Where PhD funding comes from

Doctoral funding comes from more places than most applicants expect, and it is worth checking each of them before deciding a PhD is out of reach. The table below is the short version; the sections after it explain each source and what to watch for.

Source	What it usually pays for	Where to find it	Good to know
Project studentship	Fees and a living stipend for the length of the project	University sites, research job boards	The topic is set in advance
National funding body	Varies: some pay students, some fund universities to choose	Research council and agency websites	Check eligibility; some schemes admit international students
University scholarship	Fees, a stipend, or both	Graduate school and funding pages	Often not widely advertised
Foundation or external award	Anything from a small top-up to full costs	Foundation sites, professional bodies, scholarship databases	Competition can be lower
Employer or industry	Fees and sometimes salary or a stipend	Your employer, industrial partnership schemes	Research usually linked to the sponsor’s work
Assistantship	A wage, a fee reduction, or both	Department and graduate school	Adds teaching or research hours

Studentships attached to a project

The most common route is a funded studentship. A university or research group advertises a specific project with money already attached, usually covering fees and a living stipend for three to four years. These are listed on university sites and research job boards. The catch is that you research the topic on offer, so you need to be interested in it.

Read the advert closely. It should say who is eligible, whether the studentship covers international fees or only home fees, how long the stipend lasts and when it closes. If any of that is unclear, the contact named on the advert can usually tell you. Our guide to finding and applying for a funded PhD covers the application side.

National and government funding bodies

Most countries have research councils or agencies that fund doctoral study. Some pay students directly; others fund the university, which then chooses the students. Check what exists in the country where you want to study. Many of these schemes are open to international applicants even when the name suggests they are only for nationals.

Your own government may also fund doctoral study abroad, sometimes with a condition that you return and work in the country for a period afterwards. Read any bonding or return conditions before you accept.

University scholarships

Universities run their own doctoral scholarships, often to attract strong candidates. Some are general, some belong to a department, and some are reserved for international students. They are easy to miss, so look on the graduate school or funding pages of every university on your list.

Some universities consider every admitted applicant for their scholarships automatically; others need a separate form, sometimes with an earlier deadline. The funding page will say which applies.

External scholarships and foundations

A good deal of funding sits outside universities altogether, with foundations, charities, professional bodies and international programmes. Some target a country or region, some a field, some a particular background. Finding them takes effort, and competition can be lower than for the best-known awards.

Our DAAD guide covers one of the larger international funders of doctoral study, and our guide to finding scholarships you are eligible for explains how to search more widely.

Employer and industry sponsorship

If your research connects to an industry, a company may co-fund a PhD in return for work that is useful to it. Industrial partnerships and collaborative doctoral schemes exist in many fields. If you already work in a relevant sector, your employer may be willing to support a part-time PhD.

Before agreeing, find out who owns the results, whether the sponsor can delay publication, and what happens to the funding if you change jobs.

Teaching and research assistantships

Some students pay their way by working in the university as teaching or research assistants. This usually covers part of the cost and adds to your workload, but the experience is useful on a CV afterwards.

Combining sources

A funded PhD is often a package put together from more than one of the above: a stipend plus a small top-up scholarship, for example, or a fee waiver plus assistantship work. Before you rely on a combination, check that each funder allows it; some awards must be declared to the others or cannot be held alongside them.

Your checklist

Work through each line before deciding a PhD cannot be funded:

• Searched job boards and university sites for funded projects in your field
• Checked the research council or agency schemes in each country on your list, and who they admit
• Checked whether your own government funds doctoral study abroad, and on what conditions
• Read the graduate school funding page of every university you are considering
• Searched for foundation, charity and professional body awards in your field and region
• Asked your employer, or relevant companies, about sponsorship or collaborative schemes
• Asked departments about teaching and research assistantships
• Asked each potential supervisor what funding they know of
• Written down every deadline, including funding deadlines earlier than admission

Keep a record of deadlines as you go, since funding deadlines are frequently earlier than admission deadlines and missing one can cost you a year.