live with one professional they can claim the single occupancy discount of 25% but with two or more professionals the full council tax amount must be paid. If you share in a mixed group it is up to you how you divide it within the group. Ironically given the spirit of this post, last year I voluntarily did pay an equal (third) share of council tax given that my partner was moving to London specifically to live with me…

[3] If you go on to work for a university after your PhD you’ll be enrolled in the USS pension scheme where you’ll usually pay in 9% of your salary and your employer pays in 19%: yes, nineteen! For comparison most often the best private companies may match contributions up to 10%. Pension contributions are often removed from your pay packet before taxes. This effectively leaves you with a smaller salary and hence pay less taxes and national insurance contributions. Between this and your employer’s contributions overall your salary could be “boosted” by quite a bit, around 20% in the USS example, if you consider the pension as part of your long-term salary.

All calculations were carried out using the tax calculator on Martin’s Money Saving Expert. A fantastic website for all things personal finance.

How To Get A Fully Funded PhD Scholarship

14th February 2023 30th January 2024

How to Find PhD Funding in the UK

2nd January 2018 30th January 2024

17 Comments on “PhD Salary UK: How Much Do PhD Students Get Paid Compared to Graduates?”

It’s probably worth factoring in that most HEIs limit PhD students to a maximum I’m of 10hours pw of external work. By my rough estimate, the student would have to earn £25 an hour to make the money you’ve described here. The side hustle, should probably be halved to reflect a more typical salary. Still a fair whack though.

Hi John, yes that’s a good point and I’ll update the post to reflect this. In my experience £25/hour is realistic, at least here at Imperial, though I appreciate it would rarely get fully utilised. Thanks again

Hello Jeff! I am a Sustainability Consultant from India, looking at PhD opportunities in UK. It would be great if we can connect and discuss a bit about your experience and journey. Looking forward!

Hey Akhyata! Great, yes let’s have a chat. I’ve emailed you to arrange it. Best wishes, Jeff

Hi Jeff! I love your article, I’m a pharmacist juggling the idea of a PhD. I would love to take up on your offer to connect.

Hey Kai! Great, I’ll email you now to arrange it.

Hi Jeff, I am a law grad very interested in further study and pursuing a PhD.

I would love the chance to chat to you further about this article and your experience!

Thanks in advance

Hey Clara, Yeah no worries. I’ll send you an email now to discuss.

Hi Jeff, I’m putting together a PhD proposal at the moment and would really appreciate your input on a few things about the process when you have some free time. Cheers, Ben

Hi Ben, sure no problem, I’m happy to try and help. Let’s discuss over email.

Hi Jeff, Thank you for taking the time to write the articles you do. On this particular article, you have saved us all quite a lot of time. With such a minimal difference even without an additional income, it makes a lot of sense, especially with an increase when you graduate.

Those from the UK can take a £24k loan from the Gov (as if they didn’t have enough debt already). Still, it could enable a student to focus more on academia, speeding up the process and increasing the quality of work.

Apologies Jeff, the stipend and student loan are not available at the same time.

Thanks very much for your comments Tyrone. I’m pleased you find the website useful!

If you can get funding, I agree that there isn’t much of a reason to not do a PhD.

I must admit I’ve never looked much at postgraduate loans, in part because I encourage everyone doing a PhD (in STEM at least) to pursue funding. We’re doing PhDs which can help wider society and it doesn’t make sense for people to have to sacrifice even more by adding extra debt if they can avoid it. Interesting to hear that you can’t take out a loan if you have a stipend, thanks for letting me know.

Perhaps of interest to you, there is a post going live tomorrow which should put the length of a PhD in context of someone’s whole career. In short it doesn’t sacrifice much of a career but of course but make a very useful addition!

If there are any other topics you want to see covered please do let me know.

Best wishes.

Tax Free is not a perk. If you are not paying tax in the UK you cannot contribute to your pension. This may not seem important now, but it will later. This is especially important for mature students who can really lose out if there is a break in their NI contributions.

Thanks for your comment Marie.

The point is that normal tax-paying jobs don’t actually pay quite as much more than PhD stipends once you consider tax. I agree that over the long term avoiding paying taxes is neither a good idea because of things like pensions, nor is it socially ethical. But I don’t think there is any harm in taking 3-4 years out for a PhD:

You have to pay NI for a minimum of only 10 years to qualify for some level of state pension in the UK. After this the pension received simply increases linearly with the number of years of contributions, up to a max of 35 years. With retirement age edging up to 70 that gives at least 45 years between undergrad and retirement so most people will comfortably qualify (for now) for the full state pension. I’d argue that there is ample time to earn some tax free money as a PhD student without having to worry about making enough NI contributions. You can even voluntarily pay NI to gain additional qualifying years on your record. More generally I’d suggest also to not rely on receiving the state pension, I’m not personally betting on there even being a state pension by my own retirement (nor do I want to retire at 70+) so it’s always a good idea to build up your own private pension and savings too!

Hi Jeff, I was looking for funded PhD projects in the Marie Curie network and found a few on the EURAXESS website, but they all require a Master’s degree to apply. I was wondering if there is something I am missing or if you know where to find PhD funding opportunities in the Marie Curie network with only a bachelor’s degree. Thank you.

Hi Alex, thanks for your comment. I must admit I’m not an expert on all of the different Marie Curie funding routes available. If you’ve already done an extensive search then it sounds like yes they all may require a Master’s. By the way, when I first wrote this post I believed that all PhDs funded by UK research councils (UKRI) were at the very specific levels as mentioned in the post. However, I now know that there are some exceptions. For example, the Interactive AI CDT here at Bristol pays a stipend of £22,106: quite a bit higher than the standard non-London rate. CDTs such as this one include a foundation year and not everyone has a Master’s, so it may be worth considering schemes such as this. Best wishes, Jeff.

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Why is it so hard to get PhD funding in the UK for international students?

In general, it's fairly difficult to get a funded PhD position in the UK, if you're an international student.

An international grad student in the UK has essentially a few options, such as: (1) ultra-prestigious scholarships like the Rhodes scholarship, (2) external funding, e.g. from industry or their home country's government (this is common for students from many Asian countries), or (3) compete for a very small number of department or university funded positions/scholarships open to internationals.

This is very different from the situation in the US and most of continental Europe, where a PhD position always comes with a salary, and where there's typically no discrimination between domestic and international applicants.

