Ways to Fund Postgraduate Study
Some of the more common ways of funding postgraduate study are
listed below. Staff in the relevant academic School are often the
best source of information on funding opportunities, as they have
a good knowledge of how previous students have found funding. Schools
may offer fully- or partly-funded studentships, or you may need
to find your own source of funding for fees and living expenses.
More information on fees is available from www.registry.ed.ac.uk/fees/.
For information on possible sources of support/funding please see
http://www.scholarships.ed.ac.uk/
The 'Grants Register' published by MacMillan and available in most
UK careers libraries contains information on funding opportunities.
The following are some possibilities for postgraduate funding:
Research councils
UK Government Research Councils will usually only fund students
from the UK, although they do occasionally fund students from else
where in Europe. The grant to non-UK students covers tuition fees
only and not living expenses. Most research Council studentships
are awarded to Universities which then allocate them to applicants.
For information on the Research Councils and eligibility requirements
for studentships see the following web sites.
Biotechnology
and Biological Sciences Research Council
Economic and Social
Sciences Research Council
Engineering and
Physical Sciences Research Council
Medical Research
Council
Natural Environment
Research Council
Particle Physics
and Astronomy Research Council
College Funding
The College has substantial funding, from external and internal
sources, to support a number of research scholarships each year.
These scholarships can take the form of full scholarships, which
cover a contribution to fees and living costs, or can be part scholarships
which cover a contribution to either fees or living costs.
For further details of what funding may be available and eligibility
criteria please refer to the individual School’s
web site or contact the school to discuss your possible options.
Please note that the allocation of funding is done at the application
stage and can not be considered after you have been made an offer
of a place or have commenced your programme of study. You must therefore
ensure that you inform the School that you are looking for funding
at the earliest opportunity.
Your home government (e.g. a scholarship for overseas study)
Relatives or personal finance (e.g. accumulated savings)
Charities or charitable trusts
Your supervisor's research grant (usually through employment
as a postgraduate Research Assistant)
Shell centenary scholarship
The Shell Company offers scholarships for students on certain taught
postgraduate degrees. Applicants must be from one of a selected
list of countries, be between 20 and 35 years of age, a holder of
a degree equivalent to a first class honours degree at a British
university and be fluent in English (minimum 7.5 in IELTS). To be
successful, applicants will have to demonstrate that they have the
potential to become leaders, decision makers and opinion formers
in their home counties and to describe how they intend to use their
UK qualification on return. Application forms are available from
http://www.shellscholar.org/
Overseas research awards scheme (ORAS) award
These awards pay the difference between the tuition fees paid by
students classified as being from the European Union for fee paying
purposes, and those paid by students classified as being from Overseas
for fee paying purposes. ORS awards are fees only awards, so no
assistance with living expenses or travel costs is available. The
funding for the awards is made available by 'Universities UK'. Applications
should be made before the end of March each year for study beginning
in September. Application forms are available from academic Schools,
generally not before January each year. Further information is available
at www.scholarships.ed.ac.uk/postgraduate/internat/ors.htm |
