What sources of funding are available?

You may be eligible to compete for one of our research council studentships. If so, you will be considered for these competitively with other applicants. Funding decisions will be based on the quality of your application and your performance at interview. Departmental Bursaries may also be available to suitable candidates.

(i) ESRC studentships

The Psychology Department at Goldsmiths is part of the London Social Science Doctoral Training Centre (DTC) and is able to award ESRC 1+3 (a 1-year MSc followed by a 3-year PhD) or a +3 (for students who already have an ESRC-approved MSc, a 3-year MPhil/PhD).  Students applying for DTC studentships should complete the DTC forms AND the Psychology MPhil/PhD entry form.

To be considered for an ESRC '1+3' studentship, you must hold, or expect to gain, a good honours degree (or equivalent) in Psychology; candidates for '+3' ESRC studentships must additionally hold, or expect to obtain, an MSc in Research Methods from an ESRC-approved programme. Similar requirements apply to interdisciplinary research council studentships.

Eligibility for fees and stipends depends on whether you meet ESRC residential eligibility criteria; for example, EU applicants are normally eligible for a stipend only if they have lived in the UK for the previous 3 years.  Further information about these criteria and other terms and conditions is available in the ‘Guidance Notes for Applicants’ booklet downloadable from the ESRC website.

The assessment process for a PhD studentship entails three stages:

1.     The Psychology Department selects two or three candidates to recommend to a DTC  panel

2.     The DTC panel considers these candidates alongside nominees from other departments at Goldsmiths and Queen Mary. DTC awards 10 studentships every year.

 (ii) Departmental Bursaries

We will award two full-time postgraduate teaching bursaries to students enrolling in October 2012.  These awards cover PhD tuition fees and also provide a stipend of £11,361.80 p.a. (2011-2012 rate) This amount may be supplemented by undertaking up to 180 hours of teaching assistant duties. Remuneration for this would be £4,228.20 bringing the total annual value of the award to £19,322.00 (2011-12 rate). Departmental bursaries are open to applicants with UK or EU nationality who have obtained a good honours degree (or equivalent) in Psychology or a closely related discipline, and post-graduate research training relevant to their PhD (usually an MSc recognised for training purposes).

(iii) Goldsmiths Postgraduate Scholarships

Goldsmiths additionally offers some postgraduate scholarships which make a contribution to fees. Please refer to the relevant pages for home/EU students and international students.  These applications can be submitted only after you have been formally interviewed and offered a place by the Department.