Please read these Terms and Conditions and complete the declaration at the bottom of the page. An email receipt of your acceptance will be sent to you.

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council Doctoral Awards

Terms and Conditions

We are delighted that you have chosen to accept the offer of an EPSRC Doctoral Training Partnership Award at the University of Warwick.

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

• 1. University Regulations, Provision of Award and Enrolment

1.1

Recipients of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Doctoral Award must abide at all times with the University rules and regulations, as set out in the University Calendar, available online at http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/gov/calendar/

1.2

Recipients of the EPSRC Doctoral Training Partnership Award must normally be a national of a member state of the European Union, unless the Doctoral College has confirmed in writing that an Award is offered to a candidate with Overseas fees status. Recipients who have demonstrated that they have a relevant connection with the UK, as defined by the EPSRC, are eligible for a full studentship which includes the payment of academic fees and a maintenance grant. Recipients who are a national of a Member State of the European Union other than the UK, who have not been ordinarily resident in the UK for three years prior to receiving the award, are only eligible for a fees-only studentship award. A recipient’s status is determined at the start of the award and cannot be changed once the award is made.

1.3

The EPSRC Doctoral Award is normally awarded for up to 3.5 years of full-time doctoral study unless the Doctoral College 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 the EPSRC Doctoral Training Partnership Award is normally set at the Home/EU fee rate (£4,407 for 2020-21) and payment of the maintenance grant is set at the standard UKRI rate (£15,285 p.a. for 2020-21). All EPSRC funded students are awarded a Researcher Training Support Grant (RTSG) of up to £5,000 (detailed in the offer letter). Academic departments will advise how to access this funding.

1.5

The offer of the award is made on the understanding that applicants are currently enrolled or will be enrolled with the University from 5 October 2020 or from an alternative enrolment date specified in writing by the Doctoral College 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 student’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 EPSRC and/or other Research Councils.

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 Research Council any information that the Research Council requests regarding the progress of their studies, the submission of their thesis (where appropriate), and the completion of their studies.
• The University of Warwick to disclose student contact details to the Research Councils. This is to allow correspondence from Research Councils to students. Correspondence is likely to be about funded courses or possibly asking for views about funded postgraduate training. Students may also be invited to events or conferences that the Research Councils fund.
• The University of Warwick to provide data on equality and diversity to allow Research Councils 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 the Councils' data protection procedures.
• The University of Warwick to provide any such information requested on the Research Council's behalf to the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) or any other organisation or agency empowered to act on the Research Council's behalf or on behalf of the Research Councils, including UK Shared Business Services (SBS) Ltd.
• The University of Warwick or a third party on behalf of the Research Council or UKRI, 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 is aware that the award is subject to the Terms and Conditions as set out by UKRI in their Training Grant Guidance document, and that UKRI reserves the right to amend these terms and conditions:

https://www.ukri.org/files/legacy/publications/rcuk-training-grant-guide-pdf/

1.9

In accepting the Terms and Conditions of this award the award-holder understands that information about their research, including data submitted through the Je-S Student Details Portal (SDP) will be made available on the Research Councils’ web sites and other publicly available databases, including Gateway to Research, 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 context of the Training Grant funding announced.
• Aggregated information regarding demographics, student numbers, stipend levels, qualifications, age at start, migration levels (from first degree university to another) etc.

Gateway to Research is a web-based portal https://gtr.ukri.org/ that publishes information about funded research that can assist businesses and other interested parties to identify potential partners in research organisations to develop and commercialise knowledge, and thereby increase the impact of publicly funded research. It provides better access for the research community, business and the public to information on research funded by the seven Research Councils and Innovate UK.

• 2. Additional or Alternative Sources of External Funding

2.1
The total amount of scholarship funding awarded to the student will not normally exceed the total sum of the academic fees due and a maintenance grant set at the standard UKRI rate. This does not include any additional funding offered by the EPSRC to support research visits or conference attendance, or any top up provided by indsutry. The University retains the right to withdraw all or part of the EPSRC Doctoral Training Partnership Award if the student obtains substantial alternative funding in excess of this total sum and to verify a recipient’s financial status annually through re-enrolment.

