Research Council Awards for UK and European Union Students
Studentship Funding
The Research Councils are the public bodies charged with investing UK tax payer’s money in science and research to advance knowledge and generate new ideas which can be used to create wealth and drive improvements in quality of life.
The University of St Andrews funds more than 275 students each year through Doctoral training awards from seven Research Councils:
Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
Medical Research Council (MRC)
Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)
Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
All the Research Council studentships listed require the students to meet UK residency requirements for a full fees and stipend studentship award, all EU students are eligible for a fees only award and EU students who meet the residency requirements may also be entitled to a full fees and stipend award.
The Research Councils Strategy Unit (RCUK) set the fee and stipend rate each year for all the Research Councils, the current annual stipend rate for 2010/11 is £13,590. However this is a minimum and some of the Research Councils offer enhanced stipend rates and up to 4 years funding for targeted areas of research. Most of the Research Councils offer a small annual supplement towards travel, fieldwork and other research specific costs (called RTSG), this varies depending on the Research Council so please read the terms and conditions specific to the award as some may require these additional costs to be claimed and/or receipts provided before payment is made.
Stipend payments are made monthly in advance at the start of each month provided you are fully registered and have nominated a valid UK bank account via your student e-vision portal.
If your fees are covered by any of the research councils listed below then you will need to specify this at matriculation so your fees are charged correctly to the Research Council and not to you.
Prospective students or current award holders of a Research Council studentship can contact the Finance Advice and Support team with any related queries.
Current funding available:
Schools are accepting applications for all Research Council Funding at this time. Please see the Research Council page listed for details or contact the Director of Postgraduate Studies in the relevant school.