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The Official Funding questions/moans/possible joy Thread

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Hi. I am British but have been living overseas for many many years (in a British overseas territory). I am back in the UK doing a Masters. Were on the electoral roll already. I brought my family with me, OH is working but money is VERY tight and its run out big time. I have applied for one loan and one overdraft both refused. I suspect its because we have no credit history and that i am a student, because we have so far managed to pay everything on time. I need to get some money fast. Given that i have been back in the UK since Sept (but i am British) what are the chances of getting a PCDL? I know now that the two applications for credit which have been refused will look bad but what can i do? Cheers
Reply 601
Hi everyone, I'm new here so not sure if this is the right place! I'm applying for the Sustainable Urbanism Msc at UCL, but am having huge difficulties finding funding. Does anyone know where current/previous students on this course have got funding from? Are there places that people get funding from to go straight from undergrad or do most people on this course come from mid-career, sponsored by their employer?
Thank you!
Hello,
I will be applying for my masters in September. Can anyone who has managed to secure funding in the past tell me what sort of degree classification they have achieved? Do you need to have a first to gain funding for an English masters?
not necessarily, but most people will have firsts. However, most people who get offers will have firsts, so the grade doesn't say much
Hi, i'm applying for 6 different LLMs up and down the country: KCL, QMUL, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Manchester & Cardiff (this is the order of my preferences). Each offer their own scholarships and some offer AHRC Scholarships. I just wanted to know what sort of candidate universities want to offer scholarships? Does anyone have any idea about competition levels? Or any advice about what to put on forms? I am on course for a strong 2:1/1st and graduate in June.

Also, the AHRC awards cover taught masters programmes right? And if I say get offers from 4/6 of the above (hypothetically lol), can I apply for funding for all of them? Will there be conditions to accept one offer by a certain time? I'm worried about accepting one offer and then not getting funding for it.

Any advice would be much appreciated!
(edited 12 years ago)
Reply 605
Original post by noregrets

Also, the AHRC awards cover taught masters programmes right? And if I say get offers from 4/6 of the above (hypothetically lol), can I apply for funding for all of them? Will there be conditions to accept one offer by a certain time? I'm worried about accepting one offer and then not getting funding for it.

Any advice would be much appreciated!


I'm almost 100% sure that AHRC only covers research Masters... but anyone feel free to correct me on that! When I asked my careers adviser about applying for an AHRC for an MPhil she basically laughed at me and told me they're only funding PhD candidates nowadays due to the economic climate and increased demand... So that basically crushed my dreams lol :rolleyes: I reckon she's just a bit senile though so don't take her word for it :smile: (even though I think I have... :frown: )
Original post by kkumk
I'm almost 100% sure that AHRC only covers research Masters... but anyone feel free to correct me on that! When I asked my careers adviser about applying for an AHRC for an MPhil she basically laughed at me and told me they're only funding PhD candidates nowadays due to the economic climate and increased demand... So that basically crushed my dreams lol :rolleyes: I reckon she's just a bit senile though so don't take her word for it :smile: (even though I think I have... :frown: )


I like being the bearer of good news :smile: The AHRC does cover taught masters. What you probably heard is that the award is called "research preparation award". This means that unless you clearly state in your application that you intend to do a PhD, they won't even consider you. The idea is that they fund people who want to do research (hence calling it "research preparation award", but many universities don't offer "research Masters", especially for Humanities. I am doing a taught Masters and I have the AHRC, so as I said, hope is out there :smile:
Reply 607
Original post by kkumk
I'm almost 100% sure that AHRC only covers research Masters... but anyone feel free to correct me on that! When I asked my careers adviser about applying for an AHRC for an MPhil she basically laughed at me and told me they're only funding PhD candidates nowadays due to the economic climate and increased demand... So that basically crushed my dreams lol :rolleyes: I reckon she's just a bit senile though so don't take her word for it :smile: (even though I think I have... :frown: )


They do cover taught Master's as well. There are two types of AHRC Master's funding - Research preparation and professional preparation :smile:

That said, AHRC funding is pretty rare for Master's as there's such a limited amount. There are far fewer AHRC MA funded students than there are funded PhD students...

You can look at the figures on the AHRC but it's pretty depressing reading.
(edited 12 years ago)
A few days ago York let me know that I got AHRC funding for one of their taught English MA strands :smile: Research preparation is the one I'd gone for. So don't despair, fellow taught MA applicants, looks like the ball is rolling for MA applicants too. Unfortunately I have to make a decision about accepting or declining this funding extremely soon, which is a downer... Especially as I haven't heard from Cambridge yet about funding... It has made me more confident about my intended research though, I wasn't expecting it to stand out.
Original post by fadingwinters
A few days ago York let me know that I got AHRC funding for one of their taught English MA strands :smile: Research preparation is the one I'd gone for. So don't despair, fellow taught MA applicants, looks like the ball is rolling for MA applicants too. Unfortunately I have to make a decision about accepting or declining this funding extremely soon, which is a downer... Especially as I haven't heard from Cambridge yet about funding... It has made me more confident about my intended research though, I wasn't expecting it to stand out.


most unis have a specific number of AHRC awards for masters students so of course there will be students with the AHRC at masters level, they will just be far fewer.
Congratulations btw.
Original post by *Corinna*
most unis have a specific number of AHRC awards for masters students so of course there will be students with the AHRC at masters level, they will just be far fewer.
Congratulations btw.



Ah I see :smile:

Thanks!
Hey guys!!

