University of Warwick Leverhulme-TRANSFORM Doctoral Scholarship Terms and Conditions 2023/24

We are delighted that you have chosen to accept the offer of a Leverhulme-TRANSFORM Doctoral Scholarship at the University of Warwick.

The Terms and Conditions of your award are listed below, we would ask that you read these carefully and then complete the on-line declaration in order to accept your offer of a scholarship. We would recommend saving and printing this information for your own records.

1. University Regulations, Provision of Award and Enrolment

1.1 Recipients of the Leverhulme-TRANSFORM Doctoral Scholarship must abide at all times with the University rules and regulations, as set out in the University Calendar.

1.2 Recipients of a Leverhulme-TRANSFORM Doctoral Scholarship must normally be a national of the UK or a member state of the European Union. Recipients who have demonstrated that they have a relevant connection with the UK, are eligible for a full studentship which includes the payment of academic fees and a maintenance grant. A recipient’s status is determined at the start of the award and cannot be changed once the award is made.

1.3 The Leverhulme-TRANSFORM Doctoral Scholarship is normally awarded for up to four years of full-time doctoral study, unless the University has confirmed in writing otherwise. If the recipient submits a thesis for final examination before the expected end of their registration, stipend funding shall cease upon submission of the thesis. Funding is not retrospective and students already enrolled on an MPhil/PhD at the time of their selection for the award will have the value of their award reduced pro rata.

1.4 Payment of academic fees for a Leverhulme-TRANSFORM Doctoral Scholarship is normally set at the Home rate (£4,712 for 2023-24) and payment of the maintenance grant is set at the standard UKRI rate (full time £18,622 for 2023-24). All Leverhulme-TRANSFORM Doctoral Scholarship Award holders are awarded a Researcher Training Support Grant (RTSG) of up to £4,000 as detailed in the offer letter. The University will advise how to access this funding.

1.5 The offer of a Leverhulme-TRANSFORM Doctoral Award is made on the understanding that applicants will be enrolled with the University from 2 October 2023 or from an alternative enrolment date specified in writing by the University and will then subsequently re-enrol annually. If an applicant has been made a conditional offer for doctoral study and has conditions still outstanding at the time of enrolment, then enrolment will be provisional until the conditions needed for full enrolment have been met. Provisional enrolment will enable the student to receive the award. However, if the conditions of admission are not satisfied within the first term of study the student will be liable to repay the amount awarded in full, on demand and without deduction. Acceptance of the terms and conditions of this award shall be taken as acceptance of the award holder’s liability to repay in such circumstances.

1.6 In accepting the Terms and Conditions of this award the award-holder is consenting to share their personal data with The Leverhulme Trust.

1.7 In accepting the Terms and Conditions of this award the award-holder is aware that they are authorising:

• The University of Warwick to disclose to The Leverhulme Trust any information that the funder requests regarding the progress of their studies, the submission of their thesis, and the completion of their studies.
• The University of Warwick to disclose student contact details to The Leverhulme Trust. This is to allow correspondence from The Leverhulme Trust to students, for example asking for views about training and study experience. Students may also be invited to events.
• The University of Warwick to provide data on equality and diversity to allow The Leverhulme Trust to help assess how effective policies and procedures are in eliminating unlawful discrimination and promoting equal opportunities. This information may be used anonymously for statistical purposes. It will be treated in confidence and in line with data protection procedures.
• The University of Warwick to provide any such information requested by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) or any other organisation or agency empowered to act on The Leverhulme Trust’s behalf
• The University of Warwick or The Leverhulme Trust to contact a studentship holder beyond the life of their studentship for evaluation purposes.

1.8 In accepting the Terms and Conditions of this award the award-holder understands that information about their research, may be made available on the University of Warwick and The Leverhulme Trust’s websites, and in reports, documents and mailing lists. This will include the following data:

• Student name
• Name(s) of project partner organisations and supervisors
• Project titles and topics
• Project summaries
• Registration and expected submission dates
• Numbers of students in particular regions, universities or departments in the context of funding announcements.
• Aggregated information regarding demographics, student numbers, stipend levels, qualifications, age at start, etc.

2. Additional or Alternative Sources of External Funding

2.1 The total amount of Leverhulme-TRANSFORM Doctoral Scholarship funding will not normally exceed the total sum of the academic fees due and maintenance grant set at the standard UKRI rate. This does not include any additional funding offered by the University or third party to support research visits or conference attendance, or any maintenance grant enhancement provided by industry. The University retains the right to withdraw all or part of the Doctoral Award if the award holder obtains substantial alternative funding in excess of this total sum and to verify a recipient’s financial status annually through re-enrolment.