Are there historical reasons why the UK PhD system is like this? It seems strange, especially given that the UK is a wealthy country strong in scientific research. Why don't they reform their system to better attract international talent?

(My field is physics, but I think the same is true across other STEM subjects.)

united-kingdom

7 Almost all public (i.e. state-funded) universities in the US discriminate against international applicants; this is just not made obvious. – Alexander Woo Commented Mar 24, 2022 at 19:54
2 @AlexanderWoo That is debatable. A lot of the discrimination against foreign students is indirect, because non-US universities are less well known, and because a certain country's education system might be perceived negatively. In any case it is nowhere nearly as extreme as in the UK. – Aqualone Commented Mar 24, 2022 at 20:00
6 The situation at Berkeley was (and I would think still is) the following: the department covered the tuition for all students out of its budget. Domestic students could become in-state residents and have paid on their behalf a much cheaper rate after one year; international students continued to be charged at the out-of-state rate throughout. In addition, some grant funds could only be used for domestic students. The result was that one needed much stronger test scores, grades, and recommendations to be admitted as an international student (even if you came from a US undergrad school). – Alexander Woo Commented Mar 24, 2022 at 20:36
5 @AlexanderWoo. funding is a different issue than "discrimination". Any tax supported institution may validly want to use the majority of its funds for residents (i.e. taxpayers). That may also reflect the UK situation as well. – Buffy Commented Mar 24, 2022 at 20:47
3 @Buffy - I think it's clear this question is about funded positions for graduate students. – Alexander Woo Commented Mar 25, 2022 at 0:56

3 Answers 3

The big difference between the UK system and some other systems is that in the UK a PhD student is primarily regarded, at least by the system (even if not always by the supervisor) as a student who is there to learn, whereas, at least in the EU system, PhD students are primarily regarded as researchers who are there to perform a role.

The OP asks "Why don't they reform their system to better attract international talent?". This assumes that students are regarded as something you want to attract in order to benefit the country. But officialdom in the UK regards students as people who take benefit, rather than give it. A student is receiving a service, not providing one. To a British official, asking why they don't fund overseas PhD student is the same as asking why they don't pay for the undergraduate tuition fees of international students.

So, the British government sets aside a certain amount of money each year from its education/training budget to train PhD students. As it sees its job to educate British people, it would usually only pay for the PhD education of British people - it is other people's governments' job to pay for the education of their own people.

All of this is at least partly related to the superiority of the Arts and Humanities in British culture as the place where real intellectuals come from - at least in the minds of those in power, who almost without fail have humanities degrees from elite universities. In the arts and humanities, this view that PhD students are not part of a research workforce is closer to the truth.

All of this should not be taken as an endorsement of this situation, which I think is terrible.

All hope is not lost though. While with the UK leaving the EU, students from the EU became international students, the government has partially offset this by saying that up to 30% of students recruited to the main government-funded PhD programs (UKRI DTPs/DTCs) can be overseas students. In practice, I've found that this cap hasn't been a limitation, and we've been able to admit all the overseas students that ranked high enough in open competition in our DTP.

“… the self-proclaimed superiority of…” Unfortunately there’s an oversupply of demand for UK degrees (and from some other countries as well) so that international grad. students are seen as an income stream to make up for administrative overspending. – ZeroTheHero Commented Mar 27, 2022 at 13:35
3 "Self-proclaimed" is not my experience - its not the humanities PhDs themselves proclaiming their superiority, but more the gatekeepers of British society/culture, who are not generally humanities PhDs. I don't really buy into the whole two cultures thing. I also think that the tendency of universities to abuse international students as an income stream is separate from the government's decision to not fund them. – Ian Sudbery Commented Mar 27, 2022 at 17:16

Funding of international students in the UK is a lot more difficult than places like the US because the UK research organizations (UKRI and the various research councils underneath it) have very strict rules about which type of award can and cannot support students, and how the money should be allocated to students.

The first major difference is that grants from the UK research councils (such as EPSRC/BBSRC/ESRC/etc.) can not be used to fund any student fees, so when a professor gets a new grant, they can't use it for students they have to use it for research staff (such as post-docs) [1]. This is very different from the US system, where grants from bodies like the NSF/NIH can be used to fund students.

Instead, the UK research councils have special "Doctoral training" grants and "PhD Studentships" that are meant for funding PhD students. Even these are limited though, with the current UKRI rules [2] saying that no more than 30% of the UKRI-funded portion of a cohort on a training grant (e.g. Centre for Doctoral Training, training grant programs awarded to universities, etc.) can be international students, and even then, the UKRI-provided money can only be used to cover the amount of the home fees for the student. This means that those international students still must pay the difference between the international and home fees amount (although the university can cover the difference from other sources, such as internal funding or company support).

Both of these restrictions means that the main funding source available to support PhD students in countries like the US (e.g. government grants and centers) is not easily available to support international students in the UK, forcing the reliance on the private programs and university-level programs where the individual charities/universities set the rules and not the government.

[1] RGC 4.5 in https://www.ukri.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/UKRI-170821-FullEconomicCostingGrantTermsConditions-Aug2021.pdf

[2] https://www.ukri.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/UKRI-170321-InternationalEligibilityImplementationGuidance.pdf

1 I think the question was why does the UK have policies that lead to this situation in general, not what are the details of the funding restrictions that lead to this. – gib Commented Mar 26, 2022 at 8:54

Different countries give different answers to the basic question

Why would a society (country) fund someone from outside that society for getting some academic degree?

Some of the reasons can be:

pure altruism,
seeing it as development aid (which will be politically desirable),
expectation that the person will stay and work for a domestic company, thus strengthening the economy,
strengthening the domestic research community (in international competition),
lack of own personnel capable of doing important research.

Alas, societies often are only willing to invest resources (money) if the can clearly see a good return-on-investment. And the UK seems to be a bit more sceptical here than other countries.

1 This doesn't directly address the question. Also, the points you raise only partially apply since a PhD is a job in additional to being an academic course. (indeed, in some places in continental Europe, PhD positions are essentially jobs, with the degree awarded in the end being almost like a side-effect) – Aqualone Commented Mar 25, 2022 at 12:24
1 @Aqualone See my answer, below, but I think the key point you are missing is that in the UK a PhD is not regarded as a job in addition to being an academic course. At least not in the minds of those that make the policies. – Ian Sudbery Commented Mar 26, 2022 at 23:56

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The University of Manchester is committed to supporting postgraduate research students. Each year we invest substantially in doctoral funding.

