Eligibility & Availability

Eligibility

Eligibility is determined by the ESRC's eligibility criteria as set out in the ESRC Postgraduate Funding Guide.  Applicants should read the ESRC guidance carefully before applying.

In addition to the criteria set out by the ESRC, additional criteria apply specifically to this scheme:

• Applicants MUST have applied for a place on an appropriate programme in the relevant department via the OPAS system.
• UK and EU students are eligilbe to apply:
  • UK applicants will be eligible for a full award paying tuition fees and maintenance. 
  • EU applicants are normally eligible for an award paying tuition fees only. 
  • EU applicants who have been resident in the UK for at least 3 years immediately preceding the date of the award are eligible for a full award paying tuition fees and maintenance. 
• Students who are liable to pay academic fees at the international fee rate are not normally eligible for ESRC Studentships. However, the ESRC have relaxed the residency eligibility rules in the strategic areas of Economics and Advanced Quantitative Methods (AQM). 
  • This means that UK, EU and international applicants wishing to study in these areas may apply for a full award paying tuition fees and maintenance. Although the DTC only provides fees at the UK/EU standard Research Council rate, the difference between the home and overseas fee will be met by Departments as the ESRC that students must not pay any shortfall in fees.

• Further details about the ESRC’s residency requirements and eligibility for funding can be found here:

http://www.esrc.ac.uk/funding-and-guidance/funding-opportunities/looking-for-funding/eligibility.aspx

• 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 will have completed by 30 September of 2013 prior research training at Masters level by securing skills in the relevant range of research methods within the social sciences.

Availability of Allocated Studentships in 2013/14

Student applications are invited for the following Studentships that are have been allocated within the WR ESRC DTC for 2013/14 entry at the University of York.  Important points to note are:

• Applications for these studentships will be on a competitive basis with other York applicants
• You may apply for a WR ESRC DTC Studentship at more than one institution within the White Rose DTC, but if nominated by more than one institution, you must make a choice as only ONE application can be sent forward for consideration for an award.

Availability AQM Studentships for 2013/14 entry

Student applications are also invited for Advanced Quantitative Methods (AQM) Studentships for 2013/14 entry.  

• Applications for these studentships will be on a competitive basis with applicants from Leeds, Sheffield and York
• Awards will be made to the best four students, regardless of the institution they applied through, for study at that institution.

Pathway Development Studentships

Other ESRC WR DTC Studentship Availability for 2013/14 entry

Applying

Applying 

Allocated Studentships, Pathway Development Awards and Advanced Quantitative Methods Studentships

Please use the same application form to apply for both types of Studentship.  An extra page at the end of the form asks for additional information from students who wish to apply for AQM Studentships.

2013 ESRC WR DTC Application Form (MS Word , 166kb)

Collaborative Studentships

Please use the application form below indicating that you wish to apply for a Collaborative Studentship.

2013 ESRC WR DTC Application Form (MS Word , 166kb)

Awarding of Studentships

Awarding of Allocated and AQM Studentships

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

As you can see, there are a limited number of awards available.  Departments use a set of allocation criteria to choose the successful candidate(s) from the pool of eligible candidates.  These are:

• Academic excellence (from the evidence you have provided in your Studentship application form and cross referenced with the information you supplied to the relevant Department when applying for a place on the programme)
• Committees will take into account the suitability of the applicants PhD research proposal to the area of the AHRC 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 Department. In some cases a Department will identify a reserve candidate in case the initially successful candidate is unable to accept the offer of the Studentship for any reason.

Departments will consider their nominations during February 2013. 

For Allocated Studentships:

Nominations from departments will be considered by the White Rose DTC Academic Quality Committee (AQC).  We expect nominations to be approved but nevertheless all nominations are subject to approval from the AQC and so the ESRC studentship will only be confirmed once AQC approval is received. The Academic Quality Committee reserves the right to overturn the decision of the department.

Students will be notified in late April 2013.

For AQM Studentships:

Nominations for AQM Studentships from departments will be considered by the White Rose DTC Academic Quality Committee (AQC).  Students will be notified by mid-March if they are being nominated to the AQC. 

The AQC will assess the applications from all three WR ESRC DTC institutions (Leeds, Sheffield and York) and select the four successful candidates.

Students will be notified in late April 2013.

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 and Conditions

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 its Postgraduate Funding Guide.

Continued receipt of all studentships is conditional upon satisfactory academic progress. Studentship holders should notify the Research Student Administration Team in the following circumstances:

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

The Research Student Administration Team may request progress updates from the supervisors of award holders in order to monitor academic progress.

For current students

For Current Students

Overseas Fieldwork Expenses Scheme

For WR ESRC DTC Students who started in 2011 or after

There are limited funds available within the WR ESRC DTC for Overseas Fieldwork Visits.  The funds are only available to ESRC funded students who are stying full-time and undertaking the doctoral element of their award.  Fees-only or Masters students are not eligible to claim this allowance.  

