Universities and Colleges of Higher Education are one of the key sources of PhD , Masters and other postgraduate studentships, scholarships, and bursaries for postgraduate students. They make funds available via four main routes:
1. Funds from Research Councils that provide studentships for both masters and PhD students under specific schemes and courses (see above). These are usually advertised by the institution concerned, and the involvement of the Research Council is acknowledged.
2. Funds that individual Institutions, Faculties, Departments or Groups set aside specifically to develop their postgraduate capacities through attracting high quality Masters and PhD students. These may be part-funded studentships, where the student is expected to make up the shortfall. They may have subject, residence, country of origin or qualification eligibility requirements and/or they may only apply to specific courses. These opportunities are advertised by the institution concerned.
3. Named awards that are the result of gifts and endowments made by alumni or other individuals to that Institution, to be used for specific courses or research studentships. These again may have strict eligibility requirements and may be only partial funding. Many of these are available annually, although some are 'one-off' funding.
4. Hardship funds: the UK government makes funds available to HEIs to support students with specific financial difficulties. Each institution will have different eligibility requirements, and you should consult them individually, but most make some funds available to postgraduate students. Even if they appear to be available only to students experiencing hardship once they have arrived, you can usually contact the Student Finance office before applying to find out under what circumstances funds may be available for your PhD , Masters or other postgraduate course. You are strongly advised not to rely on this type of funding becoming available once you have started your course. These funds are generally available only to UK/EU students, although some institutions may have Hardship funds available for some overseas students also.