In addition to these internal funds the University is highly successful in attracting sponsorship for research students, particularly from the research councils, industry, trusts and charities.

Funding tips

A good first step in exploring funding options is to speak to staff within your subject area to find out how previous students have financed their studies.
Search our funding opportunities database to ascertain which awards are available.
Search our project listings to find directly-funded, competition-funded and self-funded projects. Competition-funded projects are projects that are in competition for funding with other projects. Usually the project which receives the best applicant will be successful.
Faculty and School websites often provide further information, particularly about project-specific studentships. These studentships can be advertised at any time throughout the year.
Some PhD funding schemes involve applying directly for advertised projects, while others require you to develop a research proposal alongside a supervisory team. Make sure you read the criteria carefully in advance.
Before applying for a studentship, read through the eligibility criteria thoroughly, and ensure you note the closing deadline.

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PhD in UK: Fees 2024, Top Colleges, Placement and Salaries

The average annual tuition fee for pursuing PhD in UK at the top universities is 20,000 GBP- 50,000 GBP (20-50 Lakh INR) and the average cost of living in UK is around 14,000 GBP (14 lakh INR) per year. The opportunities after studying in UK universities are vast. Almost 87% of the Ph.D. students start working after graduation and earn an average pay of 40,000 GBP- 60,000 GBP (40-60 Lakh INR) per annum.

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PhD in UK: Top Universities

International students are attracted to the high-quality education offered by the top universities in UK . According to the QS Ranking of 2024, 5 universities in the UK rank among the top 50 universities across the world. The following table lists some of the top universities offering PhD in UK:

Qs Rankings 2024	University	Program	Application Deadline	Annual Tuition Fees (GBP)
#2	University of Cambridge	Aerosol Science, Architecture, Archaeology, Biochemistry, Clinical Medicine, , Law, Medical Science, Oncology, Surgery	16 May 2024	25,000 - 55,000
#3	University of Oxford	, Engineering Science, Law, Economics, Philosophy,Clinical Medicine, Astrophysics	25 January 2024	25,000 - 30,000
#6	Imperial College London	, Physics, Business, Brain Science, Mechanical Engineering	15 April 2024	20,000 - 40,000
#22	University of Edinburgh	Nursing Studies, , Engineering, Socio-cultural Studies, Economics, Accounting, Finance	15 July 2024	24,800- 29,700
#32	University of Manchester	Accounting and Finance, Criminology, Architecture, Law, Mathematics, Petroleum Engineering, Sociology,	19 January 2024	27,000-40,500

Why Study PhD in UK?

PhD graduates from UK universities have a high employability rate, with 82% of them in employment or further study within six months of graduation, Higher Education Statistics Agency.
The UK has some of the world's best universities, and many of these institutions are highly ranked for their PhD programs. According to the QS World University Rankings 2024, the UK has 3 universities in the top ten for graduate employability, and five universities in the top 40 for graduate employability.
The opportunities after studying in UK universities are vast. Almost 87% of the Ph.D. students start working after graduation and earn an average pay of 40,000 GBP- 60,000 GBP (40-60 Lakh INR) per annum.
UK universities offer cutting-edge research facilities and opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration. Students have access to world-class resources and expertise, allowing them to undertake innovative research in their chosen fields.

PhD in UK: Admissions

Depending on the institution and the particular school, the admission requirements for PhD in UK may change, but they typically include academic credentials, English language proficiency, and work experience. In the section below the detailed admission requirements for top universities offering PhD in UK are given.

PhD in UK: Eligibility Criteria

Admission requirements for a PhD in UK can vary depending on the university and the area of research. However, there are some general admission requirements that most universities will require from applicants:

Academic Degree- A first-class or strong upper second-class undergraduate degree with honours in a related field of study.
Minimum GPA- The minimum GPA requirement is 3.7 on a scale of 4.0
English Proficiency Test Score- IELTS: 7.0 or above, TOEFL: 100+.
Statement of Purpose (SOP) - Submit a 5000 word personal statement outlining their academic and professional background, their reasons for applying to the program, and their career aspirations.
Letters of Recommendation (LOR) - Applicants are usually required to provide at least 2-3 academic or professional references.
Research Proposal- A 3000 word research proposal needs to be submitted in the area of research you are applying for.

PhD in UK: Admission Requirements

Following table shows the general admission requirements for getting into a Phd program in the UK universities along with their respective academic requirements and additional document requirements:

Academic Requirement	IELTS Score	Additional Documents
A first-class or strong upper second-class undergraduate degree with honours in a related field of study.	7.5 or above	SOP (maximum 1,000 words), 3 LOR (all academic), Resume, Transcript(s)
A 4-year Bachelor or Master’s with 70% grades may be accepted for entry to Masters or Research.	7.0 or above	SOP, 2 LOR (minimum 1 academic), Resume, Transcript(s)
Professional Bachelor's (at least 4 years) in professional subject from a Well-Ranked Institution with an overall grade of 75% or CGPA 8.0+.	7.0 or above	SOP, 2 LOR (minimum 1 academic), Resume, Transcript(s), Research Proposal
A minimum of a three-year degree and who have obtained First Class at a reputable university or have completed a three-year degree with First Class, and also obtained a master's, both from reputable universities with minimum grade of 70%	7.0 or above	SOP, 2 LOR (all academic), Resume, Transcript(s), 3000 word Research Proposal
a masters degree in a related or relevant subject, and a research proposal	7.0 or above	SOP, 2 LOR (all academic), Resume, Transcript(s), Research Proposal

PhD in UK: Cost of study

United Kingdom is one of the most pursued and sought out countries in the world for international students. The cost of study in UK will include the cost of living and the tuition fees a student is paying for PhD in UK. The cost of study in UK can differ from person to person depending on the university of their choice. The average cost of study in UK ranges from 30,000 GBP to 37,000 GBP (30-37 lakh INR).

