ESRC Research Training Support Grant

Information on the ESRC RTSG funds available.

Deadlines

Applications can be made at any point via SGSSS Apply and the Postgraduate Research Student Office aims to consider requests at the end of each month.

Funds

 
Funds can be used only during the funded period of study. £750 per year is available to each ESRC funded student who started in 2023/24 or earlier and £940 per year for ESRC funded students starting from 2024/25 onward.
 
These amounts are for full time students and amounts are pro rata for part time students.
 
Students must have approval from the Postgraduate Research Student Office BEFORE incurring any RTSG expenditure, and, if approved, students can then claim the expenses back.
 
Students can contact the Postgraduate Research Student Office to confirm their current RTSG balance - pgawards@ed.ac.uk

Use of Funds

 
The RTSG is intended to be used to pay for expenses which students and their supervisor or department deem to be in direct support of the student's research. Students can apply for multiple training activities within the RTSG calls and are not limited to one event, so long as the total spend falls within the normal amount.
 
When planning expenditure, students should bear in mind that some forms of expenditure may be higher in the second half of their PhD, e.g. fieldwork, or there may be more conferences at which they wish to present.
 
Examples of uses, as detailed on page 18 of the ESRC Postgraduate Funding Guide, are as follows:
  • 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 e.g. printing, stationery, telephone calls
  • Purchase of small items of equipment e.g. cameras, recorders, films
  • Gifts for local informants
  • Books and other reading material not available through libraries
If students are unsure as to whether a claim can be made for a particular item, please contact the Postgraduate Research Student Office for more information.
 

Application and Approval Process

 

Students apply for RTSG funds using the  SGSSS Apply application system hosted by the Scottish Graduate School of Social Science.

 
The Postgraduate Research Student Office will review all requests and approve where the overall spend does not exceed the normal RTSG allowance over the lifetime of the award. Where a request is over this amount, the application will be considered by the SGSSS.
 
Students will be notified of approved spends via SGSSS Apply but students will also receive an email from the Postgraduate Research Student Office confirming the decision and next steps.
 
 

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