Additional Funding Opportunities

Any disabled student who, because of disability, is obliged to incur additional expenditure in connection with their studies, may be eligible for assistance with this.

Requests for DSA must first be discussed with the Disability Officer at the student’s institution.

University of Brighton
Email: disability@brighton.ac.uk
Tel: 01273 643799
Website: https://www.brighton.ac.uk/current-students/new-students/new-students-with-disabilities/index.aspx

University of Chichester
Email: disabilitydyslexia@chi.ac.uk
Tel: 01243 812076.
Website: https://help.chi.ac.uk/disability-and-dyslexia-support

University of Portsmouth
Email: asdac@port.ac.uk
Tel: 02392 843462
Website: http://www.port.ac.uk/additional-support-and-disability-advice-centre/

University of Southampton
Email: enable@soton.ac.uk
Tel: 02380 597726
Website: http://www.southampton.ac.uk/edusupport/index.page

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All SCDTP students have access to the Research Training Support Grant (RTSG). This allowance is intended to be used to pay for expenses which the student/supervisor/department deem to be in direct support of a student’s research.

Examples include:
• UK fieldwork expenses
• UK, EU and overseas conferences and summer schools
• language training courses (usually undertaken in the UK prior to an overseas fieldwork trip)
• reimbursement of interpreters, guides, assistants
• survey costs eg printing, stationery, telephone calls
• purchase of small items of equipment eg cameras, recorders, films,
• gifts for local informants
• books and other reading material not available through libraries

This might also include the purchase of small items of equipment which students can borrow. RTSG funds can also be combined with the funds provided for overseas fieldwork.

NB – any budget approved for equipment in excess of £200 or IT-related equipment purchased should be returned to the SCDTP following completion of the award.

Application to obtain RTSG funds

All expenditure must be approved by the SCDTP prior to any purchase being made. The SCDTP reserves the right to reject retrospective application for RTSG funds. Any unspent budget under this application should not be repurposed. New RTSG application should be submitted if new activity/need arise.

To apply for RTSG funding you should download and complete the RTSG Fund Application form and submit the completed form to the DTP Manager scdtp@soton.ac.uk.

The application will then be considered as follows:

Funding up to £500 – Approval by SCDTP Manager
Funding in excess of £500 – Approval by SCDTP Senior Management Team

A statement of support from supervisory teams is required to be included on the application form before any funding request can be approved.

NB – For travel and accommodation quotes, please contact designated travel agent provider of the university to get quotes for budgeting purposes. For insurance purposes please make sure to book your travel and accommodation via the travel agency, or provide evidence why this cannot be done via the travel agency if they are not used. Funding for travel should originate near your RO distance, if otherwise, please explain in your justification.

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Full-time students undertaking the doctoral element of their award are eligible to apply to the SCDTP for overseas fieldwork expenses.

Funds for overseas fieldwork are limited and only reasonable requests for funds will be agreed. It is expected that students will conduct research themselves when overseas (i.e. not using research assistants) apart from in exceptional cases, such as language or cultural sensitivity.

Students are able to make one claim for overseas fieldwork expenses in the life of the award and proposed overseas fieldwork should have been outlined in their initial SCDTP application form.

Students must obtain approval from the SCDTP Executive Committee prior to undertaking any fieldwork; retrospective claims for overseas fieldwork expenses cannot be considered.

A student’s overseas fieldwork visit will normally last for up to 12 months, with most of a substantially shorter duration. If a student can demonstrate a strong case for a visit longer than 12 months, fieldwork of up to a maximum of 18 months may be granted. Students who remain in the field for periods longer than have been formally agreed with the South Coast DTP will not be able to make retrospective claims for expenses or for extensions to the period of award/thesis submission date.

Overseas fieldwork must be an integral part of the PhD and take place during the life of the award. Studentships will not be extended to reflect periods in the field.

If the Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises against visiting the country concerned, the SCDTP will not authorise payment of any contribution towards the fieldwork costs.

To apply for funding for Overseas Fieldwork you should submit a proposal to scdtp@soton.ac.uk containing details of the fieldwork to be carried out, justification for the visit, a supporting statement from your supervisor(s), and a detailed proposed budget. This will then be considered by the SCDTP Senior Management Team. The form for the Overseas Fieldwork can be found here:

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The purpose of the OIV scheme is to support and encourage the international engagement of ESRC funded students. The scheme funds an extension to the studentship of up to three months, plus travel and subsistence costs.

Funds should be used to provide financial support and time for students to:

• undertake additional specialist research training not available in the UK
• develop language skills
• establish research links that will be beneficial to their current or future academic career
• disseminate early research career findings
• attend and participate in seminars where directly relevant to their research.