PhD in UK: Tuition Fees

A PhD in UK lasts for 3-5 years on a full-time basis depending on the University and the area of research. The following table highlights the annual fees for pursuing PhD in UK universities:

University	Total Tuition Fees (GBP)	Fee for Indian Students (INR)
University of Oxford	25,000 - 30,000	26-31 Lakh
Imperial College London	21,000 - 44,000	22-45 Lakh
University of Cambridge	25,000 - 55,000	26-57 Lakh
University of Manchester	27,000 - 40,500	28-42 Lakh
University of Edinburgh	24,800- 29,700	26-32 Lakh

Cost of Living in UK

The cost of living in UK includes accommodation, food, transportation, healthcare, personal expenses etc. The average cost of living in UK is around 14,000 GBP- 24,000 GBP (14-25 lakh INR) per year.

Likely living costs for 1 month (in GBP)		Likely living costs for 9 months (in GBP)		Likely living costs for 12 months (in GBP)
Lower range	Upper range	Lower range	Upper range	Lower range	Upper range
Food	315	495	2835	4,445	3,780	5,940
Accommodation	745	925	6,705	8,325	8,940	11,100
Personal items	190	320	1,710	2,880	2,280	3,840
Social activities	40	95	360	855	480	1,140
Study costs	35	85	315	765	420	1,020
Other	20	35	180	315	240	420
Total	1,345	1,955	12,105	17,595	16,140	23,460

PhD in UK: Scholarships

If you are planning to study in UK for a PhD you should know that it can become heavy on your pocket. For that reason UK universities provide different scholarships in UK for international students to lighten their burden. Following are some of the scholarships offered to international students who are applying for PhD in UK.

Scholarship	Awarded by (private/government/university)	Eligibility	Award Value
Scott Trust Foundation Bursary	University of London	Need Based	A bursary covering full tuition fees or 5,000 GBP subsistence allowance
Foundation Degree Scholarship	University of Westminster	A household income of £25,000 or below as assessed by the Student Loans Company.	1,500 GBP per year towards maintenance costs or tuition fees up to a maximum of four years.
International PGT Merit Scholarship	University of Leicester	Merit Based	Degree equivalent to a UK high upper second class degree – 3,000 GBP. Or Degree equivalent to a UK first class degree – 5,000 GBP.
University of Edinburgh	School Doctoral Scholarship	Enrolled in Ph.D. in history, classics or archaeology	Course fees (equal to UK/EU rate), 15,009 per year stipend
University of Manchester	Research Impact Ph.D. Scholarship	Enrolled in Ph.D. at Department of Humanities; Research Project related to philanthropic research themes	19,500 per year for 3 years; Additional 1,500 per year

PhD in UK: Job Opportunities

A PhD graduate earns on an average of 40,000 GBP- 60,000 GBP (30-60 Lakh INR) per year in the UK. Most of them go for an academic job especially in the teaching and education sector. According to Prospects UK, over 50% of graduates having PhD in UK are either education or science professionals working in the science and pharmaceutical industry.

Here are some sectors in the where PhD graduates may find job opportunities in UK , along with the percentage of PhD graduates employed in each sector (source: Vitae Researcher Development International):

Higher Education - 37%
Business and Industry: 23%
Government- 16%
Non-profit Organizations- 10%
Self Employed- 5%
Health and Social Care- 5%
Other Sectors- 4%

Here are some average salaries for various job titles in the UK for PhD holders:

Job Title	Average Salary (in GBP)	Average Salary (in INR)
Research Scientist	39,690	41.35 lakhs
Data Scientist	46,474	48.42 lakhs
Postdoctoral Research Associate	36,286	37.80 lakhs
Senior Research Scientist, Biotechnology	41,993	43.75 lakhs
Senior Research Scientist (Unspecified Type)	40,835	42.54 lakhs
Research Associate (Unspecified Type)	36,879	38.42 lakhs
Research Engineer	41,874	43.63 lakhs

Phd in UK: Visa

International students planning to pursue PhD in Uk will require a points-based Student Route visa (previously known as the Tier 4 student visa). To get this visa you must be able to show that you have sufficient money for living costs. The minimum requirements are:

£1,023 per month if your PhD is based outside London
£1,334 per month if your PhD is based in London

A student visa requires 70 points. These are awarded to you as follows:

50 points – for gaining your confirmation of acceptance for studies
10 points – for proving that you have sufficient funds to support yourself during your degree
10 points – for proving you meet the English language requirements

PhD in UK: Work Permit

Provided you are pursuing a full-time PhD in UK, you may work alongside your project or programme, provided you do not: work for more than 20 hours per week, except during any vacations or in the case of an agreed work placement or internship

PhD in UK: ROI

A UK PhD offers a strong ROI as graduates gain advanced skills leading to higher salaries and diverse career opportunities, offsetting initial costs. The prestige of a UK PhD can boost professional credibility, leading to leadership roles and consulting opportunities, further enhancing ROI.

University	Annual Tuition Fees (in GBP)	Average Salary (in GBP)
University of Oxford	27,510 - 31,480	36,000
Imperial College London	21,600 - 44,100	51,000
University of Cambridge	29,826 - 37,458	39,000
University of Manchester	27,000 - 40,500	35,000
University of Edinburgh	23,350 - 28,000	38,000

PhD in UK: Degree Comparison

The following table draws a comparison between PhD in UK vs PhD in USA on the basis of program duration, tuition fees, cost of living, visa, average salary among other parameters.

Parameter	PhD in UK	PhD in USA
Duration	3-5 Years	4-6 Years
Average Annual tuition fees	20,000 GBP- 50,000 GBP (20-50 Lakh INR)	20,000 USD- 50,000 USD (16-41 Lakh INR)
Cost of living (per month)	14,000 GBP (14 lakh INR)	1,800 USD (1.4 lakh INR)
Financial Support	Scholarships, grants, bursaries	Fellowships, assistantships, grants
Visa
Average salary	40,000 GBP- 60,000 GBP (40-60 Lakh INR)	55,000 USD- 75,000 USD (45-61 Lakh INR)
English language proficiency tests	: 7.0 or above TOEFL: 100+	IELTS: 7.0 or above :110+

Pursuing a PhD in the UK can be a great opportunity for students who are looking for world-renowned universities, a multicultural environment, generous funding opportunities, and a shorter duration of the program. UK offers excellent research opportunities, and PhD graduates from UK universities have a high employability rate. After completing your PhD in UK one can work at higher posts in different fields and earn an average annual salary of 40,000 GBP- 60,000 GBP (30-60 Lakh INR).

Ques. How much does a PhD cost in UK?

