Funding
Funding your studies will be a crucial factor in your decision to apply for a postgraduate degree, so the earlier you consider your funding options, the better.
For further information concerning the funding opportunities listed below (or if you have questions at all), please contact Stephen Wadsworth from The School of Law's Research Administration Office.
All funding opportunities listed below will be available to apply for in the months of March/April 2012 for academic year 2012-2013.
It is crucial to note that to be eligible for any source of funding listed below, you must FIRST have been made an offer of a place on one of the School's PhD degree programmes. You should therefore make an application for a place on the PhD programme at the earliest possible time, and at least two weeks prior to the funding application deadline .
In all cases, funding will ultimately be allocated to the most outstanding applicants for doctoral study, based on academic track record and evidence of research potential.
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Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Studentships:
The School of Law is able to nominate applications for Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Doctoral Studentships from prospective PhD students for competition in our Faculty of Humanities.
These studentships are for UK and EU applicants who fulfil residency requirements and who have a first class or upper second class degree or equivalent, as a minimum academic requirement.
For UK students (or students who fulfil UK residency criteria), the studentship covers the costs of University tuition fees, along with a full annual stipend (£13,590 for academic year 2011-2012) which is not subject to income tax or National Insurance deductions. EU students who do not fulfill UK residency criteria will be eligible for fees-only awards.
Students wishing to be considered for Research Council funding should apply for either an AHRC Studentship or an ESRC Studentship (see below). Candidates wanting to conduct research in traditional legal subject areas or in health care ethics/bioethics should apply for an AHRC Studentship, whereas those candidates wishing to conduct criminological or socio-legal research should apply for an ESRC Studentship. The two Research Councils offer the following statement for further clarification: AHRC supports research into the content, procedures, theory, philosophy and history of the law. This includes studies of legal systems and legislation in all periods of history and in all parts of the world. ESRC supports socio-legal studies, which are concerned with the social, political and economic influences on and impact of the law and the legal system.
All applications for an AHRC studentship to commence in academic year 2012-2013 must be received in the School by Friday, 2nd March 2012, 5.00pm.
Applications must be made on the following AHRC Studentship application form. Please refer to guidelines produced by the AHRC as you complete the application form. Be aware especially that for this application, you need to include a research proposal of 1,000 words (you should already have submitted a proposal of 2,000 words for your PhD application, so what you include in the application for the AHRC Studentship will need to be a truncated version of this). The AHRC guidelines include a section to indicate what your research proposal of 1,000 words should include.
If you are uncertain as to whether or not you are eligible to apply for AHRC funding, please consult the AHRC's Guide to Student Eligibility.
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Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC) Studentships:
As part of the ESRC's North West Doctoral Training Centre (NWDTC) established in 2011, The University of Manchester (along with the Universities of Liverpool and Lancaster) is pleased to be able to forward for the consideration of the NWDTC applications for ESRC 1+3 (1 year MRes + 3 years PhD study) or +3 (3 years PhD study only) Studentships to commence in 2012-2013.
Applications must be made to the School initially. The School will nominate its best candidates for the Faculty of Humanities of the University, with applications ultimately being considered by a selection committee of the whole NWDTC.
The awards cover the costs of University tuition fees, along with a full annual stipend (£13,590 for 2011-2012, which is not subject to income tax or National Insurance deductions). Students wishing to undertake research involving advanced quantitative methods may be eligible for a higher stipend (amount to be announced)
These studentships are for UK and EU applicants who fulfil residency requirements and who have a first class or upper second class degree or equivalent, as a minimum academic requirement.
Students wishing to be considered for Research Council funding should apply for either an ESRC Studentship or an AHRC Studentship (see above). Candidates wishing to conduct criminological or socio-legal research should apply for an ESRC Studentship, whereas those candidates wanting to conduct research in traditional legal subject areas or in health care ethics/bioethics should apply for an AHRC Studentship. The two Research Councils offer the following statement for further clarification: AHRC supports research into the content, procedures, theory, philosophy and history of the law. This includes studies of legal systems and legislation in all periods of history and in all parts of the world. ESRC supports socio-legal studies, which are concerned with the social, political and economic influences on and impact of the law and the legal system.
A 1+3 studentship is divided into two connected parts: the undertaking of the Master of Research (MRes) programme in Criminology & Socio-Legal Studies in the first year, immediately followed by a three year doctoral research programme in the School.
+3 studentships are available to prospective doctoral students who have already completed an ESRC-recognised Masters programme.
All applications for an ESRC studentship to commence in academic year 2012-2013 must be received in the School by Friday, 23rd March 2012.
Applications must be made on the following ESRC Studentship application form. Please refer to guidelines produced by the ESRC as you complete the application form. Be aware especially that for this application, you need to include a research proposal of 1,500 words (you should already have submitted a proposal of 2,000 words for your PhD application, so what you include in the application for the ESRC Studentship will need to be a truncated version of this). The ESRC guidelines include a section to indicate what your research proposal of 1,500 words should include.
