Managing your studentship
A comprehensive guide to your studentship can be found in the ESRC Postgraduate Funding Guide, and if you have any questions about your studentship before or during your award, you should refer to the ESRC Postgraduate Funding Guide in the first instance.
The document includes information regarding sickness and parental leave policies, rules on undertaking additional employment during your studies, withdrawing from your studentship award, and other important policies.
The ESRC Postgraduate Funding Guide is intended to complement the standard UKRI Terms and Conditions for Training Grants, which apply to all UKRI-funded studentships across all seven UK research councils, including ESRC.
Stipend payments, course registration, assessment and progression are managed by your institution. Queries on such matters should be directed to your department/school’s PGR Administrator or your supervisor in the first instance.
Changing your project, supervisor or mode of study
Throughout the duration of your studentship award, you may need to make changes to your project or mode of study. Such changes may include, but are not limited to: changing your supervisor/department/pathway, moving from full-time to part-time study or vice-versa, undertaking a period of employment relating to your research project, suspending your studies etc. Please note that any changes to your status or project must be reported to the WRDTP (via email to enquiries@wrdtp.ac.uk) before it takes place, as further approval by the ESRC may be needed. Requests for changes made retrospectively will not be considered.
If during the lifetime of the studentship, the primary supervisor leaves the institution where you are registered, wherever possible alternative supervision should be identified from within your current academic department/school. Student transfers are viewed as a last resort and require additional approval from ESRC.
In making such changes, you are also required to adhere to any relevant processes at your own university.
Please refer to the ESRC Postgraduate Funding Guide for further details.
Employment
Students should not be overcommitted during the period of their award. Please refer to the Employment section of the ESRC Postgraduate Funding Guide, which lists the guidelines for employment alongside your studentship award.
You must also ensure that you comply with all relevant policies, terms and conditions at the university where you are registered. Your WRDTP link administrator can advise on local rules and procedures in the first instance.
Studentship location
All study undertaken as part of a WRDTP studentship must be carried out within the UK, except as part of overseas fieldwork which is an integral part of the study, conferences, or training. Students may not, for example, write up their thesis whilst resident outside the UK during the period of their ESRC award. In such a case tuition fee and maintenance grant payments will cease.
All students must reside within a reasonable travel time of the university at which they are registered and we would expect there to be direct contact between the student and supervisor. This applies to full-time and part-time students.
Please refer to the Key conditions section of the ESRC Postgraduate Funding Guide for details.
Annual Leave
Please refer to the UKRI Terms and Conditions for Training Grants (TGC 8.3 Annual Leave) and associated guidance for details on annual leave entitlements.
You must also ensure that you comply with all relevant policies, terms and conditions at the university where you are registered. Your WRDTP link administrator can advise on local annual leave procedures in the first instance.
Medical Leave
Please refer to the UKRI Terms and Conditions for Training Grants (TGC 8.2 Medical Leave) and associated guidance for details on medical leave entitlements. Additional time and additional funding will be added to your funding end date up to a limit of 28 weeks in a rolling 12-month period.
You must also ensure that you comply with all relevant policies, terms and conditions at the university where you are registered. Your WRDTP link administrator can advise on local medical leave procedures in the first instance, and will liaise with the WRDTP as necessary to ensure that your student record is updated.
Family Leave
Please refer to the UKRI Terms and Conditions for Training Grants (TGC 8.1 Family Leave) and associated guidance for details on family leave entitlements.
You must also ensure that you comply with all relevant policies, terms and conditions at the university where you are registered. Your WRDTP link administrator can advise on local family leave procedures in the first instance, and will liaise with the WRDTP as necessary to ensure your student record is updated.
Additional Leave
Additional leave may be provided to cover specific instances where a student may be required to be absent from study that are not covered by other types of leave. Please refer to the UKRI Terms and Conditions for Training Grants (TGC 8.2A Additional Leave) and associated guidance for details on additional leave entitlements.
You must also ensure that you comply with all relevant policies, terms and conditions at the university where you are registered. Your WRDTP link administrator can advise on local additional leave procedures in the first instance, and will liaise with the WRDTP as necessary to ensure that your student record is updated.
Suspending or withdrawing from your studentship
Suspensions
Please refer to the Suspensions section of the ESRC Postgraduate Funding Guide, which lists the guidelines for suspension of a studentship.
You must also ensure that you comply with all relevant policies, terms and conditions at the university where you are registered. Your WRDTP link administrator can advise on local suspension procedures in the first instance.
Please note that studentship suspensions must be reported to the WRDTP (via email to enquiries@wrdtp.ac.uk) before they take place, as further approval by the ESRC may be needed. Requests for changes made retrospectively will not be considered.
Withdrawing from your studentship
Please refer to the Termination section of the ESRC Postgraduate Funding Guide for further guidance on withdrawing from your studentship award.
You must also ensure that you comply with all relevant policies, terms and conditions at the university where you are registered. Your WRDTP link administrator can advise on local procedures in the first instance.
