Physics > Postgraduate Admissions > Funding

starburstFunding

Scholarships

Highly prestigious University of Bristol Scholarships are available to UK, EU and Overseas students commencing their PhD in October 2012. The scholarships are allocated on a competitive basis. There are two rounds for this competition - January and March. Please see Faculty of Science web site.

To be considered for a scholarship, you should complete the University of Bristol application form as usual, and you must also identify and make contact with a potential supervisor, as the supervisor has to write an additional letter of support for you. Applications must be accompanied by supporting letters from two academic referees as well as copies of certificates or transcripts, and (where applicable) evidence that you meet our English language requirement (IELTS score of 6.0 overall with at least 5.5 in each band, or the TOEFL equivalent).

PhD Studentship in Physics (UK/EU/Overseas)

We have an additional studentship available, covering both the academic (tuition) fee and living expenses for a UK, EU or Overseas student for four years. Candidates for this studentship must have excellent English, as a condition of the award will be that the students do some teaching for the School. The application procedure is the same as for the University of Bristol Scholarships described above. Please note the deadline is 22 February 2012.

Studentships (UK)

The School of Physics receives an annual allocation of studentships (Doctoral Training Grant) from UK Research Councils, namely the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) for Particle Physics and Astrophysics projects, and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) for all other physics-based projects. These studentships are awarded to suitably qualified students on a competitive basis. The studentships cover both the academic (tuition) fee and living expenses for a PhD student for up to three and a half years. To be eligible for such a studentship, an applicant must have or expect to gain a good honours degree, either an MSci/MPhys (1st, 2.1 or 2.2) or a BSc (1st or 2.1) or the equivalent in physics or a physics related subject, and must meet the research council’s residency rules.

All Research Council studentships come with an individual travel allocation of currently ~ £1,000 per year that can be spent on travel and conferences and a small research budget that can be spent on research related items.

Overseas scholarships

We accept a wide range of government scholarships from all over the world. Recently students have received funding from the agencies listed below. Students should apply for these independently from their home country and not through the University.

We are happy to consider any other scholarship that a student can obtain on merit, although the scholarships themselves must cover the appropriate fees. Information on tutition fee rates is below.

The School provides all overseas students with a dedicated travel budget of ~ £1,000 per year for three years for the student to use to travel to conferences or summer schools which their supervisor recommends they should attend.

Sir Frederick Charles Frank Fund 2012

The School of Physics is able to provide a limited contribution towards the living costs of outstanding Overseas students in the form of a Sir Frederick Charles Frank Bursary.  The bursary will not cover tuition fees.

Self-funded students

We accept applications from students who are able to provide sufficient funds to cover tuition fees and living expenses commensurate with student life in Bristol (we normally recommend that the student should have at least £9,000 per year to cover living expenses). Information on tuition fee rates is below.

The School provides all self-funded students with a dedicated travel budget of ~ £1,000 per year for 3 years for the student to use to travel to conferences or summer schools which their supervisor recommends they should attend.

MSc by Research funding

Currently we do not have any funding available to cover the living costs or tuition fees of MSc by Research students. But we do provide all MSc by Research students with a dedicated travel/consumables budget.

Tuition Fees

The postgraduate tuition fee payable for the session 2012-13 will be £3,825 per year for full-time students from the UK and EU countries. For overseas students the fees are £14,900 per year. We estimate the current cost of living in Bristol to be £9000 per year.

Fee status

To determine your fee status (ie whether you are eligible for home or overseas fees) please see the Tuition Fees web page for more details.