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University of Cambridge

Cambridge

ESRC decision timelines?

Hello all,

I've been told I've been nominated for ESRC (DTP) funding by my prospective Cambridge dept. I've completed all the paperwork and am now waiting to hear if this will come through.

I've read somewhere that decisions come out from March through to May and even October (!) so it would be great to get a sense of the average decision timelines (especially as this might define whether I end up studying at Cambs or UCL).

Any insights welcomed, many thanks!

Reply 1

Anonymous #2

Which department is this?

University of Cambridge

Cambridge

Reply 2

Anonymous #1

Original post by Anonymous #2

Which department is this?

Education

Any updates?

So decision came back two weeks ago (and was good news!).

Reply 5

JuneKem

Original post by Anonymous #1

So decision came back two weeks ago (and was good news!).

Congratulations🥳
Glad to hear somebody from Faculty of Education has secured funding from ESRC☺️

There is a thread on "PhD Education -2024 Cambridge" if you would like to visit sometime in the future. I don't think it will be of much value to you at present, as everybody is freaking out with no news of funding at sight. But do visit at a certain point if you like to bond with fellow PhDs of your department. We will be happy to have you there.

I hope you have the best time of your life at Cambridge!!

Reply 6

Anonymous #1

Thank you! I feel very lucky and can’t wait!

Reply 7

JuneKem

Original post by Anonymous #1

Thank you! I feel very lucky and can’t wait!

I don't think it's sheer luck. It's your years of consistent hardwork which paid off.

Unlike a lot of CT scholarships, ESRC is a purely merit-based funding. Yeah, you are lucky in the sense you were better compared to some nominees they recieved this year, but nothing beyond it. It's a very well-deserved win🧡 and I am proud of you!

Thank you!

Out of interest, isn’t most/all funding merit based?

Reply 10

JuneKem

Original post by Anonymous

Out of interest, isn’t most/all funding merit based?

Not necessarily. As the eligibility criteria for specific funding opportunities become more precise, the competition among offer-holders decreases, and the concept of "merit-based" funding becomes diluted. For example, let's consider the partnership between my country's (India) Ministry of Science & Technology and Cambridge Trust, which offers scholarships to at least 5 Indian STEM PhD students who have completed all their previous degrees in India. If we examine the previous Postgraduate Admission Statistics and perform some calculations, we might find that Cambridge has offered places to approximately 42 Indian STEM PhDs. Among these, let's say half have completed all their education in India. These 21 offer-holders might be ranked anywhere within the central Cambridge Trust ranking. Suppose a good chunk of them are ranked at 500th place or beyond. Despite this ranking, they still have a considerably better chance of securing funding compared to say someone ranked 200th from Uganda. So, while from an external perspective, it may appear that funding decisions are based solely on merit, in reality, other factors such as nationality, departmental and college affiliations, and external random factors can significantly influence funding outcomes. This situation may lead to disparities where individuals from certain regions or departments face funding disadvantages, even if they possess strong academic merit.

Gates, Harding, Research Council, a good proportion of CTs, and other prominent names whose selection parameters are firmly rooted in the academic profile of a candidate rather than random and external factors beyond the reach of an offer-holder is where you can say the funding is truly merit-based.

(edited 2 weeks ago)

Reply 11

Anonymous #1

Interesting, thanks for outlining.

Reply 12

maya_ucl

i was told to expect results end of April to start of May

Reply 13

iamunspent

Original post by maya_ucl

i was told to expect results end of April to start of May

If you don't mind, can you please elaborate? I contacted the DTP myself and was informed that I am on the reserve list and if I don't hear anything by the end of this month, I should assume that my application was unsuccessful. Would love to know more. Thanks!

Reply 14

maya_ucl

My status is still Group panel review stage. I was informed about the timeline by my supervisor. I'm at UCL Linguistics btw, don't know how they sort through the different routes though.