FAQs

You will primarily be based in the University to which you applied to for your chosen programme (Brighton, Portsmouth or Southampton). There will however be events and training accessible for all DTP funded students at each of the institutions. For events and training has been organised by the DTP for its students, transport costs between institutions will be reimbursed.

Not all disciplines are accredited at all of our partner institutions. The list below details all available disciplines and at which institution studentships are available.

• Area Studies – Portsmouth
• Criminology – Southampton
• Demography – Southampton
• Economic and Social History – Southampton
• Economics – Southampton
• Education – Southampton
• Gerontology – Southampton
• Human Geography – Southampton
• Linguistics – Southampton
• Management & Business Studies – Brighton / Southampton
• Politics & International Relations – Southampton
• Psychology – Portsmouth / Southampton
• Science & Technology Studies – Southampton
• Social Science Methods for Health Research – Southampton
• Social Policy – Brighton / Southampton
• Social Statistics – Southampton
• Sociology – Southampton
• Sport, Leisure & Tourism – Brighton

All students who are funded by our 1+3 training pathway (Masters+PhD) will undertake the Masters in Social Research Methods (MSRM) in Southampton (Southampton and Portsmouth students) or in Brighton (Brighton students).

Your PhD award will be disciplinary specific and be dependent on the programme on which you are enrolled at your host institution.

The South Coast DTP is a consortium of the Universities of Southampton, Portsmouth and Brighton with staff based at each of the partner institutions.

Yes. Students are eligible to receive funding if they wish to carry out their MSc or PhD studies on a part time basis. The overall amount of funding received will be the same as that of a full-time student but is paid on a pro-rata basis. ie for the PhD: 3 years full time rate paid at 50% over 6 years.

Unfortunately we are not able to fund students wishing to carry our their studies by distance learning

Please contact the South Coast DTP directly via email at scdtp@soton.ac.uk

We will be happy to answer any queries you may have regarding data protection rights.

Applicants can apply for 3 different types of funding.

1+3 – Funding is provided for students to undertake the Masters in Social Research Methods followed by 3 further years during PhD funding.

+3 – Students receive 3 years funding whilst undertaking an accredited PhD programme at one of the partner institutions.

+4 – Exceptionally a +4 award will be made available to students who are undertaking research of a particularly interdisciplinary nature. In recognition of the additional training requirements of the research, 4 years funding will be provided whilst undertaking an accredited PhD programme at one of the the partner institutions. Students will be required to complete a tailored programme of 60 ECTS points, identified by the Training Needs Analysis which will be completed shortly after enrolment on the programme.

In addition students awarded funding to complete the iPhD in Education will be awarded +4 funding.

In addition to covering the costs of your programme fees, the DTP studentship also provides a basic annual maintenance grant of £17,668 (2022/23 UKRI Rate). This is not classed as income so is therefore not liable for tax.

You will also have access to a Research Training Support Grant (RTSG) to fund attendance at other training courses, conferences or to purchase essential equipment for your research.

SCDTP students are also able to apply for additional funding opportunities such as Overseas Institutional Visits, and Internships.  Further details can be found on our funding webpage.

To apply for funding you will need to complete 2 applications forms.  You will need to complete an online application form for your programme of study via your chosen institution’s website.

You will also need to complete an SCDTP Funding Application form.

Further details can be found on our ‘Apply’ page.

For entry in the 2023/24 Academic Year, the deadline for the receipt of applications will be 23rd January 2023.

The final selection committee for entry in 2023/24 will be held towards the end of March 2023.  We hope to have informed all applicants of the outcome of their application by mid-April 2023.

Yes, there are word count limits for the research proposal in the South Coast DTP application form to ensure equity when assessing applications from each of our partner Universities.  Each partner may have different application requirements in their own institutional application form, so the SCDTP Funding application form aims to provide consistency of information provided.

For 1+3 funding applications the word count limit is 750 words.

For +3 funding applications the word count limit is 1,500 words.

No. The word count limits on the SCDTP application form are exclusive of references.

For all studentships, students must have qualifications of the standard of a good honours degree at first- or upper second-class level, from a UK academic higher education institution. Degree qualifications gained from outside the UK, or a combination of qualifications and/or experience that is equivalent to a relevant UK degree, may be accepted.

The ESRC reserves the right to deal as it sees fit with applications of an unusual character.

+3 Awards – The ESRC expects that applicants embarking on a +3 programme would have achieved a level of research training that would allow them to proceed directly to PhD; this is usually through the attainment of a previous Master’s qualification in the social sciences.

The South Coast DTP is able to accept applications from UK and International applicants to all of our accredited disciplines/pathways, however due to UKRI funding conditions, awards to non-UK residents are capped at 30% of our overall allocation.

To be classed as a home/UK student, candidates must meet the following criteria:

• Be a UK National (meeting residency requirements below), or
• Have settled status, or
• Have pre-settled status (meeting residency requirements below), or
• Have indefinite leave to remain or enter

If a candidate does not meet the criteria above, they would be classed as an International student.