Postgraduate Funding
The funding support available for postgraduate studies depends on several factors, including country of normal residence and chosen degree. Some of the principal sources of funding are explained below, and links to other information sources are provided at the bottom of this page. In addition all PhD students may have the opportunity to help in teaching undergraduate examples classes, for which they are paid. (A PhD student may typically earn a supplementary income of about £1000 per annum from this source).
Project Related PhD Studentships
Applied Mathematics Studentship
A Studentship is available in conjunction with Rapiscan Systems for a project investigating combining X-ray scatter information and X-ray tomographic information. Further details are available here.
CASE Studentship
A CASE Studentship is available for a project in the area of Electrical Impedance Tomography. Further details are available here.
PhD Research Fellowships in Logic
Further details about this oppurtunity in the area of mathematical logic and its applications are available here.
PhD Study in Fires and Combustion (UK/EU Students)
Fires and combustion offer an interesting area for PhD study in Manchester. Further details are available here.
School Scholarships
All of the scholarships described below are allocated on a competitive basis and students are advised to apply early, by mid-February where possible. All successful applicants will be notified by the end of June. You should indicate on your application which funding you would like to be considered for.
UK/EU MSc Students
A limited number of Scholarships are available to UK/EU MSc students. These scholarships are funded by EPSRC and cover full tuition fees only. To qualify for these awards, the applicants should have a first class honours degree (or equivalent). These scholarships will be awarded competitively across a number of MSc courses : MSc in Pure Mathematics, MSc in Theoretical and Applied Fluid Dynamics, MSc in Mathematical Logic, MSc in Statistics and Msc in Mathematics and Computational Science.Early application is advisable. [Note that applicants awarded EPSRC funds are required by the EPSRC to satisfy certain formal UK/EU residence criteria.]
UK PhD Students
The arrangements for supporting postgraduate study are completely different from those for undergraduates. Typically, finance for grants comes from the Government, via the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC) or via one of the other Research Councils. These grants are called studentships and are not means tested. Each research council studentship covers all course fees and provides a stipend for maintenance of £13,290 per annum (2009/10 figures). Studentships are initially awarded for three years, subject to satisfactory progress.
The financing of EPSRC doctoral training studentships is now administered by the university Schools; details of studentships for study commencing in September 2010 will be finalised shortly. In order to be awarded such a studentship an applicant will typically need to have a first class honours degree or possibly a good upper second. However applicants are advised to apply early because the School has certain additional funds available which make it possible to make definite offers to strong candidates in some cases prior to July. It is not necessary to make a separate application for these studentships. All UK students who apply for admission to a PhD programme in the School will automatically be considered for such funding. [Note that applicants awarded EPSRC funds are required by EPSRC to satisfy certain formal UK/EU residence criteria.]
In addition to the above a few other special studentships are available, usually tied to a particular research project and these are advertised on this page when available. We also have a limited number of School Scholarships available to UK/EU students which cover all course fees and will provide a stipend for maintenance of £9,600 per annum from October 2010. These scholarships are initially awarded for three years, subject to satisfactory progress.
Students who are not offered EPSRC or School funding but who still wish to study here may choose to support themselves. Many students choose to do this and support may be available from a variety of sources, for example by taking out a career development loan. Note that a student who is self-supporting in the 1st year may be considered for EPSRC funding in future years.
EU PhD Students
Students who are normally resident in the EU but not in the UK are eligible for EPSRC studentships as above (both PhD and MSc), but the awards in such cases at present only cover the course fees, not maintenance stipends, except where such a student has been residing in the UK for the previous 3 years. Application can be made simply by indicating EPSRC as a potential source of funding on your application for admission to the programme. For exceptionally strong PhD applicants the School may additionally offer a modest maintenance stipend.
We also have a limited number of School Scholarships available to UK/EU students which cover all course fees and will provide a stipend for maintenance of £9,600 per annum from October 2010. These scholarships are initially awarded for three years, subject to satisfactory progress.
International PhD Students
We have a limited number of Overseas School Scholarship Awards. These awards normally constitute a contribution towards the tuition fees and are awarded competitively. These scholarships are initially awarded for three years, subject to satisfactory progress. Please indicate on your application form if you wish to be considered for this funding.
Other Sources of Funding
Funding may also be available from sources external to the University, many of which are listed on the following page http://www.manchester.ac.uk/postgraduate/funding/.
Details of the University's International funding can be found via the International Award Schemes page.