Dear all,

I have been in contact with a Professor in a UK university for a PhD position and we had an interview over the internet and in the interview he offered me the position. The PhD position is part of an EU project(ERC grant) and the funding also comes from there. I have also formally applied to the university and have got an admission letter(which does not include any info regarding funding, only the amount of tuition fees to be paid is mentioned).

But what is still missing in my mind is a form of contract for financial support which I would get during these 3 years. I am German and not quite familiar with how the financial stuff are officially set for PhD positions in UK. In Germany you normally get a contract which ensures you of an income for a certain period of time.

Therefore my 2 questions to you:

1- What kind of formalities are usually done regarding funding for PhD students in UK so that the students get sure they will receive funding for 3 years(or 4)?

2- How can I proceed with this and ask my supervisor if he is willing to give me any form of contract or letter of financial support in a polite way and without causing misunderstandings(you know like I do not trust his words etc.).

Thank you in advance for your help.
Fabian

He won't mind you asking for details! It's a bit like 'reading the small print'- he would probably advise you to do that himself.

@Eds

Thank you. It would be great if I could get some hints how the "normal" official procedure for getting funding in place looks like for PhD students. In other words what I could ask for from my supervisor?A contract?A letter of support?etc...

Just chucking this out there... it's best to ask in the interview what form of stipend is available, because if he says now that there is nothing available, you are going to be disappointed and may not be able to take the position.

But, if there's funding to cover fees, there's usually funding to cover stipend (this is what we call the non-taxable income that PhD students receive). However, I do remember reading on here previously that EU students may get fees covered, but not a stipend in some cases. Since your offer letter doesn't mention stipend, but does mention fees, it could be that you are not being offered a stipend. As Eds said, you need to email him and check.

I think his email confirmation would suffice, but if he says you are getting a stipend, then you should expect another letter confirming this, because that would mean the original letter was a mistake.

Generally, you would get one letter that says fees are covered and stipend is £14k a year.

I had to post on this one, because I thought exactly the same when I started. I got nothing! No paperwork, no contracts, not even a formal statement saying that I would get funding and how much I would get. I explicitly asked about it and was told that it was done this way at my Uni. I felt very uneasy, but had no choice but to accept their word. It was fine, I got the exact amount of funding I was promised, but it seems a very strange way of doing things...

I had nothing at all in writing to say I was getting funding - my offer of admission looks like I owe the university money for my fees! It does seem to be very slapdash in some cases - I would also ask the supervisor to confirm the details of the funding arrangement.

@all

Thanks for your hints.

This is seriously weird.
I just asked the Prof. if I would get any other letter regarding the details of my financial support. He said I will and that my fees would be paid from the grant! But did not mention when I would get the letter or how much would be my stipend. Really weird.
Or maybe I am just not used to making such big decisions only based on some vague promise without any legal agreement.
Really odd.

@chickpea
would be nice if you share your story after asking your Prof.

Fabian

i don't know much about this fundingarrangement, so can't comment, but i have seen in other circumstances that people often do not get much in the way of 'schriftliche verbindliche Zusagen', there are for instance jobcontracts that barely spell anything out and other things like that. as someone from the continent and being used to proper reliable bureaucracy i share your uneasiness about this, but apparently this is how it is done here.
oh yes, and try getting a bankaccount here. very difficult.

Hi Fabian

My situation with the offer letter was two years ago (sorry, that probably wasn't very clear from my post), and my funding was fine. The only thing I ever received in writing was the offer of admission, which says I need to pay fees, but in reality my fees are paid and I receive a bursary as well! It is a strange system and I hope it works out for you too.

Fabian, sounds like you will get a stipend, so that's good, but going forward, to avoid ambiguity, you need to ask direct questions such as 'will I get a stipend?', 'how much?', 'for how long?', 'when is it paid and when will I receive the first instalment?' otherwise you may get a shock when you start the PhD.

Supervisors are great at giving vague 'answers' that raise more questions. You need to be bold and make sure you get the answers you are looking for, otherwise you will find that this pattern is repeated throughout your PhD.