Ans . The average annual tuition fee for pursuing PhD in UK at the top universities is 20,000 GBP- 50,000 GBP (20-50 Lakh INR) and the average cost of living in UK is around 14,000 GBP (14 lakh INR) per year.

Ques. How long is the PhD in UK?

Ans . PhD in UK, also referred to as a doctorate, is a 3-5 years full-time and 5-6 years part-time degree depending on the University of choice and the area of research.

Ques. Do PhD students get paid in UK?

Ans A stipend is awarded to students planning to pursue Ph.D in the UK. The cost of the stipend varies from university to university. PhD stipends in the UK were set at £16,062 for students outside of London and £18,062 for those within London, reflecting the higher cost of living in the capital.

Ques. What are some of the top universities offering PhD in UK?

Ans . University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Imperial College London, University College London, and University of Edinburgh are some of the top universities offering PhD in UK.

Ques. What are the admission requirements for applying to a PhD in UK?

Ans . The minimum admission requirement for PhD in UK is to have a first-class or strong upper second-class undergraduate degree with honours in a related field of study or a masters degree with a minimum of 70%, IELTS score of 7.0 or above or a TOEFL score of 100+ and while applying for a PhD in UK you will need to submit a research proposal in the field you of research you are applying for.

Ques. What are the career prospects after completing a PhD in the UK?

Ans . Graduates with a PhD from a UK university have diverse career opportunities. While some pursue academic careers as researchers or professors, others find employment in industry, government, or non-profit organizations. The skills acquired during a PhD, such as critical thinking and problem-solving, are highly valued in many sectors.

Ques. Are there funding opportunities available for international students pursuing a PhD in the UK?

Ans . Yes, many UK universities offer scholarships, grants, and funding opportunities for international PhD students. These may cover tuition fees, living expenses, or research costs. Prospective students should research and apply for relevant funding opportunities early in the application process.

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The UK Graduate Route– A Guide for Postgraduate Students

The UK Graduate Route – A Guide for Postgraduate Students

Written by Sarah Hastings-Woodhouse

The UK Graduate Route allows international students to apply for a post-study work (PSW) visa which is valid for at least two years after completing their degree. You don’t need to be in employment to stay in the UK on a graduate visa, and there are no restrictions of the kind of work you can do. This guide will cover everything you need to know about the Graduate Route, including who is eligible and how to apply.

We’ve also written a guide to the UK’s High Potential individual visa , for students who have graduated from some of the world’s top universities.

If you're looking for information about getting a visa to study your Masters in the UK, read our guide covering student visa requirements in the UK .

UK Government immigration update

You might have heard that last week the Migration Advisory Committee released a report indicating that the Graduate Visa is working as intended and should be retained. The Home Office has now announced that no changes will be made to the Graduate Visa right now. However, aspects of the student immigration route are under review and we'll keep you updated on any new announcements. Until then, keep on top of all the recent changes to the UK immigration policy with our blog!

Who can apply for a Graduate visa?

The Graduate Route is open to any international student that has studied an eligible undergraduate or postgraduate course in the UK. As well as Bachelors, Masters and PhD courses, this includes several other qualifications such as the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE), a Law conversion course or a foundation programme in Dentistry or Medicine. You can view a more extensive list on the UK government website .

You’ll also need to have studied in the UK for at least 12 months (if the duration of your course was longer than this). If your course was shorter than 12 months, you’ll need to have remained in the UK for its entire duration .

You’ll need to be in the UK when you submit your application. You’ll also need to hold either Tier 4 visa or a Student Visa (which replaced the Tier 4 visa in 2020).

Should I apply for a Graduate Route visa as an EU student?

EU, EEA and Swiss students can apply for the Graduate Route visa in the same way as other international students.

If you already have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme , you won't need to apply for a PSW via the Graduate Route.

However, the deadline to apply for the EU Settlement Scheme was June 2021 for most students – so you'll likely need to apply for the Graduate Route instead. You can still apply for settled or pre-settled status in very specific circumstances .

How much does the Graduate Visa cost?

You’ll need to pay an application fee of £822 . There is also a healthcare surcharge – equivalent to £1,035 for each year you’ll be in the UK, to be paid upfront when you apply.

You might be able to get a refund for the healthcare surcharge if you end up working for the NHS.

Applying for the Graduate Route visa

To apply for a Graduate Route Visa, you’ll need the following documents:

A valid passport (or other travel document showing your identity and nationality)
Your biometric residence permit (BRP) if you have one. This would have been provided when you applied for your Tier 4 or Student Visa. EU, EEA and Swiss nationals can use their biometric passports to verify their identity in place of a BRP.
Your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) reference number – this should have been sent to you by your university when you were offered a place on your course

If you received funding from a scholarship or sponsorship while studying in the UK, you may need to provide a letter from your funding provider approving your application. You’ll also need to get a certified translation if your documents are in a language other than English or Welsh.

There is no specific deadline for Graduate Route Visa applications, but you’ll need to apply before your student visa expires. When this is will depend on your course. You’ll be able to find out by checking you Confirmation of Studies (CAS), or by asking your university.

Once you’ve gathered the necessary documents, you can submit your application online. It may take up to eight weeks for you application to be approved.

Accessing your visa

If your application is successful, you’ll be issued with a digital eVisa, which you can view online via the government’s View and Prove service . This can also be accessed on your tablet or mobile device. This will allow you to prove your immigration status to employers, landlords or education providers.

If you want to stay in the UK longer than the two-year period covered by the Graduate Route Visa, you’ll need to apply for a different visa once it expires. This will most likely be the Skilled Worker visa .

Unlike the Graduate Route Visa, a Skilled Worker visa does require applicants to have an offer of employment with a minimum skill and salary level – but you’ll be able to use your time on the Graduate Route to work towards this.

For more information about the Graduate Route Visa, visit the official UK government website . You can also find out more about studying and living in the UK as an international student in our study in UK section .

Search for a PhD

Ready to start looking for your ideal programme? Browse and compare PhD programmes in the UK on FindAMasters.com.

Like hearing about postgraduate funding changes?

So do we it really helps when we're putting together our free weekly newsletter..

The seven UK Research Councils provide government studentships for PhD research in different subject areas. Our simple guide explains how this funding works, what you can get and how to apply successfully.

You may be able to get a PhD loan of up to £27,892 for a UK doctorate. Our guide explains eligibility, applications and repayments.

