======= Date Modified 23 01 2010 14:01:28 =======
Hi all, new to the site and was hoping to get some advice regarding an increase in PhD fees recently anounced by my University.

In October last year all PhD students recieved an email stating that there would be a 100% increase in PhD for 4th year and beyond from September 2010. Currently we are paying 5200€, plus services fees, (it rounds off just under 6000€) per year for years 1-3 and in 4th year and beyond we pay half. These fees are supossed to cover tuition and services (such as library services, though hours have been cut this year and there will be no new books bought for the forseeable future, there is a recruitment freeze so as staff retire they are not being replaced) the post-grad community here feel that the fees being increased right when services and tuition is being cut is completely unjust, not to mention that current PhD students have embarked upon their research expecting to pay one figure are now being told that we will pay much more. (incidently non EU students pay almost twice these figures)

The president of the college has stated that these increases are designed to bring us into line with international PhD practices and I was just wondering if this is indeed the case? Most of the professors here agree that a PhD usually takes no less than 4 years, and that anything after that is only mildly supervised, thus the tuition end of the increase doesnt count. Furthermore, the library resources for specialised subjects are very poor, so the argument that we are paying for services is also quite weak in many ways.

I have heard that in the UK after year 3 or 4 there is a writing up fee of approx 500£ and know of one or two PhDs available for 13000£ total, which if true would severly undermine the president's statement.

I was just wondering what the average cost internationally actually is, in years 1-3 and beyond? Is there a decrease in costs per year as you advance past the accepted norm of 3-4 years? What funding is available in your Uni for resources (books, journals, talks, conferences etc?) and indeed for students undertaking research?

Please let me know!
Thanks and continuing luck in all of your research projects!
dee :-)

if you want to support us please sign out petition

http://www.petitiononline.com/UCD2010/petition.html

thanks again!

Substantially less..I receive a full tuition waiver and a $25,000/yr stipend. Some health insurance costs are covered Here in the US, you could look to pay something like $800-1000 a year at the university I attend (including fees and the remainder of health insurance). The amount you're paying is patently absurd. Your university should be ashamed.

I can't comment on the annual tuition fees at my uni for the main years, but if a student over-runs the main funding period then there's just a 90 pounds matriculation in continuation fee where I am. I just had to pay that once. So nowhere near 500 pounds.

Hello!

Well, I am paying £3,800 this year (1st year), and next year it will be 4,600, and hopefully they won't increase it any more in my third year. Beyond third year, I am under the impression that there is a decrease in fees, but that could be wrong. Funding varies depending on the subject. I'm a literature student working half in the History dept. and half in Literature. Since humanities students are chancing an ever shrinking pool of resources, History and Literature PhDs at my uni, like many others in the UK are lucky to get any funding at all. I'm told that the 2010 intake will have it even worse than the 2009 lot (out of 25 1st year students, I know that only 4 have full funding/grants, and only a further handful have bursaries/scholarships). Books, journals, talks-- I haven't seen a penny, but I believe I am entitled to £200 per year for these things if I claim it. I have paid for every conference so far, but am going to an international one soon which the university is (so kindly) covering.
Do I sound like a misery? Im not usually this bitter, it's been a long day and will be a VERY long night..xx

Thanks guys,
we are organising an info meeting for the entire postgraduate community in the uni next week and would really like to oppose this increase. so far we have received confirmation that the increase will not be brought in for 4th years in sep 2010, due to an internet campaign (anyone who would like to support us please do) which is a really great start, but not enough. we want to pressure the uni to justify the increase, esp as the library no longer opens on Sundays, (my own personal prime studying time as it is void of undergrads), and that the resources for specialised work is limited, (I personally order most of my books online from Italy at exceptional cost, because I am not working on any of the authors taught in undergrad courses!)
However to do so we need to find out if the fees increase is inline with 'international practice' (anyone know of a way I could get a list of postgrad fees across the international academic scene?) and if it is a breach of contract that they are even reducing services having already received the fees this year (as suggested by my mother, ever the trade unionist!!) let alone increasing them for reduced services? so to that affect, anyone studying contract law who might be able to give any advice?