{"id":13046,"date":"2023-02-20T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-20T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/?p=13046"},"modified":"2023-02-13T10:48:17","modified_gmt":"2023-02-13T10:48:17","slug":"funding-your-phd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/2023\/02\/20\/funding-your-phd\/","title":{"rendered":"Funding your PhD"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When I was thinking about doing my PhD, I started looking into my funding options and got overwhelmed quite quickly. There are a lot of different things to think about and sometimes the explanations and information can be lacking. I\u2019ve put together some advice that I wish I\u2019d got when I was originally starting out on my PhD journey.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Berrick<\/a>
Berrick Saul building, campus west<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

PhD funding sites can be complicated<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Some funding websites give you a bit of an information overload, but you still can\u2019t find what you\u2019re looking for. FindAPhD has a handy <\/span>guide<\/span><\/a> to funding that explains the terms for you. I found it to be a really good starting point to avoid getting stressed about my options.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
FindAPhD\u2019s \u2018Simple Introduction to PhD Funding\u2019.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The university also has an easily accessible guide to funding for both <\/span>UK students<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>international students<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who to ask for advice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I was a bit nervous about asking for advice about funding my PhD because I didn\u2019t want to bother people or ask the wrong person, but it turned out that sending a few emails was the best way to find out about options I had no idea about. I did my Masters here at York and I kept the same supervisor for my PhD, so she was the person I was the most comfortable asking. If you don\u2019t have a PhD supervisor yet, the <\/span>Student Hub<\/span><\/a> has some good advice, and you can speak to somebody there via email if you aren\u2019t in York.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your department may also have staff who can help you with research proposals. I am part of Arts and Humanities, and the Humanities Research Centre here at York has a dedicated <\/span>support team<\/span><\/a> to help with getting research grants.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The university has a webpage for <\/span>postgraduate research funding<\/span><\/a>, which shows each award, the amount of funding available, eligibility information, and the application deadline. It\u2019s also a good idea to check your department\u2019s grant and scholarship information, and you can find those pages in the drop-down box on that page, too.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Organising your options to avoid being overwhelmed<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When looking for funding options, in my experience, I found it easier to look at one thing at a time. Looking at every option and opening every single tab at once can get very stressful and confusing!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, starting to look around early and taking your time is beneficial, especially as some funding has deadlines. For example, I started my PhD in November and lots of the scholarships and studentships available to me had deadlines of January, so I had to think about how I was going to fund my PhD until I found out whether I would get funding from those options, and what would happen if I didn\u2019t.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Making a list of your options and your research into them can help you to keep track of things. I\u2019ve put together a pros and cons list of some of the funding opportunities available to PhD students below, so you can see how I weighed my different options.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pros\/cons of different funding types<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

These figures are accurate for the year 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doctoral Loan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pros<\/b>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n