Our guide explains the best ways to fund international PhD study in the UK, with information on all the main scholarships available to you.

Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs) or Doctoral Training Centres (DTCs) provide UK Research Council funded PhD studentships to postgraduate students

The Turing Scheme recently replaced the Erasmus programme, but is it any different? Let’s examine the Turing Scheme vs Erasmus debate in detail.

Postgraduate students in the UK are not eligible for the same funding as undergraduates or the free-hours entitlement for workers. So, what childcare support are postgraduate students eligible for?

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The Cost of a Masters – How Much is a Masters Degree in the UK?

How Much Does a Masters Degree Cost in the UK in 2024?

Written by Mark Bennett

Masters costs in the UK can vary anywhere between £4,000 to £22,000 depending on your nationality. For home students, the average cost of a Masters degree in the UK is £8,740 . Masters fee for international students is usually much higher at around £17,109 . Postgraduate fees also depends on the course where Business courses cost more than classroom-based Masters.

This page is here to help you understand how much a Masters degree is in the UK. We've brought together detailed information on typical fees for different types of Masters degrees across the UK, indicating the cheapest type of Masters. We've also summarised some of the other expenses you may have to budget for as a postgraduate.

Knowing how much you’ll have to pay in tuition fees for postgraduate study will make your search for funding more effective – and help you budget during your course.

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How much is a Masters degree in the UK?

Postgraduate courses in the UK are normally cheaper, per year, than undergraduate courses.

Whereas a typical UK Bachelors degree can cost up to £9,250, average cost of a Masters degree in the UK is £8,740 . There's a bit more you need to know to properly understand how postgraduate fees work.

How postgraduate fees work

Unlike undergraduate degree fees, which are subject to a cap, the costs for Masters programmes in the UK are set by universities themselves.

This means that degrees in the same subject can cost more or less than others. There are also different types of Masters degree and the costs for these differ too.

The following table displays average fees for different types of postgraduate course in the UK.

Average UK Masters degree fees
Type	E.g.	UK	International
Classroom	(Arts / Social Sciences)	£8,740	£17,109
Laboratory	(Science / Engineering)	£10,306	£20,167
Research	/	£4,000+	£10,000+
Business		£19,722	£21,435

* Based on the 2021-22 Reddin Survey of UK postgraduate fees , published by the Complete University Guide , as well as additional research and calculation by FindAMasters. Figures given are broad averages only and will not necessarily reflect fees for specific courses.

As you can see, fees vary for different types of degrees, broadly reflecting how expensive they are to run (a Masters in English or History doesn't require the same facilities and consumable resources as one in Chemistry or Engineering).

Generally speaking, a classroom-based, taught programme like an MA will be the cheapest Masters degree on offer.

You'll also notice that average cost for international students in the UK is £17,109 (nearly twice as much as the tuition fees for a domestic student).

One final thing to bear in mind is that, because they aren't capped, UK postgraduate fees tend to rise slightly with inflation each year. That actually means that your fees can sometimes go up a little in the second year of a two-year Masters (though most full-time UK Masters degrees are one-year long).

Fees in different parts of the UK

The cost of a Masters also varies quite a bit across the UK, partly due to differences in the way universities (and students) are funded.

Here's a quick comparison of average classroom-based taught Masters fees in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. We've also included the maximum postgraduate loan available to students 'from' each country, as a handy reference.

Masters fees in different parts of the UK
Country	Average fees	Max Postgraduate loan
England	£9,026
Scotland	£7,044
Wales	£7,480
Northern Ireland	£6,570

As you can see, Northern Ireland is the cheapest place to study a Masters in the UK. Do bear in mind that this average is only taken from two different universities, however!

Remember, these are only representative averages. It isn't always true that a Masters in Scotland is cheaper than one in England, for example. Postgraduate loans are also portable (you don't have to study your Masters in the country you get a loan from).

Fees for other postgraduate courses

Not all Masters-level courses award a full Masters degree. Shorter courses leading to a Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert) or Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) are often cheaper.

You can generally expect fees for a Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert) to be around a third to a half of those for an equivalent Masters. Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) courses will be more expensive, but still cheaper than a full Masters.

How much is a Masters in the UK for EU students

Following Brexit, the majority of EU citizens will now count as international students and pay higher fees for a UK Masters. There are some exceptions for students from Ireland and for EU nationals who were already settled or settling in the UK prior to 30 June 2021. Our guide to UK Masters funding for EU students has more detail and will help you find out if you’re classified as an international student.

Masters funding in the UK

Costs of a Masters degree may vary, but most students are eligible for a wide variety of funding opportunities.

These range from the UK government's postgraduate loans loans to charitable grants and bursaries . You can find out more about financial support and funding options in our guides to UK Masters funding .

Postgraduate living costs

Tuition fees aren’t the only thing you’ll need to take into account when calculating how much a Masters degree will cost. Living costs should be an important consideration – accommodation, food and entertainment will likely eat up a large chunk of your finances for the duration of your course.

Our guide to postgraduate living costs in the UK will give you an idea of what expenses you may encounter during your Masters, calculating average monthly budgets across a range of UK university towns and cities.

If you’re considering a Masters in Europe, we’ve put together a full guide to European Masters fees and living costs . Rounding up average postgraduate tuition fees in a range of European study abroad destinations, the page will help you work out which country could be the cheapest option for your Masters.

Masters funding and costs around the world

Interested in finding out how much Masters cost around the world? Read our dedicated guides to know more about Masters in popular destinations like Canada , the States , Germany and more.

Health insurance

You won’t normally need extra health insurance to study a Masters in your home country. Instead you’ll be covered by any existing public or private healthcare. Or you may not need a policy at all.

The situation is likely to be different if you’re studying abroad though.

Unless you’re part of a reciprocal scheme such as the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) you’ll probably need to purchase insurance to cover you during your Masters.

Basic insurance won’t usually be too expensive. Your university may provide extra details, or even be able to sell you a suitable policy.

Most countries charge a fee for processing your visa application and issuing the required documents.

Needless to say, you’ll only need to pay visa fees if you’re studying abroad. But studying abroad won’t necessarily mean that you have to pay visa fees. Some groups of countries (such as the European Union) don’t require student visas for their members’ citizens.

Our guides to postgraduate study abroad provide information on student visa requirements and costs in different countries, including popular destinations like the UK and USA .

