If you have been awarded a scholarship, you may have queries about your payments, additional funding available, or what happens if you need to take a leave of absence. Information on your scholarship can be found here.
If you are a Research Council, University, Faculty or Department Scholarship holder, you will usually be provided with a research training support grant (RTSG) as part of the package. The RTSG can be used for expenditure necessarily incurred in the pursuit of your research – travel, subsistence, equipment, or attendance at relevant conferences. Each funder has different rules and regulations and it is suggested you consult your funder’s guidelines early in your studentship. Any RTSG spending will need to be authorised by your supervisor.
You should never assume any expenditure is permissible without gaining approval first. Do not pay for a conference, for example, without first checking the expenditure will be covered and you still have sufficient money left in your RTSG. If your funder will not cover the expenditure, the Department/Faculty may be able to help, but this is not guaranteed. If this situation arises, please discuss matters with your supervisor.
You should apply for funding as far in advance as possible in order to allow time for your application to be reviewed and to take advantage of advanced rates. When your application has been approved, Professional Services staff in the Department can make bookings or order items for you. Any claims for expenses you incur yourself must be made within two months.
Please see the Research Partnerships and Innovation RTSG policy for further information.
The Faculty of Social Sciences invites applications from self-funded (or partially -funded) PGRs, to the Faculty Research Support Scheme. This scheme is intended to support fieldwork costs for those in their second year of study.
The Scheme will be administered by the Graduate School using the Research Support Application Form, which wil be circulated approximately one month before the deadline. The application form should be completed by the student and supervisor, and sent to the Departmental PGR Support Officer. The max amount that can be applied for is £2.5K.
Please note the following:
The monies can only be used to fund UK or overseas fieldwork, study visits and other costs associated with the conduct of the student’s data collection process e.g. travel to data collection sites).
The grant cannot be used to fund attendance at UK or overseas conferences (Departments are allocated money to support this activity).
Funds must be spent during the University financial year (ending 31st July 2024)
All expenses must be essential to the satisfactory completion of the research. A full justification and case for support must be provided.
Funding will only be provided in advance for the costs of field work incurred in year 2 of full-time registration (and the equivalent period for part-time registration). Applicants must adhere to the University of Sheffield Financial Guidelines, including the use of the most economical means of travel etc.
Applications will be considered by a Committee, and students will be informed as to whether their application has been successful within one week of the closing date. If there are more applications than monies available in each round, then priority will be given to students who have the strongest case for support.
If you have any queries about the Faculty Research Support Scheme, please contact fcs-pgr@sheffield.ac.uk.
The Department has a small budget to offer research support to PGRs. These are considered alongside staff requests at three points throughout the academic year. The kinds of spends that the PGR Support Fund supports includes: training, fieldwork, conference attendance/presentation, software, or other legitimate expenses that will further your PhD project or wider career development. To be considered for this fund students will be expected to regularly attend the Department’s seminars and participate in the research culture of the Department. Students will also be required to keep an ongoing log of their research activity over the course of their three years of registration on their TNA. They will also need to use up their RTSG (if applicable) before applying for this fund. Applications will be considered by the Department’s Research Committee. Students should normally have had their doctoral status confirmed before they apply to this fund. You will be emailed the information and form to complete a few weeks before each call for applications.
Policy on Research Bids Support in the Department of Politics and IR
PGRs are welcome to apply for sources of research funding external to the Department, Faculty, University and Doctoral Training Programme. However, they should be aware that in those cases, they will need to comply with the Department policy on research bids: Policy on Research Bids Support in the Department of Politics and IR - Google Docs. This means that applicants will need to meet internal deadlines that are *well in advance* of the scheme deadlines. PGRs wishing to apply for such schemes should speak with their supervisors and the Director of PGR before commencing their application.
Expense Forms
The finance team endeavours to check expense forms and sign off in 2-3 working days. This is providing the expense form has been completed correctly and all proof of payment evidence provided. If information is incorrect or missing, this can prolong the time taken to receive your reimbursement. The signed expense form will then be sent to the expenses team for processing. The turnaround for the expenses team to process the form is 10 working days. Please email jepsfinance@sheffield.ac.uk for expense queries or status updates.