How to fund your PhD

Funding bodies support postgraduate research students in different ways; some will pay programme fees and also a stipend (i.e. often a tax free fixed sum of money to cover your living costs and expenses), some will only pay programme fees and others simply make a one-off award of some kind. Each funding body will have its own criteria for eligibility.

Research councils - UK students

Research Councils are funded by the Government and invest £3 billion in academic research each year.

There are seven Research Councils in the UK:

• 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)

Each year, the Research Councils allocate around 6,000 training grants, commonly known as studentships, to selected universities and departments. Please note, the Research Councils don't fund postgraduate students directly.

Researchers funded by the UK Research Councils or other research funders, such as the Wellcome Trust, are likely to experience a structured doctoral training programme. The main structured doctoral programmes in the UK are Doctoral Training Partnerships (DTP), which usually involve a consortium of institutions and research institutions, and Centres for Doctoral Training (CDT), which are focused on a particular research area, often located within one institution.

The UK Research Councils normally fund UK students. If you're an EU or international student see our section on 'Research councils - EU and International students'.

Research councils/ Government Sponsorship - EU and International students

Funding may be available for EU students through research council-funded Doctoral Training Partnerships.  See the guidance offered by each partnership for more information.  EU and international students can also look for funding through a Research Council in the country you normally reside in, or your local (or nearest) office of the British Council.

Studentships/Doctoral Training Partnerships at Liverpool

The University of Liverpool continues to be successful in securing funding from a variety of research councils for Centres for Doctoral Training (CDT or DTC) and Doctoral Training Partnerships (DTP) ensuring access to this increasingly influential model for providing postgraduate research studentships.

These initiatives provide researchers with the skillsets required to tackle both current and future challenges as part of supportive and innovative interdisciplinary environments.

Trusts and charities

A large number of charities and trust funds offer funding to students at university level, some of which is available to intending postgraduate students, and some to students who have already started their course (this is more common for PhDs and other doctoral study).

Funding is usually awarded on the basis of two main criteria: either academic excellence, economic hardship, or both. Individual charities may well have additional criteria which relates to the work of the charity itself, and there are sometimes other strict eligibility requirements based on subject or place of residence. The funds provided normally relate to the amount of money a particular charity or trust may have, and can vary in amount from a few hundred pounds to several thousand. They are frequently intended to be partial funding only, so you may find you need to apply to more than one source if you need funds to cover all your study.

You can fund your postgraduate research yourself if you have access to funds such as personal savings. Other ways to help fund your research working alongside your studies, tutoring, and helping undergraduate students by becoming a residential advisor.

Part-time tutoring

Postgraduate research students occasionally supplement their main source of support (within limits set by the Research Councils or other funding sources) by earning payments from the University. Responsibilities can include:

• Teaching and demonstrating work in the departments (for up-to 15 hours a week)
• Exam invigilation
• Administrative duties

Speak to your supervisor to find out what opportunities are available.

Residential Adviser opportunities

By becoming one of our Residential Advisers you can save a minimum of £4750 per year on accommodation, which can be used towards other costs relating to your studies. These important roles involve you providing support and guidance to our undergraduate students, including those living in our brand new £50 million Crown Place at the heart of the Liverpool Campus. This support could involve dealing with anything from lost keys or illness to well being concerns or news of a family bereavement.

We will provide you with the necessary training and you will have 24/7 back-up from our professional student support teams. In return we can offer you accommodation at a reduced rate as well as the opportunity to gain some valuable experience to benefit your future career.  Find out more about becoming a residential adviser.

Grants, bursaries and scholarships may cover all or part of your fees or provide you with contributions towards your living expenses and other costs such as travel and equipment.

Obtaining employee sponsorship can be highly mutually beneficial for both you and the company involved in the arrangement, as it can give financial support throughout the period of study, while at the same time ensuring that meaningful, relevant research is being carried out for the company.

We recommend that you approach your line manager, HR or Training and Development team with a proposal of how postgraduate research can improve your skill set and benefit the organisation.  If your proposal is approved then you will then need to agree the terms and conditions of the sponsorship including the amount they are willing to sponsor you, working and study hours, the amount of time to complete the research and any allowance for learning materials. 

We then recommend you contact us with the proposal you have agreed with your organisation.  

The Government Postgraduate Doctoral Loan of up to £28,673 (if your course starts on or after 1 August 2023) can help with course fees and living costs while you study a postgraduate doctoral course.  The amount you’ll get isn’t based on you or your family’s income.

The loan is paid directly to you and you will receive the first payment after your course start date, once your University registration has been confirmed. The loan will be divided equally across each year of your course.

Apply now for a 2023 loan!

Eligibility

Your course can be full-time or part-time. It can be taught or research-based, or a combination of both.

You must be under 60 on the first day of the first academic year of your course.

