ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council)

Information for ESRC award holders at the University.

Full details of the terms and conditions of your award can be found in the latest ESRC Training Grant Guidance and UKRI Training Grant Conditions documents below.  

For additional information or any queries, please contact the Postgraduate Research Student Office - pgawards@ed.ac.uk

UKRI Standard Terms and Conditions of Training Grant – 1st October 2025

https://www.ukri.org/publications/terms-and-conditions-for-training-funding/ukri-training-grant-guidance  

ESRC PhD Funding Guide – August 2025

https://www.ukri.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/ESRC-200825-ESRC-Postgraduate-Funding-Guide-August-2025.pdf

SGSSS Handbook

https://www.sgsss.ac.uk/student-handbook/


Stipend Payments

The Postgraduate Research Student Office is responsible for the payment of your ESRC stipend.

Stipends are paid to you on a monthly basis in advance. As an example, your April stipend will be paid to you at the end of March.

We are not able to pay stipends earlier than this under any circumstances, so please budget accordingly. The Postgraduate Research Student Office will contact new students with information about how to submit their bank details. Current students are able to update bank details using the My Ed portal.

Tuition Fee Payments

The Postgraduate Research Student Office will arrange payment of your fees directly with the relevant University department.  If for any reason you receive an invoice from the Income team please contact us as soon as possible.


UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSA) are intended to help with additional expenditure for the costs of study-related requirements that may be incurred as a result of disability, mental health problem or specific learning difficulty that means additional support is needed to undertake a Research Council funded studentship. The allowances can cover the cost of non-medical personal assistance, items of specialist equipment, extra travel costs and general expenses.

The first step in accessing these funds is to complete a needs assessment with the University Student Disability Services Office. Once completed it will be submitted to the Postgraduate Research Student Office for approval.


The SGSSS offer training opportunities available to all doctoral students mainly within Social Sciences. They also provide pathways with funding to support the development of training through the Advanced Training Fund.

Opportunities include Spring Into Methods which is open to all PhD students in Scotland who are studying for a PhD in Social Science or Arts and Humanities.

The SGSSS also offer a Summer School each June which is open to all PhD students in the Social Sciences at any SGSSS partner institution.

Internships are also available to Social Science PhD students at Scotland’s universities in their second and third years of study. 

Further details about all events and training offered by SGSSS can be found on their website.


Studentships are available for students who wish to study on a part-time basis. Requests to move part-time should be made to the supervisory team and also the College PGR Student Office - pgawards@ed.ac.uk 

It is expected that the period of study will reflect the percentage of time spent pursuing doctoral studies, and a minimum of 50% of full time effort is required (with an expected period of study of up to 6 – 8 years). 

Supervisors will wish to ensure that arrangements are made to incorporate any new research or research developments that are likely to emerge within the extended period of study. In addition you can switch to part-time study if your circumstances change, and your funded period will be adjusted to reflect your new end dates.

Stipend will be paid at half the full-time rate for part-time students. 


Thesis Submission

The ESRC ask that you submit your thesis by the end of your funded period. 

If you are unable to meet the deadline, please discuss this with your supervisor as soon as possible and please contact the Postgraduate Research Student Office. It may be possible to apply for an extension, but this is usually only granted in exceptional circumstances. 

Extension Requests

Extensions cannot be approved or recorded retrospectively therefore it is important that such cases are brought to our attention in advance of your expected ESRC submission date.

The ESRC will not allow an extension for employment during any writing up period.

The reason for the extension must be in accordance with the terms and conditions of the award, with sufficient detail regarding the reason for this change recorded. Be sure to apply for consideration no less than 3 months before you need it so there is plenty of time to get it sorted.

While the ESRC will normally accept a submission date extended by us to take account of any period of suspension notified during a studentship, only in exceptional circumstances will they accept extending the target date for submission on account of difficulties that arise during the writing up period. The exceptional circumstances where an extension to a student’s expected ESRC submission date will be considered are:

  • Illness or accident – this refers to any period during any writing-up period where the student was unable to work on their thesis for medical reasons.
  • Exceptional personal circumstances – this includes bereavement and any other difficult personal circumstance that has rendered the student unable to work on their thesis during the writing-up period.

For any queries about this information, please contact the College PGR Student Office in the first instance -  pgawards@ed.ac.uk 

The Scottish Graduate School of Social Sciences (SGSSS) can be contacted at team@sgsss.ac.uk

 

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