Science and Technology Facilities Council studentship funding

Value of award (per year)

Home tuition fees at UKRI rate (£4,786 2024-25)

Annual stipend paid monthly at UKRI rates (£19,237 from 1 October 2024-25)

Duration of award

up to 4 years (based on full fee paying years). It does not include periods of leave, write-up, continuation or extension.

At what stage of my course application can I apply for this scholarship?

Please apply after you have submitted your application for an eligible course at the University of St Andrews. You do not need to wait until you have received an offer of a place before applying.

Additional criteria

All funding and reporting is via the University, students will be requested to provide project details for the Research Council annual submission via the student research data portal in October of the first year. Additional information may be requested at any time and any changes in status or the project should be forwarded to the DTG Coordinator.

Any issues with fees or funding should be reported to finschol@st-andrews.ac.uk in the first instance.

Current award holder should refer to the STFC Postgraduate Funding Guide for full details on RTSG claims, fieldwork expenses, maternity cover and any other LOA’s or extensions likely to affect funding or submission dates. Requests for these should be emailed to Registry and the financial advice and support adviser on stfcfas@st-andrews.ac.uk.

If a student is prevented from working by illness for a continuous period of more than two weeks they must inform Registry immediately and send a medical certificate confirming the period unfit to work (regardless as to whether or not the student is suspending studies).

ROs cannot approve extensions to submission dates that are not associated with changes to the funding end date. All requests for submission date extensions not associated with changes to the funding end date must be referred to STFC via the financial advice and support adviser (stfcfas@st-andrews.ac.uk).

Current students can contact the School Postgraduate Secretary, Registry or Finance Advice & Support for any additional information regarding STFC or University terms and conditions.

Limited awards may be available for International applicants. Please check the full UKRI eligibility criteria.

How to apply

Apply to an eligible course at the University of St Andrews by completing the research application form. Prior to applying, you must make contact with a potential supervisor.

Full details of the internal application process can be obtained from the postgraduate office in your prospective Academic School: https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/about/schools/

Any academic wishing to supervise an STFC studentship should contact their Director of Postgraduate Studies in the first instance.

Applications are particularly welcome from women, people from the Black, Asian, Minority or Ethnic communities, and applicants with other protected characteristics who are under-represented in research posts at the University.

Terms and conditions

Please read the University of St Andrews scholarships terms and conditions

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If applying to this scholarship, please be aware of the following requirements:

• You must meet and agree to the Research Council terms and conditions for funding. Please be aware that funding is not normally available during write-up, continuation or non-medical leave of absence periods.
• You must be a registered student (have fully completed matriculation) before you can receive your funding, every year.
• All payments are made directly into a UK bank account, awardees should ensure that they have registered their bank details securely through MySaint and keep these up-to-date to ensure that there is no delay in receipt of payment.
• UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) handles all personal data in accordance with current UK data protection legislation and the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) where appropriate.
• Further information is provided via the UKRI Privacy Notice (www.ukri.org/about-us/privacy-notice/).
• The University will collect and process your personal data to manage Award applications and to manage funds where an Award is made. This could include the passing of personal data to Award sponsors or their equivalent, only for the purposes of managing and monitoring an Award as required by the conditions of funding.
• It is the responsibility of the student to notify the University as soon as possible of any interruption to study and return to study thereafter. Guidance for a request can be found on our Leave of Absence page. Please refer to the Research Council terms and conditions regarding funding and interruptions.