You will not be able to get a Postgraduate Doctoral Loan if:

• you’ve received or will receive Research Council funding (for example, studentships, stipends, scholarships and tuition fee support)
• you’re already getting a social work bursary
• you’re already getting an Educational Psychology bursary and your course starts on or after 1 August 2020
• you’re eligible to apply for an NHS bursary (even if you’re not receiving it)
• you’re already getting payments from Student Finance England for another course that you’re studying
• you’ve received a Postgraduate Doctoral Loan before - unless you left your course due to illness, bereavement or another serious personal reason
• you already have a doctoral degree, or a qualification that’s equivalent or higher
• you’re receiving a doctorate by publication
• you’re behind in repayments for any previous loans from the Student Loans Company

Your course must:

• be a full, standalone doctoral course (not a top-up course)
• have started on or after 1 August 2018
• last between 3 to 8 academic years
• be provided by a university in the UK with research degree awarding powers

If more than one university delivers your course and one is overseas, you’ll still be eligible for the Postgraduate Doctoral Loan so long as:

• the UK university is the lead institution
• you spend at least 50% of your study time over the whole course in the UK

Intergrated doctorals

You can apply for a loan if your doctoral programme includes an integrated master’s degree (even if you already have a master’s degree).

You must register for a full doctoral degree.

You will not be able to apply for a separate Postgraduate Master’s Loan.

Distance Learning

To qualify for a Postgraduate Doctoral Loan for distance learning, you’ll need to be living in England on the first day of the first academic year of your course.

You’ll also need to live in:

• England for the whole of your course, if you’re an EU national
• the UK for the whole of your course, if you’re not an EU national

This usually does not apply if you’re:

• serving in the armed forces
• a spouse or civil partner of a serving member of the armed forces
• a dependent parent living with a serving member of the armed forces

Your age

You must be under 60 on the first day of the first academic year of your course.

The academic year is a period of 12 months starting on:

• 1 September, if your course starts between 1 August and 31 December
• 1 January, if your course starts between 1 January and 31 March
• 1 April, if your course starts between 1 April and 30 June
• 1 July, if your course starts between 1 July and 31 July

Your nationality or residency status

You can apply for the Postgraduate Doctoral Loan if all of the following are true:

You can apply for the Postgraduate Doctoral Loan if all of the following are true:

• you’re a UK national or Irish citizen or have settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme or indefinite leave to remain so there are no restrictions on how long you can stay
• you normally live in England
• you’ve been living in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for 3 years in a row before the first day of the first academic year of your course (apart from temporary absences such as holidays)

If you’ve been living in Ireland or a British overseas territory, you do not need to normally live in England. You can apply for the loan if you attend your course in England or do distance learning in England.

You might also be eligible if you’re a UK national (or family member of a UK national) and you’ve been living in the UK, the EU, Gibraltar, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein for the past 3 years. To be eligible, you must have either:

• returned to the UK on or after 1 January 2018 and by 31 December 2020 after living in the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein
• been living in the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein on 31 December 2020

If you’re an EU national or a family member of an EU national

You may be eligible if you’re an EU national, or a family member of an EU national, and all the following apply:

• you have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme (no restrictions on how long you can stay)
• you’ve normally lived in the UK, the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Switzerland or overseas territories for the past 3 years (this is also known as being ‘ordinarily resident’)
• you’ll be studying at a university in England

You could also be eligible if you’re:

• the child of a Swiss national and you and your parent have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme
• a migrant worker from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein with pre-settled status, or a family member of a migrant worker where both have settled or pre-settled status
• a resident of Gibraltar who is a UK or EU national, or their family member
• an EU national and have pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme and lived in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for the past 3 years

Student finance for EU, Swiss, Norwegian, Icelandic or Liechtenstein nationals from August 2021

If you started a course on or after 1 August 2021, you usually need to have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme to get student finance.

You need to have started living in the UK by 31 December 2020 to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme. The deadline to apply was 30 June 2021. If you’re joining family members in the UK who have settled status, you can apply for student finance before you have been granted pre-settled status.

Irish citizens do not need to apply for a visa or to the EU Settlement Scheme. They can apply to the EU Settlement Scheme if they wish to - for example, to apply on behalf of a child.

If you have a different residency status

You may also be eligible if your residency status is one of the following:

• refugee (including family members)
• humanitarian protection (including family members)
• child of a Turkish worker who has permission to stay in the UK - you and your Turkish worker parent must have been living in the UK by 31 December 2020
• a stateless person (including family members)
• an unaccompanied child granted ‘Section 67 leave’ under the Dubs Amendment
• a child who is under the protection of someone granted ‘Section 67 leave’, who is also allowed to stay in the UK for the same period of time as the person responsible for them (known as ‘leave in line’)
• granted ‘Calais leave’ to remain
• a child of someone granted ‘Calais leave’ to remain, who is also allowed to stay in the UK for the same period of time as their parent (known as ‘leave in line’)
• you’ve been given settled status but not under the EU Settlement Scheme
• you’ve been given indefinite leave to remain because you’ve been the victim of domestic violence
• you’ve been granted indefinite leave to remain as a bereaved partner
• you or your family member have been granted leave under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) or the Afghan Citizen’s Resettlement Scheme (ACRS)
• you or your family member have been granted leave to enter or remain in the UK under the Ukraine Family Scheme, the Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme or the Ukraine Extension Scheme

If you’re a non-UK national and have lived in the UK for a certain number of years

You could also be eligible if you’re not a UK national and are either:

• under 18 and have lived in the UK for at least 7 years
• 18 or over and have lived in the UK for at least 20 years (or at least half of your life)

You must have been living in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for 3 years in a row before the first day of the first academic year of your course.

For further information, please visit the GOV.UK guide on Doctoral Loans.