Hey guys,

I am a german student currently searching for a phd position in UK starting in october 2015. So far, I could not really find any position that is actually open for non-UK residents (searching in agriculture). You can often apply for the position as a EU citizen but you won't get the full funding (just tuition fees), which makes it somehow "useless" as most of the students do not have their own funding. Do I understand that right?
If so, can you recommend any other ways to find advertised positions that are fully accessible to EU citizens, any scholarships you can apply for or is an unsolicited application the only way as a non-UK resident?

Thanks in advance for any helpful advice :)

I thought EU citizens got the same funding? The ones in my lab do. Link to the position and I can check?

Maybe I misunderstand it but most of the advertised positions (with the europe symbol) I am interested in have the same or a similar remark :

"To be eligible for a full award (Tuition fees and Stipend) students must meet the residency criteria set by the funder."

Residency criteria are usually at least 3 years of residence in the UK, which makes it impossible to meet the criteria if you did not study in UK or stayed there for such a long period for any other reason.

For example :

It says this:

PhD Funding Status Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)

This research project has funding attached. Funding for this project is available to citizens of a number of European countries (including the UK). In most cases this will include all EU nationals. However full funding may not be available to all applicants and you should read the full department and project details for further information.

Which seems like you can get it, but then on their website it says:

Eligibility rules for Research Council postgraduate funding.
Residence requirements:
To be eligible for a full award (Tuition fees and Stipend) a student must have:

Settled status in the UK, meaning they have no restrictions on how long then can stay and
Been 'ordinarily resident' in the UK for 3 years prior to the start of the studentship. This means they must have been normally residing in the UK (apart from temporary or occasional absences) and
Not been residing in the UK wholly or mainly for the purpose of full-time education. (This does not apply to UK or EU nationals).

To be eligible for a tuition fees only award:

Students from EU countries other than the UK are generally eligible for a fees-only award. To be eligible for a fees-only award, a student must be ordinarily resident in a member state of the EU, in the same was as UK students must be ordinarily resident in the UK.

It does seem strange, but maybe this is what all BBSRC funded projects have. Maybe email the supervisor for the project and see what he says?

Does anyone else know?

My understanding is that EU law prevents citizens of other member states being discriminated against for public funding. However, it is possible to limit that funding to the project itself and not provide a maintenance stipend.

A lot of these advertised positions included a collaboration with a company (quite common in agriculture) so maybe that is a different case and it's allowed to restrict it to more specific residential criteria. Thanks for the clarification. I guess I'll try unsoliticed applications then...