Hello,

I have been very fortunate to have been offered a scholarship from my University to cover my tuition fees for PhD study (which are considerable, as I qualify for overseas fees). Unfortunately, I was unable to secure a scholarship for a maintenance stipend.

I will be absolutely gutted if I cannot accept this offer and begin my PhD studies in September, however I fear that will be the situation if I am unable to find (at least some) assistance for my maintenance costs.

I would like to know if any of you have any suggestions for organisations, charities, etc which might offer funding grants or scholarships? I have obviously done the rounds and come across the following issues:

1) The deadlines are passed (unfortunately I did not receive my scholarship in the first round of funding, but rather as a reserve candidate - so I had come to terms with the fact that I would defer my offer for a year and then I received notification that I would receive a fee scholarship).

2) They only fund you if you are in: second year of study, writing up year of study, etc.

3) They are only for UK residents (I reside in the UK, but on a temporary permit, and will until 2013).

Any thoughts?

My PhD is in the Department of Archaeology and it's working title is: 'Profiling the dead: demographic characterisation of mass fatality incidents in the past and the present'. I plan to apply newly developed demographic theory and methods to the analysis of mass fatality incidents, which will apply to both archaeology and biological anthropology.

Hi

I have the same problem as you and I'm still looking for one!

Hi

I was wondering where did you come across this fund? - "2) They only fund you if you are in: second year of study, writing up year of study, etc. "

I'm on my second year and my funding body has run out of stipend so I have to look else where now.

Please help

IFUW - International Federation of University Women (second and subsequent years of study).

FFWG - Funds for Women Graduates (final writing up year).

CSF - Canadian Scholarship Fund (must have completed at least one semester of study).

Those are three I came across that I would be eligible to apply for, but unfortunately not during my first year (and I am not sure what funding they will be offering in 2012/13 and 2013/14).

Hi Tribble,

I'm sorry you are having trouble - I'm also trying to find funding and not having much luck! But, the most substantial cost for international students is tuition fees, so congratulations on getting that part funded.
It isn't a terribly appealing option, but you may be able to self-fund and continue to search for funding opportunities. It is tough but I have done it for my Master's last year (tuition + living costs). Which university are you going to? How much does accommodation cost? As an international student you will be allowed to work an average of 20 hours each week, so depending on how your program is structured (i.e. mostly reading combined with some field work, or mostly field-work combined with some reading), you may be able to earn your rent money. Plus, most universities have Wardens and Assistant Wardens that run each university residence and they often employ PhDs as assistant wardens and give them free accommodation. That might be worth looking into as well.

I'm sure you can work part time, one or two days a week to get in some money? It might be a good idea to inform your dept and supervisor to keep you in mind for opportunities as they come up. I did that myself to fund my living costs and half my international fees so it really is a solution to things.

Thanks for the responses so far everyone!

@Tasha I have considered self-funding the maintenance costs for the time being, until I can hopefully secure some assistance through grants or scholarships. The budgets say it will work, but it will be incredibly tight! I do not need to worry about limited hours for work, as I will not be on a student visa, which is nice. I will not be living in University accommodation, but unfortunately I will be needing to commute a reasonable distance to the University by train, as my fiance (husband by the time I start) is based in another city for work (and no, in advance, we are not willing to do long-distance, as we are currently doing this and have been for the last two years, so I would rather commute than continue with long-distance). I am going to discuss with my supervisor the minimum contact hours he would like, to maybe limit the commute to less than 5 days a week, if possible.

@PhDBug and @Tasha I am meeting with my supervisor this afternoon to discuss the feasibility of working part-time through my PhD (at least for the first year) even if it is 10-15 hours a week, because this would definitely help. I would obviously love to do work within my Department, but if possible I think my current employer might be able to keep me on part-time if I make a good case for myself.

I am glad that there have been other people in this situation who have made it through, it gives me hope! :-)