This seemed the most appropriate thread. I was offered a postgraduate place today and it's a Masters that includes training for other qualifications. However, the main issue that I have is whether even a part-time job would impact on my degree? Has anyone else had experience of doing a part-time job as well as studying a Masters?
Reply 612
Original post by DotComBoom
Hey guys!!

This seemed the most appropriate thread. I was offered a postgraduate place today and it's a Masters that includes training for other qualifications. However, the main issue that I have is whether even a part-time job would impact on my degree? Has anyone else had experience of doing a part-time job as well as studying a Masters?


I worked one day a week with my MA (History so only 6hrs contact time) and it was ok in the first few months. I stopped in the March though to concentrate on assignments and the dissertation :smile:
Original post by DotComBoom
Hey guys!!

This seemed the most appropriate thread. I was offered a postgraduate place today and it's a Masters that includes training for other qualifications. However, the main issue that I have is whether even a part-time job would impact on my degree? Has anyone else had experience of doing a part-time job as well as studying a Masters?


I think it really depends on how efficiently you work (academically I mean). When I was doing my masters I was also working 25-30 hours a week. I was exhausted most of the time and didn't have much of a social life, but oddly I found that it helped my time management, and I worked very effectively on my reading and assignments. I was studying International Political Theory, and so it wasn't like i had to be in a lab, but both work loads together were very tough. I did extremely well in my Masters but I honestly wouldn't recommend getting a job unless you absolutely have to and you can cap your hours at 10 or so a week.
Cheers for the reply guys, has given me a lot of food for though.
Hey everybody. So eventually after several interviews and turn downs on funding, I just got that one lucky email from UCL telling me they want to give me an AHRC RPM studentship. However on second looks I've realised this says that because I am an EU student, the award covers fees only and no maintenance.

Of course I'm aware that EU applicants are only eligible for fees-only awards. But I was under the impression that if one had lived in the UK for three or more years immediately preceding the award, they would be eligible for a full award. I'll have lived in the UK for nearly five years by the time the course starts (I'll be getting permanent resident status two weeks into the course in fact).

I've just had a look at the AHRC Guide to Student Funding to check this, but it's somewhat confusing. At one point under residency conditions it says "A relevant connection may be established for an EU student if the student has been ordinarily resident in the UK throughout the 3-year period preceding the start of the course (including for full-time education)." but then later on under "fees-only awards" it says "Students from EU countries other than the UK are generally eligible (subject to their eligibility on grounds of academic qualifications) for awards restricted to the payment of tuition fees only and no maintenance award." Most places advertising AHRC funding likewise state that if you have more than three years residency you'd get a full award.

Does anybody know what I'm really eligible for? I'm just so confused and frustrated at this being so unclear right now...
Original post by MagLatus
Hey everybody. So eventually after several interviews and turn downs on funding, I just got that one lucky email from UCL telling me they want to give me an AHRC RPM studentship. However on second looks I've realised this says that because I am an EU student, the award covers fees only and no maintenance.

Of course I'm aware that EU applicants are only eligible for fees-only awards. But I was under the impression that if one had lived in the UK for three or more years immediately preceding the award, they would be eligible for a full award. I'll have lived in the UK for nearly five years by the time the course starts (I'll be getting permanent resident status two weeks into the course in fact).

I've just had a look at the AHRC Guide to Student Funding to check this, but it's somewhat confusing. At one point under residency conditions it says "A relevant connection may be established for an EU student if the student has been ordinarily resident in the UK throughout the 3-year period preceding the start of the course (including for full-time education)." but then later on under "fees-only awards" it says "Students from EU countries other than the UK are generally eligible (subject to their eligibility on grounds of academic qualifications) for awards restricted to the payment of tuition fees only and no maintenance award." Most places advertising AHRC funding likewise state that if you have more than three years residency you'd get a full award.

Does anybody know what I'm really eligible for? I'm just so confused and frustrated at this being so unclear right now...


Contacting the university is your best bet. They should be able to sort it out.

And congrats!
Original post by alleycat393
Contacting the university is your best bet. They should be able to sort it out.

And congrats!


Thanks. I sent them an email back asking about that, and first they sent me an email back saying oh yes seems I'm right, referring to the first passage from the guide I mentioned, then a little later another email with the second passage saying oh seems not after all. This is so frustrating and I still feel really unsecure about it. Do you think if you give the AHRC a ring and ask they'd tell you what you'd be eligible for? Worst thing is they asked me for a decision by 5pm tomorrow now, which is really difficult to make if it is fees-only as I then just don't know if it works financially or even is a (financial) advantage over other offers I have (thinking how expensive living in london is)... Urgh!!
Reply 618
I think the AHRC might be quite helpful - worth a phone call for definite :smile:
Original post by MagLatus
Thanks. I sent them an email back asking about that, and first they sent me an email back saying oh yes seems I'm right, referring to the first passage from the guide I mentioned, then a little later another email with the second passage saying oh seems not after all. This is so frustrating and I still feel really unsecure about it. Do you think if you give the AHRC a ring and ask they'd tell you what you'd be eligible for? Worst thing is they asked me for a decision by 5pm tomorrow now, which is really difficult to make if it is fees-only as I then just don't know if it works financially or even is a (financial) advantage over other offers I have (thinking how expensive living in london is)... Urgh!!


What 'apotoftea' said. Speak to AHRC and then ring the uni back. Hope it works out for you. In the mean time I would accept any other offers you are considering favorably if they expire.

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