The Midlands Graduate School ESRC DTP will open this year’s studentship competition, for entry in October 2025, to both home and international students on 1 October 2024. All applicants will be eligible for a full award consisting of a maintenance stipend (£19,237 in 2024/25), and payment of tuition fees at the home fee rate.

Eligibility

To be classed as a home student, applicants must meet the following criteria:

• Be a UK national (meeting residency requirements), or
• Have settled status, or
• Have pre-settled status (meeting residency requirements), or
• Have indefinite leave to remain or enter

If an applicant does not meet any of the criteria above, they will be classed as an international student. Please note that we can award up to 30% of studentships to international students per cohort.

Please see below for each institutional position on what proportion of the international tuition fee will be covered for successful international MGS applicants. This guidance is applicable for international students beginning in October 2025.

Aston University - International students awarded funding through the MGS at Aston University will not be required to fund the difference between home and international fees, except for those studying in the College of Health and Life Sciences Research where fee scholarships may be offered to a limited number of international applicants. The Fee Scholarship will be used to help cover the difference between the level of home fees and international fees.

University of Birmingham - International students awarded funding through the MGS at the University of Birmingham will not be required to cover the difference between home and international fees.

De Montfort University – International students awarded funding through the MGS at De Montfort University will not be required to cover the difference between home and international fees.

University of Leicester - The University of Leicester may be offering Fee Scholarships to a limited number of international applicants who are successful in securing studentship funding from MGS. The Fee Scholarship will be used to cover the difference between the level of home fees and international fees.

Loughborough University - International students awarded funding through the MGS at Loughborough University will not be required to cover the difference between home and international fees.

University of Nottingham - The University of Nottingham will be offering a number of Fee Scholarships to a limited number of international applicants who are successful in securing studentship funding from MGS. The Fee Scholarship will be used to cover the difference between the level of home fees and international fees.

Nottingham Trent University – International students awarded funding through the MGS at Nottingham Trent University will not be required to cover the difference between home and international fees.

University of Warwick - International students awarded funding through the MGS at the University of Warwick will not be required to cover the difference between home and international fees.

Residency requirements for UK nationals

In terms of residency requirements for UK nationals, for courses starting from 1^st August 2021, candidates will continue to be eligible for home fee status as long as:

• they were living in the EEA or Switzerland on 31^st December 2020, and have lived in the EEA, Switzerland, the UK or Gibraltar for at least the last 3 years before starting a course in the UK
• have lived continuously in the EEA, Switzerland, the UK or Gibraltar between 31^st December 2020 and the start of the course
• the course starts before 1^st January 2028

Residency requirements for those with pre-settled status

If applicants do not have 5 years’ continuous residence in the UK when they apply to the EU settlement scheme, they will usually get pre-settled status. They must have started living in the UK by 31 December 2020.

Those with pre-settled status will qualify as a home student if they have 3 years’ residency in the UK/EEA/Gibraltar/Switzerland immediately before the start of their course.

For more detailed guidance regarding residential eligibility please refer to the ESRC website.

Other Eligibility Criteria

• Applicants intending to study part-time are eligible for an ESRC award. Part-time award holders ae not permitted, under ESRC regulations, to hold a full-time job.
• Applicants are able to apply directly from undergraduate programmes (as we have a 1+3.5 award option with a Masters continuing onto PhD study) and we ring-fence a number of studentship awards for those applying straight from an undergraduate degree.
• Applicants applying for Distance Learning programmes are not eligible for an ESRC award.
• Applicants who have already commenced their PhD programme are not eligible for an MGS award.
• Applicants who already hold an award, or who are financially supported by another organisation, which covers maintenance and/or tuition fees are not eligible for an ESRC award.
• Applicants must usually have qualifications of the standard of a good honours degree at first or upper second class level or equivalent professional experience. There is space on the application form to share any mitigating circumstances which may have affected your degree classification.
• The proposed research project must fall at least 51% within the ESRC's scientific remit. Please check this with your supervisory team if you are applying for an interdisciplinary project.
• Applicants who are 'discipline-hopping' are eligible to apply for an award. It is likely in this scenario that the Masters in Social Science Research would be required prior to PhD study.