Graduate Research Scholarships for Cross-disciplinary Training (One-Year)

Up to four scholarships annually are available to full-time UCL MPhil/PhD and EngD students from any country wishing to spend an additional year of their MPhil/PhD or EngD in another UCL department acquiring research skills and knowledge from a different discipline, which can be applied in their normal area of research. Training should be of one year's duration to permit sustained exposure to the new discipline. 

The scholarships can be taken at any point during the MPhil/PhD or EngD programme.

Eligibility Criteria

Applicants must be:

• in receipt of an offer of admission to or currently registered at UCL on a full-time MPhil/PhD or EngD research programme, and;
• in receipt of three years funding for their normal MPhil/PhD or EngD programme.

Where the student is in receipt of a scholarship or funding e.g. from a Research Council, written permission for the arrangement must be sought from the relevant body. Self-funding students need to provide evidence that they have full funding for the remaining years of their PhD.

Selection Criteria

Scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic excellence and research potential. Financial circumstances are not taken into account.

Value: Benefits and Duration

The scholarships consist of fees equivalent to the applicable graduate rate (UK/EU or overseas) plus a maintenance stipend of £15,726 (2013/14) or - in the case of recipients who already hold a Research Council grant - one that will match their current maintenance grant. The scholarship also includes additional research costs at a level up to £1,000 per year for the stated duration of the programme.

The Cross-Disciplinary Scholarships are tenable for one academic year of full-time study in the host department, starting from September.

Application Procedure and Deadline

Applications must be made by the Head of the student's home department in conjunction with the Graduate Tutor.

Applications should include all the following six documents:

1.	A training proposal outline, indicating:
	i. the student's full name
	ii. the PhD/EngD project and subject area
	iii. the host department
	iv. the benefit to the student from sustained training in the area outside his/her principal discipline
	v. the student's abilities, and likelihood of completing the course in due time The department must be satisfied that the student is sufficiently qualified to benefit from the training.
2.	Detailed description of the training programme;
	The training programme should be designed for the particular student, and will normally involve some course work (undergraduate or postgraduate). The training programme should provide the student with more than just a specific research tool (such as knowledge of a particular research technique, or a language); the aim should be broader, namely to immerse the student in the methods, approaches and ways of thinking of another discipline.
3.	Student's full Curriculum Vitae (CV);
4.	One-page outline of the PhD/EngD research project;
5.	Evidence of three year's PhD/EngD funding;
6.	A letter signed by the heads of both the home and host departments certifying:
	i. that the host department has agreed to accept the student for the training programme specified and to allow the student full access to all relevant courses, tutorials, equipment and facilities The student should be supervised within the host department with arrangements for reporting across to the student's primary supervisor in the home department.
	ii. that the relevant Research Council (where appropriate) has agreed the proposal Where the student is in receipt of funding for the MPhil/PhD or EngD, e.g. from a Research Council, written permission for the arrangement from the relevant body must be provided.
	iii. that the necessary financial arrangements between the two departments have been agreed Financial arrangements must be made to ensure that the allocation of resources from College to the host and home departments reflects the proportionate responsibilities of each.

Complete applications must be submitted by 31 January before the start of the relevant academic session. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered for funding.

Applications should be sent to:

Student Funding
UCL Student & Registry Services
University College London
Gower Street
London WC1E 6BT
UK

Notification of Results 

A selection panel of UCL academics meets in early March and successful candidates can expect to be notified by mid-March at the latest.

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