2.2
Alternative funding obtained by fees-only award holders which does not exceed the amount of a maintenance grant set at the standard UKRI rate will not normally result in the reduction of a EPSRC Doctoral Training Partnership Award. However, the source and amount of funding must be disclosed by the student, including any amount awarded by the student’s department. The University retains the right to withdraw or reduce the scholarship in light of any additional funding obtained which is greater than the standard UKRI maintenance grant.

2.3
It is a condition of accepting this award that if the EPSRC Doctoral Training Partnership Award-holder is successful in obtaining an offer of funding for doctoral studies from an alternative source to an amount commensurate with normal EPSRC Doctoral funding, they must inform the Doctoral College without delay in writing of all the material facts. In such circumstances the University would normally expect the award-holder to accept the alternative award.

2.4
It is a requirement of the EPSRC Doctoral Training Partnership Award that the student 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 student in receipt of a University scholarship remains responsible for immediately notifying the Doctoral College 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 EPSRC Doctoral Training Partnership Award. The stipend is intended to be a contribution towards living expenses.

3.2.
Stipend payments will be made on a monthly basis unless otherwise stated. The first stipend payment will be made on the first day of the month in which the student 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 student’s UK bank details.

3.3
Stipend payments will only be made from the University to a student’s UK bank account.

• 4. Changes to Modes of Attendance

4.1
EPSRC Doctoral Training Partnership Award-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.

Only one change of mode of attendance is permitted for EPSRC funded students 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 paid adjusted accordingly.

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

EPSRC funded students may have up to a maximum of 12 months of temporary withdrawal during their funded period of studies. Any periods of temporary withdrawal which exceeds 12 months must have prior approval from the EPSRC

ESPRC-funded students are entitled to payments during absences covered by medical certificates for up to 13 weeks within any 12-month period. Additionally the Studentship can be extended by a commensurate period. The full policy for PGR Sick Leave can be found here.

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

4.3

EPSRC funded students may apply for Temporary Withdrawal to cover maternity, adoption, paternity and shared parental leave.

4.3.1 Maternity leave – a period of up to 52 weeks of leave that may be taken by research students registered at the University of Warwick following the birth of a child.
4.3.2 Adoption leave - a period of up to 52 weeks of leave that may be taken by research students registered at the University of Warwick following the placement of a child with an adoptive parent.
4.3.3 Paternity leave – ordinary paternity leave refers to a period of up to ten days leave available to the partner of the person giving birth, the partner of the primary adopter or an intended parent (for those having a baby through a surrogacy agreement).
4.3.4 Shared parental leave - a mechanism though which a parent may share their partner’s entitlement to maternity or adoption leave.

Full details about Leave of Absence for EPSRC funded students can be found here.

4.4
Should an award-holder wish to withdraw permanently, they must notify their department immediately in writing. Any maintenance and fee awards payable under the EPSRC Doctoral Training Partnership Award 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
EPSRC award-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’.

• 5. Student Obligations

5.1

EPSRC award-holders 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 Research Council(s).

5.3

EPSRC Doctoral Training Partnership Award-holders must record outcomes and impacts of their research via UKRI’s Researchfish reporting service, including completing a return to Researchfish in their final year. Submission to Researchfish is a mandatory requirement for all EPSRC funded students https://www.researchfish.com/.

Research Councils have a responsibility to demonstrate the value and impact of research and training supported via public funds and as such they are required to provide information on the outputs, outcomes and impact of the research they fund to government and public bodies. You are responsible for providing this information via Researchfish, the online system the UK Research Councils use to collect all researcher outputs. You will receive details about engaging with Researchfish following registration onto your PhD and you will be required to enter and submit data every year from this point until three years beyond your studentship period. Therefore, you should make sure that your contact details are kept up to date on Researchfish for this purpose.

These Terms and Conditions are issued by the Chair of the Board of Graduate Studies on behalf of the University of Warwick

Acceptance of Terms and Conditions