Eligibility & Availability

Eligibility and Availability

Please note the period for ESRC scholarship application for 2012/13 entrants has now come to an end. Information about scholarships available for 2013/14 entrants is expected to be published in December 2012.

Eligibility is determined by the ESRC's eligibility criteria as set out in the ESRC Postgraduate Funding Guide. Applicants should review the ESRC guidance in the first instance.

In addition to the criteria set out by the ESRC, in order to be eligible you must:

• Applicants MUST apply for and be offered a place on an appropriate programme in the relevant department.
• These awards are only available to nationals from the UK and EU and are not open to applicants who are liable to pay academic fees at the international fee rate unless they are pursuing studies in Economics or Advanced Quantitative Methods.  UK applicants will be eligible for a full award (paying fees and maintenance).  EU applicants are normally eligible for a fees only award, unless they have been resident in the UK for 3 years immediately preceding the date of the award;
• For both 1+3 and +3 awards, applicants must hold at least a UK Upper Second Class Honours degree or equivalent (a less than sufficient undergraduate degree may be enhanced, eg by the attainment of a Master's degree);
• Applicants whose first language is not English must meet the University's English Language requirements;
• Applicants applying for a +3 award must demonstrate that they have completed by 30 September of 2012 prior research training at Masters level by securing skills in the relevant range of research methods within the social sciences

Quota Availability confirmed for 2012/13 entry

The University of York is able to nominate applicants, on a competitive basis with other York applicants, to the following Scholarships:

Deadline for student applications 4 pm on 3 February or 17 February - please see note at the top of this page.

Competition Availability confirmed for 2012/13 entry

The University of York is able to nominate applicants, on a competitive basis with other University of Leeds, Sheffield and York applicants, to the following Scholarships:

Deadline for student applications 4 pm on 3 February/ 17 February - please see note at the top of this page.

Applying

Application procedure and deadline

The application form should be preferably typed. The completed form, and any supporting documentation, must be saved as a PDF and emailed to the relevant academic department and a second copy sent to the Student Financial Support Unit (scholarships@york.ac.uk) by 4 pm on 3 February or 17 February - please see note at the top of this page.

Applications will be considered by individual Departments and, following a Departmental selection process, applicants will be informed as to whether they are being nominated for an ESRC Quota Studentship; Advanced Quantitative Methods (AQM) Studentship or Network Studentship.  The White Rose Academic Quality Committee will review the nominations and decide on the final list of awards.

ESRC Student Application Form 2012 (MS Word , 286kb)

Allocation

Allocation process and notification

Once the deadline has passed, all eligible applications are forwarded to the relevant Scholarship Committees for consideration.

There are a limited number of awards available. The Scholarships Committee will therefore use a set of allocation criteria to choose the successful candidate(s) from the pool of eligible candidates.

The allocation criteria are:

• Academic excellence (as evidenced by the applicant in the Scholarship application form and independently verifed by the Scholarship Committee with reference to evidence submitted to the relevant academic Department when applying for a place on the programme)
• Committees may take into account the suitability of the applicant's PhD research proposal to the area of the ESRC Studentship.

The successful candidate is the applicant that best meets the allocation criteria for the Scholarship. Decisions are based on the evidence submitted to and verified by the relevant Scholarship Committee. In some cases a Committee will identify a reserve candidate in case the initially successful candidate is unable to accept the offer of the Scholarship for any reason.

Allocation decisions are made during February and March

For Quota awards:

Successful candidates will be nominated to the WR DTC Academic Quality Committee (AQC) for receipt of the ESRC studentship. We expect nominations to be approved. Nevertheless, all nominations are subject to approval from the AQC and so the ESRC studentship will only be confirmed once approval is received. The Academic Quality Committee reserves the right to over turn the decision of the department. The final outcome to be known by the end of March 2012.

For competition awards:

Departments will nominate candidates to the WR DTC Academic Quality Committee (AQC) for receipt of the ESRC studentship. The AQC will assess the application material and select the successful candidate. The final outcome to be known by the end of March 2012.

For all awards:

All applicants will be contacted with the results of their application, by email in the first instance. Successful candidates will be required to confirm their acceptance of the terms and conditions associated with the scholarship.

Terms / Downloads

Terms and conditions

Successful candidates will be sent a formal letter confirming the offer of the Scholarship. The letter sets out the value and duration of the award, and asks candidates to accept the Terms of the Scholarship.

Details of the successful candidates will passed on to the ESRC via the Research Councils Joint Electronic Submission (J-eS) Portal. Departmental representatives will work with successful candidates to complete the necessary forms.

Fee waivers and stipends.

Fee waivers are paid directly to the University on behalf of the award holder and will be deducted from the award holder's account. Stipends are paid quarterly in October, January, April and July each year. Award holders will be asked for bank details so that stipends can be paid directly into a prefered bank account.

For all scholarships and studentships

All ESRC scholarships are subject to the Terms and Conditions set out by the ESRC as set out in the Postgraduate Funding Guide.

Continued receipt of all scholarships is conditional upon satisfactory academic progress. Scholarship holders should notify the Student Financial Support Unit in the following circumstances:

• a leave of absence is approved
• a change in programme of study is approved
• you withdraw from your programme.

The Student Financial Support Unit may request progress updates from the supervisors of award holders in order to monitor academic progress.

Overseas Fieldwork Expenses Scheme

There are limited funds available for Overseas Fieldwork Visits and the DTC is required to manage the funds from within the grant. There is a notional award of £235 per student for overseas fieldwork. Not all students will undertake overseas fieldwork therefore these funds will be used flexibly. The actual allocation of funds for fieldwork is at the discretion of the DTC. The Academic Quality Committe will oversee the process. The ESRC have confirmed that Fees Only students are not eligible to apply for Overseas Fieldwork Expenses and the DTC does not have any flexibility to use the grant for these students in this way.

For more details about the application process for these funds, eligibility criteria and specific deadlines please check ESRC Overseas Fieldwork Visits Circular 2012-13 (MS Word , 59kb)

You will need to complete a ESRC Overseas Visit Form 2012-13 (MS Word , 1,170kb)