2.2 It is a condition of accepting the Warwick Leverhulme-TRANSFORM Doctoral Scholarship that if the award holder is successful in obtaining an offer of funding for doctoral studies from an alternative source to an amount commensurate with normal Warwick Leverhulme-TRANSFORM Doctoral Scholarship funding, they must inform the University in writing of all material facts without delay. In such circumstances the University would normally expect the award holder to accept the alternative award.

2.3 It is a requirement of the Warwick Leverhulme-TRANSFORM Doctoral Scholarship that the award holder must not be in receipt of any other scholarship, studentship or alternative source of funding for doctoral studies at Warwick or elsewhere which has not been disclosed to the University. Any award holder in receipt of a University scholarship remains responsible for immediately notifying the University of any changes to their funding arrangements throughout their period of study. Failure to disclose such information will be considered as a major offence as defined in the disciplinary regulations laid out in University Regulation 23.

3. Fees and Payment

3.1 Accommodation fees are not directly covered by the Doctoral Award. The maintenance grant is intended to be a contribution towards living expenses.

3.2 Maintenance grant payments will be made on a monthly basis unless otherwise stated. The first maintenance grant payment will be made on the first day of the month in which the award holder is due to start their course or three to four days following enrolment, whichever is later. Payments will only commence once Student Finance have received the award holder’s UK bank details.

3.3 Maintenance grant payments will only be made from the University to an award holder’s UK bank account. Award holders from outside the UK will be expected to open an account upon arrival in the UK and provide their bank details to Student Finance so that payments can be made.

4. Changes to Modes of Attendance

4.1 Warwick Leverhulme-TRANSFORM Doctoral Scholarship holders are normally expected to be registered full-time. Requests to study part-time will be considered on the grounds set out in University Regulation 38.3.2 and are subject to approval by the Chair of the Board of Graduate Studies and The Leverhulme Trust.

Only one change of mode of attendance is usually permitted and this cannot take place within the final six months of funding.

Where part time study has been agreed, this is at a 60% rate and both fees and stipend will be adjusted accordingly.

4.2 Requests for temporary withdrawal will only be considered on the grounds set out in University Regulation 36.

For unauthorised absences, extensions are not permitted and therefore the funding period of the studentship will be reduced accordingly.

4.3 Leverhulme-TRANSFORM Doctoral Scholarship Award holders may apply for Temporary Withdrawal to cover maternity, adoption, paternity and parental leave. Full details about Leave of Absence for PGR students can be found here.

4.4 Should an award holder wish to withdraw permanently, they must notify the University immediately in writing. Any maintenance and fee awards payable under the Leverhulme-TRANSFORM Doctoral Scholarship will be terminated at the date of withdrawal. Any payments made to an award holder to cover a period of study after the date of permanent withdrawal will need to be repaid.

4.5 Leverhulme-TRANSFORM Doctoral Scholarship holders are normally expected to be based at the University throughout their course of study. Any requests to spend part of the period of study away from the University must conform with the conditions set out in the ‘Guidelines on the Supervision of Research Students based away from the University’, found here.

4.6 Full-time Leverhulme-TRANSFORM Doctoral Scholarship holders are entitled to up to eight weeks (40 days) of paid annual leave in the year (including statutory holidays), with part-time entitlement being reduced pro rata. Full details of the annual leave policy can be found here.

5. Student Obligations

5.1 The award holder will be expected to participate periodically in a range of postgraduate recruitment activities, which might include: postgraduate open days; induction events; widening participation events; receptions held with potential sponsors or alumni.

5.2 Publications and other forms of media communication, including media appearances, press releases and conferences, must acknowledge the support received from The Leverhulme Trust and the University of Warwick.

5.3 At the end of the Warwick Doctoral Award, the award holder will return any University property including, but not limited to, any office, IT or specialist equipment.

These Terms and Conditions are issued by the Director of the Leverhulme-TRANSFORM programme on behalf of the University of Warwick.

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Privacy Statement

The University of Warwick will process your personal data provided in these terms and conditions for the purpose(s) of processing your Leverhulme-TRANSFORM funded scholarship in 2023-24. The legal basis for processing this personal data is that it is necessary for the performance of a contract.

Your personal data will not be transferred outside of the EEA, will be kept securely by the University of Warwick and will be retained for the funded scholarship period plus six years.

We will keep a record of when you consented to your personal data being processed for the purposes of your scholarship, and what you were informed at the time. We would advise all scholarship awardees to maintain a copy of this.