Project studentships
Some types of Research Grant may also include funding for a project student. Project studentships (often referred to as tied studentships) are currently supported through three types of research grants: responsive mode standard grants, responsive mode large (consortium) grants, and research programme grants. A review of the mechanisms that NERC uses to allocate and deliver studentships took place in 2011. Having taken into account the recommendations of the review, support for project studentships associated with responsive mode standard grants has now been withdrawn (c.12 studentships per annum). This decision does not affect project studentships that are currently funded, or that have been included on proposals submitted to the July 2012 standard grant call.
The research undertaken through a project studentship should be closely associated with the work carried out in the grant, but in all other respects the department must make the same level of provision for training and supervision that would be expected for any other NERC research student.
Project studentships are governed by the same regulations as other Research Studentships. All costs for a project studentship should be requested on the grant application. The funding for stipend and fees should be requested within the staff/project student tab and, if successful, these would be funded at 100%. All expenses for consumables, fieldwork and conference attendance must be costed in the directly incurred or directly allocated headings of the grant application and will be funded at 80%. A project studentship may be held as a CASE award, if appropriate.
It is expected that studentship awards will start at the same time as the grants. Investigators at eligible Northern Ireland institutions may seek project studentships as part of a research grant proposal and such studentships will be awarded and funded by NERC, rather than the Department of Education Northern Ireland (DENI).