We run an annual competition to select the best doctoral candidates and provide a comprehensive package of financial support over the duration of study, which includes: 

• Payment of tuition fees at the UK Research Councils' Home rate; 
• A maintenance award at the UK Research Councils' national rate (currently £17,668 per annum); 
• A research training support grant to fund the costs of study abroad, conference attendance and fieldwork;  

• Financial support to participate in the consortium's annual conferences, as well a chance to participate in a comprehensive suite of training activities. 
• Financial support for placements and the acquisition of the skills necessary for you to complete your PhD to the highest standards. ‌ 

• In excess of 50 doctoral awards across all partner institutions. 
• Two fully funded postgraduate studentships are awarded via the Action for Equality scheme.  

TYPES OF AWARDS AVAILABLE 

A range of studentships can be applied for including:

a) 3.5 Year Studentships for students who have already completed, or will have completed by the commencement of their PhD, a Masters that included 60 credits or more of core research methods training.

b) 4 Year Studentships for students who have completed, or will have completed by the commencement of their PhD, a Masters in a relevant discipline, but who have not completed or will not successfully complete 60 credits or more of core research methods training. Students selected for these awards will also be registered on and required to complete a 60-credit Research Training Certificate during their first year of study, and they receive an additional six (6) months funding in support of this.

c) 4.5 Year Studentships for students who are yet to commence a Masters degree. This programme of study includes one year for obtaining a research training Masters degree in addition to 3.5 for obtaining the PhD. Training undertaken in the Masters year must conform to ESRC PGR training requirements, in line with the ESRC learning objectives.

d) 5.5 Year Studentships for students needing to undertake a research training Masters and a language- training Masters. This type of award is available only to students funded to undertake research on the Language-Based Areas Studies (LBAS) pathway.  Each of the four award packages incorporates time for an integrated 3-month placement as well as doctoral (and, where applicable, pre-doctoral) studies. Students who fail to undertake a three-month placement will have their funding award reduced by three months. 

• Awards to students who have already commenced their PhD will be reduced by the length of time the student has already been registered on the PhD programme. Students cannot have been registered for more than 12 months prior to the commencement of their NINE Studentship in order to be eligible. 

Full details of the application process and eligibilty criteria are available at the NINE DTP website: https://www.ninedtp.ac.uk/the-application-process/  

• A UK or international applicant with a research proposal falling within the NINE DTP subject areas (pathways):  https://www.ninedtp.ac.uk/our-pathways/  
• A UK or international applicant meeting the entry requirements of QUB postgraduate research degrees. 
• A UK or International applicants who has secured the support of a school or departmental-level supervisory team with expertise in the subject area(s) at QUB. 

• Tuition fees paid at a rate equivalent to the Home UK fee. 
• A minimum stipend per year for living costs, which is paid in regular instalments. Awards increase every year, typically with inflation. As an indicator, the level for 2023/2024 will be £18,622. 
• Award-holders are eligible to apply to a fund reserved for supporting primary research costs to include, for example, conference attendance, fieldwork, language training, overseas research visits and placements with a non-academic partner. 

• It is a condition of an award that at the time of commencing the award (1 October 2024) the applicant is not in full-time employment. Applicants in full-time employment are not eligible for an award. 
• An applicant in part-time employment may be eligible for a part-time award providing the hours of employment plus the hours of part-time study do not normally exceed the equivalent of 1.0 full-time equivalent (FTE).  
• During the studentship, award-holders can undertake teaching and demonstrating duties (or relevant alternative employment) provided that their supervisor(s) agree that the total demand made on a student’s time is compatible with their studies. Employment for full-time award-holders is not expected to exceed six hours in any one week, including preparation time.  Students cannot accept employment that involves substantial calls on their time (which may put their wellbeing and timeline for completion at risk) without the written consent of the Dean of Postgraduate Studies. 

• QUB advise that studentship award-holders are required to be resident in the UK for the majority of their studies, and must live within a reasonable travel time of the University to maintain regular contact with their department and their Supervisor. This is to ensure that the Student is not isolated and receives the full support, mentoring, training and access to facilities required to complete their research successfully and to a high standard.