Candidates may be entitled to an enhanced Advanced Quantitative Methods (AQM) stipend. Please consult the ESRC's AQM guidelines to determine whether or not you think you would be eligible for this enhanced stipend. The guidelines indicate how to apply for the AQM stipend (by simply ticking a box on the ESRC Studentship application form above).
Candidates whose applications have been forwarded to the final stage of consideration will be informed of the outcome of their application a month or so later .
Studentships will be awarded under the ESRC North West Doctoral Training Centre (NWDTC) pathway of "Security, Conflict and Justice". Further details of this can be found on the NWDTC website.
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2012 President's Doctoral Scholar (PDS) Awards:
The University of Manchester has launched a further £2.5 million investment for 2012 in PhD training with the creation of the President's Doctoral Scholar (PDS) Awards. These prestigious awards are open to all nationalities and research areas.
The PDS Award will offer the successful candidate PhD funding of £19,461 a year, from within which annual tuition fees will be deducted.
PDS award-holders will also have the opportunity to:
- be invited to attend a series of exclusive events, meet the University of Manchester President and Vice Chancellor, interact closely with our academic community and network with other PDS award-holding students;
- benefit from international research leadership under distinguished scholars;
- become a PDS ambassador for the University;
- receive a President's Doctoral Scholar medal at graduation;
- benefit from the University's extensive transferable skills training for PhD researchers.
The deadline by which you need to make application for the PDS Award is Wednesday, 4th April 2012. See below for the application form you need to complete.
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School of Law Scholarships:
The School of Law offers a limited number of scholarships which are advertised annually in spring for research degrees beginning in the following academic year.
For academic year 2012-2013, the School will be able to award at least one such Scholarship. The scholarship will offer approximately £16,000 per year, from which tuition fees will be paid with any balance awarded as a contribution to maintenance.
These scholarships are available to both overseas and home/EU students. Competition is intense, but we welcome applications from well-qualified graduates.
Applications must be received in the School by Wednesday, 4th April 2012. See below for the application form you need to complete.
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Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) Scholarships:
GTA Scholarships provide an opportunity for PhD candidates to undertake a postgraduate research programme in the School to combine studying for a doctoral degree with the acquisition of teaching experience. Awards, as with all other PhD funding, be allocated to the most outstanding applicants for doctoral study, primarily based on academic track record and evidence of research potential. However, unlike all other PhD funding, the areas in which the candidate can provide teaching for the School will also be a determining factor.
The stipend award for newly-appointed GTAs will be approximately £12,900 pa with the School additionally paying student tuition fees up to a maximum of the current home/EU student rate. International students are eligible to apply for these Scholarships, but will not receive the full stipend as the award will be used to cover the higher international tuition fees in the first instance.
Awards will be made for one year initially but may be renewed for two further years (so up to year 3 of the PhD), subject to satisfactory progress with the PhD degree.
For academic year 2012-2013, we are looking for candidates with high research potential who can teach within the disciplines of 'law' and/or 'criminology'. You can refer to the School's website to see the undergraduate subjects incorporated within these disciplines.
Applications must be received in the School by Wednesday, 4th April 2012. See below for the application form you need to complete.
GTA terms and conditions for academic year 2012-2013 will be added to this page shortly
Applications will initially be selected for a short-list. Applicants who are short-listed will be invited to attend an interview in April/May 2012.
APPLICATION FORM FOR PDS AWARD/SCHOOL OF LAW SCHOLARSHIP/GTA SCHOLARSHIP
If you are going to apply for one, two, or all three of these funding opportunities, you just need to submit one application form (making sure that you tick the appropriate boxes on page 1). Here is the application form that must be submitted by 4th April:
School of Law Alumni Bursary Scheme
In this scheme, graduates of the Manchester School of Law – from either a previous undergraduate or postgraduate degree programme - who will be self-funding their postgraduate study will be eligible to receive a discount of 20% on their annual tuition fees when they register on a programme of further study in the School. Applications do not need to be made for these Alumni Bursaries – the information concerning previous study will be picked up from PhD/MPhil application forms received by the School, and the discounts applied accordingly to tuition fees upon registration.
Other sources of funding
Some postgraduate research students are able to supplement their funds whilst studying by teaching undergraduate seminar classes in the School, provided that they have appropriate skills and undergo necessary training in the University. These opportunities - for Teaching Assistants (TAs) - to teach in the School are distinct from GTA Scholarships outlined above, in that the post-holders are paid hourly for the teaching that they provide, rather than as part of a Scholarship. Postgraduate research students interested in this opportunity may consult the School of Law's Staff Resources Office. Further information is available on the Teaching Assistants page.
The sources of funding available vary for UK/EU and international students. Visit the University's postgraduate funding search webpage to find out more about the various sources of funding you may be eligible for.