Funding a research degree can be difficult. Support is available but it varies widely depending on discipline, institution, and many other factors.
The kind of funding available varies too: a full studentship, such as those offered by the research council, consists of the payment of fees plus a stipend to cover living costs, whereas partial funding for PhD study through fee waivers means that your fees will be paid throughout your degree, but there will be no funds for living costs.
Most funders, including universities, follow the level of stipend set each year by the research councils, so it’s worth checking their website to find out what the level is when you apply.
There are also other funding options available from charities and businesses, alongside alumni discounts. We've listed the main sources for funding below.
Research council funding
The seven research councils under the umbrella of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) offer funding for research degrees. You can find out more on the UKRI website.
Funding from the research councils does not go directly to the student, instead the research councils fund PhD study through a number of Doctoral Training Partnerships (DTPs) and Doctoral Training Centres (DTCs). These tend to be a group of universities based in particular locations. The AHRC-funded Techne DTP which Westminster is part of, for example, consists of nine universities in and around London.
Many DTPs advertise in the autumn for studentships which will begin a year later. Most advertise on jobs.ac.uk and findaphd.com. For most, you will have to apply to one of the universities in the DTP first, and then the university will decide whether they want to put you through to the DTP selection panel.
It is worth noting that research council funding is open to both home and overseas students, but only the home fee will be paid for overseas students so that the difference would have to be made up either by the individual university or the individual student.
The research councils also fund Collaborative Doctoral Awards, either through DTPs or through the non-university organisations involved. These are PhDs jointly supervised across a university and a non-university organisation, such as a charity, gallery or museum, and focus on a project that is based on the work of the organisation. These are also widely advertised, very often in the autumn, through jobs.ac.uk and findaphd.com.
Charities and trusts
Other organisations, such as charities and trusts, sometimes fund PhDs.
Searching for these can be difficult, but you can find some good tips on how to do this on the findaphd website.
It may be that charities and trusts offer smaller amounts of funding, rather than the full funding of research councils. If this is the case, you would need to find other funding to cover all your costs, or combine smaller amounts of funding with self-funding.
Studentships and university funding
Universities often fund their own, internal studentships, which are sometimes advertised via jobs.ac.uk and findaphd.com. At the University of Westminster, available studentships are listed on our current studentships page.
Many universities, including Westminster, also offer discounted fees to their alumni.
Government loans
In the UK, the government offers loans for PhD study. To be eligible you have to be a resident of England or Wales, be without research council funding, and be under 59.
Find out more about funding a PhD with a government loan on the gov.uk website.
Business and industry funding
In some disciplines, funding from business or industry may be possible. It may be worth speaking to your employer to see if any funding is available.
Self-funding
It is possible for you to work to support yourself, but if this is your plan doing the PhD part-time is the best route. Even then, studying part-time and working full-time is very demanding and would only work for certain kinds of research.
Some universities offer DProf routes, which combine credit-bearing modules with doctoral research, and DProf students usually work on a research project connected with their work.
You can find a comprehensive guide to all the different avenues to pursue on the findaphd website. The Alternative Guide to Postgraduate Funding is also a great resource.