Not all students will undertake overseas fieldwork therefore these funds will be used flexibly by the DTC.  The allocation of funds for fieldwork is at the discretion of the DTC and the Academic Quality Committee will oversee the process.

Application form

OFV 2012/13 app form (MS Word , 1,170kb)

Basic principles

• Students will not necessarily receive the full amount they apply for

• The fund does not cover fieldwork carried out in the UK
• The proposed overseas fieldwork must have been outlined in the original proposal or at the end of the first year of a 1+3 award and must be an integral part of the PhD
• Normally only one fieldwork visit can be made to one country during the lifetime of the studentship
• Students must apply for the visit in advance (either for their first, second or third year of PhD study).  Students will not be able to apply for any costs retrospectively.
• If the Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises against visiting the country concerned, funding will not be authorised.
• There will be 3 calls per year requesting applications to the fund (December/March/May)
• A formula will be used to decide how much each student will receive
• Allocation and approval of funding is at the discretion of the Academic Quality Committee of the DTC

Call dates

For non ESRC WR DTC students who started before 2011

Students whose ESRC funding began before the White Rose DTC became operational do not need to make their application for Overseas Fieldwork through the DTC.  There are no deadlines for making applications but your application for Overseas Fieldwork must be received at least 3 months before the date you need the fieldwork to commence.

Application form

ESRC Overseas Fieldwork Application pre-2011 starters (MS Word , 112kb)

The form includes guidance on eligibility, terms and conditions.

 Basic principles

• Overseas Fieldwork funding does not cover fieldwork carried out in the UK
• The proposed overseas fieldwork must have been outlined in the original proposal or at the end of the first year of a 1+3 award and must be an integral part of the PhD
• Normally only one overseas fieldwork visit can be made to one country during the lifetime of the studentship
• Students must apply for the visit in advance (either for their first, second or third year of PhD study).  Students will not be able to apply for any costs retrospectively.
• If the Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises against visiting the country concerned, funding will not be authorised.

The ESRC contribution towards Overseas Fieldwork for pre-DTC students is calculated using a simple formula.  This can be found in Annex 4 of the ESRC Postgraduate Funding Guide Guidance for non DTC studentships:

http://www.esrc.ac.uk/_images/PFG_Non_DTC_Version_August_2012_tcm8-19338.pdf

Overseas Fieldwork funding consists of two elements:

• An up-front allowance
• A weekly allowance

Both allowances are fixed on a country by country basis and the ESRC offers no additional funding for Overseas Fieldwork beyond these allowances. 

If you anticipate your Overseas Fieldwork trip will require funds in excess of those that would be provided by the ESRC, you need to discuss with your department how the difference might be met.

Other opportunities available to ESRC funded students

Overseas Institutional Visits

All full-time ESRC studentship holders are eligible to apply for financial support for overseas institutional visits (OIVs) within their studentship period, to visit overseas universities or esteemed research organisations. This additional funding is intended to provide applicants with the opportunity to:

• establish research networks
• disseminate early research findings
• participate in seminars and other academic activities that are directly relevant to their research
• undertake specialist research training that is not available within the UK.

For information on how to apply for an Overseas Institutional Visits please visit: http://www.esrc.ac.uk/funding-and-guidance/guidance/postgraduates/esrc-students/other-opportunities/overseas-visits.aspx

Difficult Language Training

Up to one extra year's support may be considered if the student needs to acquire or develop a working ability with a difficult language in order to carry out fieldwork or other parts of their research (this is over and above the year allowed for a Masters degree plus the three years allowed for a full time research degree).

Students in their Masters year of the 1+3 are not eligible for apply. Any anticipated difficult language training should have been mentioned in the student's original application. Extensions beyond 6 months should only be allowed if the student needs to spend an extended period of time overseas in order to obtain these language skills. If the student has already undertaken a relevant Masters degree, it is expected that some progress with language acquisition will have been made.

For more information on Difficult Language Training please visit:

• Non DTC students: http://www.esrc.ac.uk/_images/PFG_Non_DTC_Version_August_2012_tcm8-19338.pdf (particularly Annex 11 for guidance on the 'groupings' of languages)
• DTC students: http://www.esrc.ac.uk/_images/PFG_DTC_Version_August_2012_tcm8-14766.pdf (particularly Annex 3 for guidance on the 'groupings' of languages)

To apply for a Difficult Language Training extension, please contact the Research Student Administration Team: research-student-admin@york.ac.uk.

Internships

The ESRC student internship scheme provides current ESRC-funded PhD students with the opportunity to spend up to six months in a non-academic organisation within the public, civil society (voluntary) or private sector where they can work as part of a team involved with policy and practice development.

The internship scheme provides both student and host organisations with a clear set of benefits and contributes to the skills and professional development of PhD students.

Students can benefit from:

• networking within the policy arena
• transferable skills and knowledge
• time management skills
• report writing skills.

For more information on ESRC Internships please visit: http://www.esrc.ac.uk/funding-and-guidance/funding-opportunities/2364/student-internship-scheme.aspx

Applications need to be made directly to the ESRC and the closing date is usually in August for Internships that take place in the following academic year.