Please note that the ESRC is not responsible for your fees if you interrupt your studies before your funding end date, or if you withdraw from your studentship. If any funds have been paid to you in advance, you will be required to return these to your university – this includes both your tuition fees and maintenance stipend.
Transferring your studentship
Studentship transfers are viewed as a last resort and require advance approval from ESRC.
For full details, please refer to the Transfers to different ROs and/or DTPs/CDTs section of the ESRC Postgraduate Funding Guide.
The transfer process is complex and it can take time for the necessary contracts to be drawn up and for co-funding arrangements to be clarified. Students looking to transfer to another university/DTP should contact the WRDTP (via email to enquiries@wrdtp.ac.uk) at the earliest possible stage to discuss.
Supervisory team changes
If during the lifetime of the studentship, the primary supervisor leaves the institution where the student is registered, the WRDTP expects that wherever possible alternative supervision should be identified from within the current academic department/school.
ESRC/WRDTP Training Grant References
On occasion you may be asked to make reference to your ESRC/WRDTP training grant number (for example – recognising your funding sponsor when publishing journals/articles connected to your research). The WRDTP-specific training grant numbers (which are generic to the grant, not individual PGRs) can be found below:
DTP (for studentships starting between 2017 and 2023) – ES/P000746/1
DTP2 (for studentships starting after 2024) – ES/Y001621/1
Disabled Students' Allowance
If you have a disability, you may be entitled to a Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) in addition to your studentship. You can request reasonable adjustments before your studies begin, so we recommend that you speak to your university’s disability service/support team as soon as possible. They will assess your needs and make sure that the right support is in place, prior to your studentship start date. Your WRDTP link administrator will be able to direct you to your local Disability Services – find their contact details on our website. For more information about DSA, please visit the UKRI website – Disabled Students’ Allowance.
You must also ensure that you comply with all relevant policies, terms and conditions at the university where you are registered. Your university’s Disability Adviser can advise on local procedures in the first instance, and will liaise with the WRDTP if needed.
Funding
ESRC studentships cover UK tuition fees* and maintenance at the standard UKRI rate. Current rates can be found on the UKRI website and are revised in January each year for the coming October.
*The WRDTP universities have agreed to cover the difference between UK and International fees meaning that overseas studentship-holders will not be responsible for covering the UK/International fee gap. However, please note that UKRI studentship awards do not cover visa costs, the IHS (Immigration Health Surcharge), flights and other costs incurred by moving to the UK.
WRDTP-funded students have access to a range of additional funding opportunities to support their studies and development. Further information relating to each scheme can be found on our dedicated additional funding webpage.
Useful contacts
Your WRDTP link administrator is responsible for liaising with you on all studentship matters, and are also available to help you with general queries. The local nominated contacts at each university are as follows:
| University of Bradford | Neil Turner | Admissions Office | N.Turner2@bradford.ac.uk |
| University of Hull | David Griffiths | Doctoral College | whiterosedtp@hull.ac.uk |
| University of Leeds | Shirley Yeadon | Leeds Doctoral College | pg_scholarships@leeds.ac.uk |
| Manchester Metropolitan University | Tingyuan Yang | Directorate of Research & Innovation | doctoralservices@mmu.ac.uk |
| University of Sheffield | Kirsty Tolmay/Sarah Johnson | Research, Partnerships and Innovation/FoSS Graduate School | pgr-scholarships@sheffield.ac.uk/fcs-pgr@sheffield.ac.uk |
| Sheffield Hallam University | Dr Sarah Smith | Doctoral School | s.a.smith@shu.ac.uk |
| University of York | Sarah Ramshaw | Internal Funding and Programmes Team | esrc-whiterose-dtp@york.ac.uk |
Navigating professional boundaries whilst studying
The WRDTP has a diverse postgraduate community. As part of your PhD training you will establish networks with academic staff and encounter staff in a variety of contexts both professional and social.
It is a vital part of the PhD process that you should be able to have regular contact with staff and to be able to engage with them intellectually. However, it is also important that where inappropriate conduct or behaviour takes place that there are transparent processes and clear guidelines that can be followed to protect both you and staff.
This concordat between the WRDTP institutions has been developed by the WRDTP in consultation with the Post-graduate researcher (PGR) forum to provide guidance on best practice with regard to professional boundaries for postgraduate researchers. It is not a replacement for formal guidance or Human Resource (HR) policies on conflicts of interest or equivalent policies at partner institutions which can be found on your home University website. The Students’ Union can also provide independent advice to PGRs on any issues that they encounter.
This concordat provides indications of best practice that we encourage staff and post-graduate researchers based at WRDTP institutions to observe. It is underpinned by the shared belief across the WRDTP that staff and PGRs should behave in a professional and respectful manner at all times and demonstrate exemplary behaviours and observe codes of conduct in their home institutions.
Open Access
The White Rose DTP is committed to ensuring the output from ESRC funded research is made publicly available. The UKRI open access policy can be found on the UKRI website, and ESRC funded Doctoral Researchers are expected to comply with the policy.
