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"Graduates are guaranteed funding for
postgraduate courses".
Wrong.
Funding for postgraduate
courses is becoming increasingly difficult, and few courses
if any can now guarantee funding. More students are having
to fund themselves and should always check the funding situation
before enrolling on a course.
Home
Students
The main source
of financial support for higher degree students who are ordinarily
resident in the UK, takes the form of studentships from The
British Academy and the various Research
Councils. There are advanced coursework studentships
where you work towards the award of a Masters' degree, and
there are research studentships where you work towards the
award of a Doctorate. Each awarding body has its own areas
of responsibility according to subject of degree to be studied.
Foreign
Students
Overseas students
will normally be expected to provide written financial guarantees
as well as being able to prove competence in the English language
before they can be accepted onto a course. Institutions of
higher education sometimes have their own special scholarships
for overseas students and it is worth checking with each individual
establishment.
Special
Schemes
- CASE (Co
operative Awards in Science and Engineering)
Promoted by the
Engineering
and Physical Sciences Research Council to encourage
students to gain experience of working in industry. Under
this scheme, students work at the premises of the collaborating
organisation for at least three months of the award. The
Natural Environment Research Council also has
its own CASE awards operating on similar principles of collaboration
between academic institutions and industry, public authorities
and research institutes.
Partnerships between
higher education and industry. Funds are available to support
well over 500 programmes, in engineering and science, in marketing,
manufacturing, and management, plus some legal and social
science based programmes. High calibre graduates are recruited
as associates and jointly supervised by academic and industrial
staff. The Associate is based full time at the company and
is paid a salary at the appropriate company level.
- Information
Technology Conversion Courses
The EPSRC
makes about 1,000 awards each year, which enable graduates
from other disciplines to convert by means of courses which
are vocationally related to computer aided systems and technology.
Some courses are targeted at numerate graduates from arts
and social science disciplines.
Higher
Degrees Without Funding: What To Do
Not all higher
degrees are supported by the Research Councils. Where this
happens students become liable for fees and have to give financial
guarantees that they can maintain themselves. This may involve
giving financial guarantees of between £6,500 and £8,250.
Obviously it is difficult to self finance such sums, but it
can be done. For example, a package can be put together of
personal savings, parental contribution, a bank loan and a
grant from a trust or charity.
Most universities
do have some scholarships of their own which are distributed
each year and it is worth making enquiries about these. Occasionally
it has been known for those employed as a research assistant
to be offered the option of registration for a higher degree.
Although charities and grant making trust are so specific
that eligibility is difficult, it is worth checking on these
in your University Careers Service.
Vocational
Courses
Some courses may
be funded by the Research Councils, advanced course studentships
for taught Masters and bursaries for postgraduate diplomas.
Other specific courses may be funded by such bodies as The
Department for Education and Skills, The
Central Council for Education and Training in Social Work,
or The
Home Office.
Local
Education Authorities may give grants for some postgraduates'
courses, but the policy of LEA's varies enormously on funding.
With the exception of the Postgraduate Certificate of Education
(Teaching), which is virtually a mandatory award, all awards
by LEA's are discretionary.
Courses such as
Law, Careers Counselling and Secretarial Studies all come
under LEA discretion. At an early stage you should ask your
LEA for a leaflet which will give details of discretionary
awards policy and appeal procedures.
Other
Funding Sources
It is always advisable
to seek advice from the relevant academic department about
awards for their courses. Sometimes they will know about funding
sources which are unknown to you. For example, some one year
courses, of an overtly vocational nature are funded by the
European Social Fund.
Your Local Authority
Awards Officer will have information about local charities
and any grant making trusts for which you may qualify. It
is also worth checking some of the reference books in your
University Careers Service such as:
This
content is © The
University of Hull. Edited and reproduced with kind permission
from John Franks - Head of Hull
University Careers Service. All Rights Reserved.
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