Information for scholarship award holders
If you have been awarded a scholarship, you may have queries about your payments, additional funding available, or what happens if you need to take a leave of absence.
This page has information on:
Terms and conditions of your scholarship
Payment - providing your bank details, payment dates and maintenance rates
Scholarship confirmation letters
Other opportunities for scholarship holders
Additional financial support - conference and fieldwork expenses
Additional help with finances
Terms and conditions
Follow the links below for information relating to your type of scholarship, including funder expectations, how to apply for any additional funding allowances, and what to do if you need to take a leave of absence.
AHRC | BBSRC | EPSRC | ESRC | MRC | NERC | STFC | University Scholarships | Wolfson Scholarships
Payment of scholarships
If your scholarship includes a maintenance allowance this will be paid directly in to your bank account in four equal quarterly instalments, in advance. All scholarship maintenance payments are exempt from income tax and National Insurance contributions.
You will be asked to provide your bank details at the pre-registration stage. If you have not provided your bank details at this stage, or need to update them, you can do so by following the instructions on the Finance webpages. If your bank details change you can re-enter your new details up to five working days prior to the payment due date.
Payment dates for 2013-14
| Maintenance for months: | Payment date: |
|---|---|
| October/November/December | 1 October 2013 (or as soon as possible after registration) |
| January/February/March | 23 December 2013 |
| April/May/June | 1 April 2014 |
| July/August/September | 1 July 2014 |
The above dates apply to those students who register or re-register for 1 October 2013. If you are a cross-sessional student and have a different registration date your payment dates may differ.
Please note that in order to receive payment you will be required to have full registration status on the payment date. It may take up to 3 working days from the dates above for money to be available your bank account. If you do not receive a payment when you expect to, or the amount differs from what you expect to receive, please contact paymentstostudents@sheffield.ac.uk including your registration number with your query.
Payment rates
The standard Research Councils (RCUK) stipend for 2013-14 is £13,726 and all University Scholarships paid at this standard rate will be paid at the same level. Part-time scholarships are normally paid at 50% of this rate. Some scholarships may have different stipend levels - this will be detailed in your scholarship award letter.
AHRC stipends for Masters scholarships in 2013-14 will be £9,585 for Research Preparation Masters and £8,933 for Professional Preparation Masters.
Note on stipend levels for 2010 to 2013: the Research Councils UK minimum doctoral stipend has, in recent years, been increased annually in line with the GDP deflator. From October 2011 to September 2013, however, in line with the Government freeze on public sector pay, the Research Councils agreed to freeze the national minimum doctoral stipend at the 2010-11 level (i.e. £13,590). University Scholarships were accordingly also frozen at the 2010-11 level for 2011-12 and 2012-13.
Scholarship confirmation letters
If you require a letter confirming your scholarship (e.g. for a Visa extension or proof of income) please email pgr-scholarships@sheffield.ac.uk with your name, registration number and type of scholarship, letting us know whether you require a hard copy. We will normally be able to produce the letter within a few days, and will reply to your email with a PDF copy of the letter. If you require a hard copy we can post this or let you know when it is ready for collection.
Other opportunities for scholarship holders
Research Councils and other organisations offer internship schemes and additional training opportunities for scholarship holders'
- AHRC International Placement Scheme supports the placement of postgraduate students and early career researchers on short-term fellowships at overseas research institutions - see the AHRC website for details.
- AHRC Collaborative Skills Development Awards - up to £3k for PhD students to run collaborative activities. More information on the AHRC website. Closing date 19 September 2013.
- BBSRC Policy Placements - provides a three-month placement opportunity for BBSRC and NERC-funded PhD students to gain experience of working in science policy. See the BBSRC website for details.
- 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. See the ESRC website for details.
- EPSRC and POST Postgraduate Initiative - A three month secondment opportunity to the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) open to EPSRC funded PhD students - closing date 4 October 2013.
- ESRC funded students should also check the Social Sciences DTC website for details of training opportunities, events and conferences.
- ESRC run a number of media training courses for ESRC-funded PhD students - see their website for details.
- Strategic skills awards - BBSRC and MRC are collaborating with the British Pharmacological Society (BPS) to provide additional funding to BBSRC- and MRC-funded studentships to support research training in integrative mammalian biology. See the BBSRC website for details.
- 'Enterprisers' programme for BBSRC, EPSRC and MRC funded students - see their website for details.
- Vitae GRADschools - free to AHRC, BBSRC, EPSRC, ESRC, MRC, NERC and STFC funded students, see their website for details.
- Foundation for the Sociology of Health and Illness - Postgraduate international conference travel grants for postgraduate students and early-career researchers to present or co-present a medical sociology or sociology of health and illness paper at an international conference outside the UK - further information.
Additional financial support
If you have expenses for fieldwork or attending a conference:
- check the terms of your scholarship to see if you can claim from your RTSG or apply for additional funding
- you may be able to claim from the Learned Societies Fund
- non-funded Social Sciences students can apply to the Social Sciences Faculty Research Support Scheme
- some external funding bodies offer support for fieldwork, conferences and other expenses
- your academic department may have knowledge of or access to other funding sources.
Additional help with finances
Student Services (SSiD) provide further support relating to funding your studies, budgeting, debt management and emergency financial help - information can be found on their web pages.
Who to contact
Questions about scholarships? Please email the Scholarships Team at pgr-scholarships@sheffield.ac.uk. Please include your registration number and type of scholarship in your query so we can find your scholarship record.
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