PGR Research Funding

The Economics Department provides funding for MRes/PhD students throughout the programme to support research expenses. This comprises of:

• Personal Conference Fund (£1500 per student)
• Discretionary Research Fund (annual budget available to students via application)

Below is a brief overview to help you understand which fund to apply for, what is eligible, and how to apply for these funds.

This provides a maximum of £1500 per student over the course of the MRes and PhD programme (six years maximum).

• Eligible expenses include: journal submission fees, presenting in high quality conferences or workshops (including conference registration fees, associated visa costs, associated travel and accommodation), purchase of data or a contribution towards fieldwork expenses and summer school attendance. Other research related costs may be considered upon application.

To Apply:

1. Complete the application form PGR Personal Conference FundLink opens in a new window and email it to enquiries.econphd@warwick.ac.uk to request approval.
2. Approval must be confirmed before any expenditure takes place.
3. Once approval is received, check Table 1 in the PGR Research Funding ProcedureLink opens in a new window on how to proceed. Appendix A gives a summary of travel expense limits and further guidelines of how to book travel/accommodation depending on where you are travelling to*.
4. If travelling, a risk assessment must be completed for all overseas travel prior to you booking it. The form is available here: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/intranet/operations/hr/travelrisk
5. *The University Financial Regulations must be always adhered to.
6. Refer to the guidance in the PGR Research Funding Procedure document about how to claim expenses.

An annual fund that is available, upon application, to MRes year 2 students and PhD students up to the end of PhD year 4.

• Eligible expenses include: data purchase, fieldwork and experiments. Other research related costs may be considered upon application. Students in PhD years 2 & 3 can also apply to this fund to present at high quality conferences (up to 2 conferences per year), however this fund is only available for MRes year 2, PhD years 1 & 4 students for conference attendance in exceptional circumstances.
• There is an upper limit of £2000 for each individual application.
• Applications will be considered on a quarterly basis with deadlines: 1st January, 1st April, 1st July, 1st October each year.
• Funding will be awarded after a grading and evaluation process.
• At any funding round, priority will be given to first-time applicants. If demand is high, you may have only one application funded in any year.

 To Apply:

1. Complete the online form Discretionary Research Fund Application. A brief description of the project, a breakdown of the costs and a supervisor supporting statement are required.
2. After the deadline has passed, all applications will be reviewed and you will receive an email informing you of the decision.
3. If you receive approval, see Table 1 for guidelines on how to proceed. Please also refer to Appendix A at the end of the PGR Research Funding ProcedureLink opens in a new window document, for a summary of travel expense limits and guidelines.
4. A risk assessment must be completed for all overseas travel prior to a booking being made. The form is available at: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/intranet/operations/hr/travelrisk.
5. Your application must be for a future event, at least three weeks beyond the deadline date (if a visa application is required you should factor in more time). If you have extenuating circumstances and need a more urgent decision, submit your application via the online form and email enquiries.econphd@warwick.ac.uk to explain why you need this to be looked at before the next DRF deadline.

How to Claim Expenses

NOTE: All travel expenses must be claimed within three months of expenditure and be in accordance with the University’s Financial Regulations, (refer to Appendix A).

1. For your first claim only, complete the form fp16aphd and submit it, along with all receipts, in one pdf format, to the Programme Officer (PGR). After this has been processed and sent to the central Finance Office for payment, they will automatically set up with an account on Concur for you for future expenditure claims.
2. Second expense claim and beyond, all claims should be submitted via Concur. If you have a Concur account but submit the form (above) it will be rejected by the finance team! For guidance on using Concur please see these Concur FAQs and this Concur quick guide document on how to complete a claim via Concur
3. It is important to submit your Concur claim in the correct format or it may be returned for amendment and delay your claim. For Business Purpose, please enter in the following format wherever possible: Surname/Conference Title abbreviated/Conference date. If you do not do this your claim may be returned to you to amend.
4. Note we cannot pay expenses for a conference until after you have attended it, except for the conference fee that you may claim in advance of the conference if you need to.