Application fees

Some universities charge a small amount to process Masters applications . Others accept students through postgraduate application portals that charge their own administrative fees.

This won’t always be the case. In the UK, for example, there is no centralised system for postgraduate admissions and most universities don’t charge application fees for Masters degrees.

Your university will be able to provide detailed information about any administrative fees it charges. Our guides to Masters study abroad also explain postgraduate application fees in specific countries.

Admissions tests

Some courses require students to complete graduate admissions tests in order to gain a place on their Masters programmes.

These are separate to standard admissions fees: they cover the cost of sitting the test and receiving a score, not the cost of processing your overall application. Fees vary depending on the test you’re taking.

The most widely accepted admissions tests for Masters study are the GRE (Graduate Records Examination) and the GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test).

Both are more common in the USA than elsewhere, but universities in other countries may use them. The GMAT, in particular, is popular with prestigious business schools assessing applicants to their MBA programmes.

Language tests

If you’re studying abroad in a second language, you may need to submit a score from a recognised language test.

This won’t always be the case: existing experience studying in a language will usually suffice instead of a test score. So will other relevant evidence of your language skills (such as having lived and worked abroad).

However, studying at postgraduate level may sometimes require a more advanced test or higher score than would be requested for an undergraduate degree. Check with your university if in doubt.

Different countries have their own preferred language tests, though many universities will accept more than one. See our guides to international language tests for postgraduate study, for more information.

Travel costs are easy to overlook, but they can add up quickly. Unless you’re living in university accommodation you’ll need a way of getting to and from your postgraduate classes.

It’s a good idea to look at typical costs for busses, trams or trains in your university city and factor these expenses into your budgeting.

And remember: if you’re studying abroad you’ll also need to travel to your destination country – and be able to get home once you’ve finished your Masters.

Once you know how much a Masters is likely to cost, the next thing to do is work out how you'll meet that cost! Our guides to postgraduate funding can help.

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When you’re making plans for Masters study, one of the most important factors to take into account is how much you’ll end up paying during your programme.

Wondering how much you'll need to study in Australia? We look at the key costs for a student in Australia including tuition fees, visas and a comparision to the USA.

Read our complete comparison of 2023 Masters fees and student living costs in different European countries.

These are some of the living costs you’re likely to encounter in the UK’s major university cities while studying a Masters, including average accommodation prices.

Fees for international postgraduates in the UK vary, but are usually higher than those for domestic students. Our guide helps explain what rate you’ll pay and looks at the typical cost of a Masters for overseas students.

Worried about money management? Some postgraduate students share how they managed their finances.

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IMAGES

How Much Does A Phd Cost
How Much Does a PhD Cost in the UK?
How to Find PhD Funding in the UK
How Much Do PhD Students Get Paid In The UK?
How much does a PhD cost?
How much does a PhD cost in Australia?

