Studentships
We fund around 1400 postgraduate students each year. The majority of these students are carrying out research and training in a three to four year programme leading to a PhD. The others hold one-year studentships which support them whilst they study for an MSc or MRes degree.
The 2010 postgraduate fee and stipend levels for Research Council funded PhD students can be found on the RCUK website.
For Masters students, the basic stipend level in 2010-11 will be £8,712 pa (outside London) and £10,712 (within London).
If a student has a long-term disability, and as a result of that disability they are obliged to incur additional expenditure in connection with their studies, they may be eligible for extra allowances, known as Disabled Students' Allowance (DSA). All research council funded students are eligible for these allowances.
How to apply
We only fund students through university departments and NERC research centres. The awards display notice lists the institutions with NERC PhD or Masters Studentships to award in the coming year.
We do not deal directly with applications from prospective students. If you are intending to apply for a NERC studentship you must contact the department or research centre where you want to study. Similarly, we cannot consider requests for funding for other programmes or expeditions.
Prospective supervisors must now apply for studentships via the Je-S (RCUK joint electronic submission) system. Further details of the process are available on the How To Apply page.
Studentship funding changes
NERC is changing the way it funds studentships. Please see the new funding arrangements page for further details.
NERC's Training Strategy was reviewed in 2004.
NERC's Masters course provision is determined every three years.
Eligibility is restricted - please check the studentship eligibility pages.
Related links
External links
