Recommended Resources to Help with Funding Your PhD

Attracting funds for your PhD degree can sometimes prove more difficult than actually writing the PhD thesis, at least for some students. Essentially, the funding for a PhD, which can include fees and living expenses, can be generated from a variety of sources.

If you are looking for help funding your PhD studies, here are some options for you to explore.

What PhD Funding Options are there?

Sources of funding include:

• Research Councils,
• charities,
• funding bodies,
• overseas governments and
• even the European Union initiatives.

In addition, funding can also be generated from the universities’ accounts in the form of financial aid. Some students may be funded by their employer, and others may take out a loan to finance their PhD.

Interestingly, one-third of doctoral degrees are completely self-funded by the students themselves, whereas 21% of the doctoral degrees are funded by the Universities and 15% are funded by the Research Councils.

In some universities, additional funds are also generated from national Higher Education funding bodies. Including the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) to cover the cost of supervising the doctorates.

Alternative Funding Options for Home and Commonwealth Students

More recently, the UK have introduced doctoral student loans to ease the pressure on candidates. It’s important to note that the main sources of public funding for PhD, namely Research Council studentships and doctoral student loans, are not available to non-European Union students.

However, for international students, various forms of scholarships and loans are available. The Commonwealth Scholarship is a flagship scheme built under the aegis of the UK Department for Education (DFE) and Department for International Development (DFID) and supported by a strong alumni network.

The Commonwealth Scholarships include PhD scholarships for students residing in high-income countries, students residing in low and middle-income countries, and separate split-site scholarships for high-income and low and middle-income countries.

The Newton Fund incorporates two PhD funding schemes, including Newton PhD Scholarships and Newton PhD Placements for full-time candidates and one-year candidates from a select list of countries, respectively.

The Saltire Scholarship provides assistance to candidates from Canada, the USA, China, India, and Pakistan. Their financial aid extends up to £4,000 towards the PhD, given that the candidate is pursuing their PhD from Scotland.

Country-Specific PhD Funding Options

Apart from the mentioned corpora, various country-specific PhD funds are also allocated, such as:

• Endeavour Postgraduate Scholarships and Australia Day Foundation Trust for Australian candidates
• Canadian Centennial Scholarship Fund for Canadian candidates
• GREAT Scholarships, China-Oxford Scholarship Fund, BAFTA Scholarships, and China Scholarship Council for Chinese candidates
• Hong Kong Jockey Club Scholarships for Hong Kong candidates
• GREAT Scholarships and Felix Scholarships for Indian candidates
• Kenneth Lindsay Scholarship Trust and Anglo-Jewish Association Karten Scholarship for Israel candidates
• Ministry of Higher Education Scholarships for Kuwaiti candidates
• Global Education Program (GEP) for Russian candidates, Marshall Scholarships and Fulbright Postgraduate Awards for US candidates.

Trusts and Organisations Offering PhD Funding

Some international trusts and organisations can provide PhD funding. These include:

• The Leverhulme Trust
• The Wellcome Trust
• The British Heart Foundation
• The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
• The Rhodes Trust
• Article 26 of Helena Kennedy Foundation

In addition, various specialist services can be availed to delineate various funding sources.

Get Help Applying for PhD Funding

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