COMMENTS

Get a studentship to fund your doctorate
Our expectations for research organisations, supervisors and students are set out in the statement of expectations for doctoral training. You could get: a minimum stipend of £19,237 per year for your living costs, which is paid to you in regular instalments. support for your tuition fees (minimum £4,786 per year)
PhD Salary in UK
The average cost of undertaking a PhD in the UK is approximately £20,000 per academic year for UK students and £40,000 for international students. To help offset the cost of this, many students question whether undertaking a doctorate comes with a PhD salary. The salary of a PhD student is governed by three factors: whether they're ...
How Much Does a PhD Cost in the UK?
UK Fees. For UK 'home' students, the tuition fee for a PhD varies between £3,000 to £6,000 per academic year. For 2023/24 programmes, most universities opt for £4,712 per year within this range. Although this number may seem a little odd, it's commonly adopted due to being the indicative rate set by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI ...
Get PhD funding in 2024
Full studentship - These add a non-repayable, tax-free maintenance grant known as a 'stipend'. In 2024/25, this is worth a minimum of £19,237 and it can be used towards living costs - see UKRI - Find studentships and Doctoral training. For example, at The University of Manchester, the School of Social Sciences PhD studentship includes tuition ...
Doctoral Loan: Overview
A Postgraduate Doctoral Loan can help with course fees and living costs while you study a postgraduate doctoral course, such as a PhD. There's different funding if you normally live in Wales ...
PhD Funding
The seven Research Councils invest in the region of £380 million into doctorate research every year. However, funding is made available through the participating universities rather than the research councils themselves. Universities set up Doctoral Training Partnerships (DTPs) or Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs) in order to receive funding.
Funded PhD research programmes 2025 UK
The funding for the PhD usually covers the full fee and a stipend at the UKRI rate plus an allowance of £1,500 per year for researcher training for three years (or part-time equivalent). Successful candidates benefit from expert supervisory teams, a programme of postgraduate researcher development workshops and membership of specialist ...
Funding a PhD
Get the latest advice about how PhD Loans work in the UK and how you may be eligible for a loan of up to £28,673 to fund your PhD programme. PhD Studentships Learn more about how PhD Studentships work in the UK and how you may be eligible for £15,609 towards funding your PhD programme.
PhD funding : Fees and funding : Study with us : University of Sussex
PhD loans. You may be eligible for a PhD loan of up to £28,673. Read more about PhD loans.. The Alternative Guide to Postgraduate Funding. The University also subscribes to the The Alternative Guide to Postgraduate Funding Online.The Guide contains a huge database of funding opportunities, comprehensive guidance written by successful applicants, and numerous tools to help you prepare a ...
PhD Fees and Funding
You can apply for a government loan to cover your fees. Doctoral loans are not means tested and you can decide how much you want to borrow. Find out about doctoral loans on GOV.UK. Apply for funding from a charity. You may be able to win funding from 1 or more organisations to help fund your PhD or research degree. Learn about charity funding ...
Funding for postgraduate study
If you're starting a master's degree, you could get a Postgraduate Master's Loan to help with course fees and living costs. You can get up to: £12,471 if your course starts on or after 1 ...
A Simple Introduction to PhD Funding
Living costs and expenses are usually the biggest challenge - PhD fees are quite low (at least compared to other degrees) and might be as little as £4,000-5,000. There's more to the cost of a PhD than fees though. You've got to support yourself for several years of research (see above). This is actually where funding is most important.
How to Apply for PhD Funding
Tip 1 - Work out how much funding you definitely need. The first step in applying for funding should be to work out the rough cost of your PhD. Fees will be similar for most PhDs in the UK, but living costs and other expenses will depend on your subject and circumstances.
PhD funding
Research council PhD studentships. Research Council-funded PhD studentships generally pay your tuition fees (usually in the region of £4,500 to £5,000 per year) as well as providing a generous living allowance (approximately £17,668 per year) enabling you to concentrate fully on your research full-time.
PhD Fees in the UK for International Students
If funding isn't attached to a PhD project, you can use platforms such as FindAPhD to browse all the current projects offering funding to international students. To broaden your search, you can also use the search bar to sift through your different options. At the time of writing, FindAPhD has over 4,000 PhD projects and scholarships in the UK.
PhD programme: fees and funding
If you are applying for ESRC funding, you must also submit your PhD application by Thursday 2nd January 2025 23.59 GMT British Society for the Philosophy of Science The British Society for the Philosophy of Science offers scholarships for doctoral work in the philosophy of science at a UK university.
How to Fund a PhD in the UK if You Can't Afford to Do it Yourself
Consider taking out a postgraduate loan. If you're from the EU or the UK, you're eligible to take out a PhD loan of up to £25,000 from the UK government. Repayments are 6% of your annual income when it reaches £21,000. You would get £8,300 a year on average if your PhD takes three years, less if it takes longer.
How to Get PhD Funding
In the UK, being a self-funded PhD student can be an expensive undertaking, with an annual tuition bill of approximately £3,000 to £6,000 (about US$3,800-7,670) for domestic students and up to £18,000 ($23,000) for international students for the first three years. In the US, the price tag for a PhD is even higher, ranging from US$28,000 to ...
PhD Loans for Doctoral Students
You can borrow a PhD loan of up to £29,390 from Student Finance England for 2024-25 study or £28,655 from Student Finance Wales. All of the money is paid directly to your bank account. You can use it for PhD fees, research expenses, maintenance or other costs. Doctoral loans aren't based on household income or means tested, so the amount you ...
PhD Salary UK: How Much Do PhD Students Get Paid Compared to Graduates?
Earnings from £12,571 up to £50,270 fall into the basic rate bracket of 20% tax. PhD Student Salary: PhD stipends are tax free and incur no income tax or national insurance contributions. Remaining stipend: £19,622. Professional Salary: On £30,000 you'd pay £ 3486 in income tax and NI contributions of £2004.
Why is it so hard to get PhD funding in the UK for international
In general, it's fairly difficult to get a funded PhD position in the UK, if you're an international student. An international grad student in the UK has essentially a few options, such as: (1) ultra-prestigious scholarships like the Rhodes scholarship, (2) external funding, e.g. from industry or their home country's government (this is common ...
Postgraduate research funding at The University of Manchester
Funding. The University of Manchester is committed to supporting postgraduate research students. Each year we invest substantially in doctoral funding. In addition to these internal funds the University is highly successful in attracting sponsorship for research students, particularly from the research councils, industry, trusts and charities.
PhD in UK: Fees 2024, Top Colleges, Placement and Salaries
The estimated average total tuition fee for pursuing PhD in UK is 20,000 GBP- 50,000 GBP (20-50 Lakh INR). Check out top universities offering PhD in UK. ... Yes, many UK universities offer scholarships, grants, and funding opportunities for international PhD students. These may cover tuition fees, living expenses, or research costs. ...
The UK Graduate Route
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How Much Does a Masters Cost in the UK in 2024? Find Out!
Masters costs in the UK can vary anywhere between £4,000 to £22,000 depending on your nationality. For home students, the average cost of a Masters degree in the UK is £8,740.Masters fee for international students is usually much higher at around £17,109.Postgraduate fees also depends on the course where Business courses cost more than classroom-based Masters.
Paris 2024: Team GB Olympic medal winners
How much funding did Team GB get from UK Sport? Money talks. UK Sport awarded £245,837,685 of funding for the Paris Olympic cycle. It means each GB medal cost, on average, £3,782,118.

Studentships and doctoral training

Additional support for your doctoral studies

Extra support if you have a disability

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How to find opportunities

When to apply

How to apply

PhD studentships

Who awards PhD studentships?

How much can I receive?

Is my programme eligible for a PhD studentship?

Am I eligible?

How do I apply for a PhD studentship?

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PhD Funding – A Checklist of Possible Sources

Research Councils

Academic institutions

Commercial and charitable organisations

Self-funding

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Funded PhD research programmes 2025 UK

What UK PhD studentships are available ?

How do I apply for a PhD studentship?

What does PhD funding include?

How do I increase my chances of getting a PhD studentship?

Can I get PhD funding at the University of Brighton?

Insitutions and funding bodies for PhD study

Worldwide international funding schemes for PhD research

The Gen Foundation

The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN)

The Open Society Foundations

International Education and Financial Aid

The Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds

Resource sites for international PhD research funding

ScholarshipTab

International Education and Financial Aid (IEFA)

The European Funding Guide

The Americas: Postgraduate doctorate funding from institutions and bodies to study in the UK

Asia: Postgraduate doctorate funding from Asian institutions and bodies to study in the UK

Europe: Postgraduate doctorate funding from European institutions and bodies to study in the UK

Australia: funding for PhD study in the UK

Africa: funding for PhD study in the UK

Funding a PhD

Key Resources

Guide to NERC PhD Funding

Guide to EPSRC PhD Funding

Guide to BBSRC PhD Funding

Guide to STFC PhD Funding

PhD Loans – 2023 Guide for Doctoral Students

PhD Studentships

How Much Does a PhD Cost in the UK?

Supporting Resources

How To Get A Marie Curie Fellowship – A Complete Guide

Bench Fees: A Short Guide

PhD Salary in UK – Explained

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PhD funding

Find PhD funding and scholarships

Other PhD funding sources

PhD funding sources for international students

Doctoral training centres and partnerships

The Alternative Guide to Postgraduate Funding

Our Doctoral Training Centres and Partnerships

Sussex PhD funding partners

Ways to pay for your research, training and living costs

You might also be interested in:

Funded projects

Fees paid plus a living allowance

Fees paid with no living allowance

Projects advertised with no funding yet

Doctoral training partnerships and integrated PhDs

Funding your own project

Take out a doctoral loan

Apply for funding from a charity

Get advice on funding your PhD