Applications must be student-led, visits must be related to the student’s PhD, and should not commence within the first three months of the studentship period. Visits taking place in the final year of the studentship must be completed at least three months before the end date of the award and prior to the extension period being implemented.

Visits must involve visiting a Higher Education institution, or an organisation with a substantive research office outside of the UK.

OIV awards are made twice per year with application deadlines of 30th April and 31st October. Application forms and further guidelines are available to download below. Completed applications should be submitted to scdtp@soton.ac.uk

The SCDTP will not award any OIV funding for visits if the Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises against visiting the country concerned.

OIV Application Form

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In recognition of the fact that the OIV scheme is restrictive due to the number of awards available, we will supplement this with an initiative to support students who wish to make shorter overseas visits to enhance their research.

We will award up to 4 bursaries per year of up to £2000 each to support visits of up to 1 month.
NB – This scheme will not attract an extension of studentship/candidature.

Overseas Visit Bursaries are awarded twice per year with application deadlines of 30th April and 31st October.

To apply for funding you should submit a proposal to scdtp@soton.ac.uk containing details of the visit you would like to make, justification for the visit, a supporting statement from your supervisor(s), and a detailed proposed budget. This will then be considered by the SCDTP Senior Management Team.
The form for the Overseas Fieldwork can be found here:

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The SCDTP internship programme enables students to undertake internships (placements for applying and honing research skills) for up to 3 months (full time, or part time equivalent) during the course of their PhD. Students will receive an extension to their studentship for the same duration as their internship and students will be able to claim reasonable travel and accommodation expenses from the SCDTP. We will also support students to negotiate with the organization hosting the internships to cover such costs where they can. There will be training to help with budgeting.

Some internship opportunities are advertised and some are student-led with bespoke arrangements. We have guidance available for partners considering hosting an intern as we all guidance for students. Internships are awarded throughout the year and must be supported by the supervisors and approved by the senior leadership team.

Students beginning their SCDTP studentship after 2024/2025 will do the Research in Practice rather than internship.

Further information on the SCDTP Internship scheme and the Internship application form can be downloaded below.

SCDTP Internship Guide for Non-Academic Partners (NAPs) (Updated October 2023)

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The DTP will provide up to £2500 per year for students/groups of students wishing to organise an Interdisciplinary Collaboration event.

The DTP will look to fund innovative ideas for events which can be accessed by students and researchers across the UK.

Previous successes at the University of Southampton DTC include symposiums on Impact and Knowledge Exchange, and Outsourcing.

If you have an idea for an event which you would like to discuss further, please contact the SCDTP Manager scdtp@soton.ac.uk

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The DTP will provide up to 3 awards per year, of up to £1000 each, for students/groups of students wishing to increase the ‘impact’ of their research using innovative methods.

The following list is not exhaustive,however it could be used for activities such as creating a short video, organising an event to highlight research outcomes, or creating a network portal (i.e. research-themed website).

If you have an idea which you would like to discuss further, please contact the SCDTP Manager scdtp@soton.ac.uk

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To facilitate student attendance at training courses outside of the normal DTP/Consortium network, the DTP will provide up to 3 bursaries per year of up to £1000 each.

This funding will be available on a competitive basis and is to be used for attending UK/International courses which would enhance the research/research experience.

These may be for specialised technical courses within the UK or for training in an area that expertise lies internationally.

To apply for funding you should submit a proposal to scdtp@soton.ac.uk containing details of the training you would like to do, justification for the training, a supporting statement from your supervisor(s), and a detailed proposed budget. This will then be considered by the SCDTP Senior Management Team.

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We will make funds available for students to set up their own training courses which can be advertised and attended by students across the entire DTP network.

We have budgeted a maximum £4000 per year (dependent on student numbers) for student-led training initiatives. In the DTC, for example, these have included audio-visual training; policy briefing and knowledge exchange events.

If you have an idea for a particular training course you would like to organise, please contact the SCDTP Manager scdtp@soton.ac.uk

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The South Coast DTP has set-up an overseas conference fund of up to 3 awards of £1000 per year for students to attend overseas conferences.

Students are able to apply for funding to attend conferences from the Research Training Support Grant, however we realise that the cost to attend overseas conferences is considerably more expensive and therefore harder to justify attendance, especially if you have not been selected to present at the conference.

To apply for funding you must be within your SCDTP funding period at the time of the conference and will need to submit a business case to the SCDTP Senior Management Team (via scdtp@soton.ac.uk). This should include details of the conference you wish to attend, how it is relevant to your research and the benefits you expect to receive by attending. This should also include a supporting statement from your supervisor, and a budget for the anticipated costs. There are no deadlines, applications will be considered on an ad-hoc basis

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