The answer to this depends on your situation and many factors should be taken into account.
Studentship course fees
If you are self-funding, you’ll need to pay the course fees, and the amount you pay will depend on where you live, the subject you are studying and whether you’re studying full or part-time. For example, annual fees for UK/EU PhD students at the University of Warwick are £4,786 full-time and £2,872 part-time (2024-25). For overseas students, fees are £23,070 for Business and Economics courses and £17,682 for science and engineering programmes.
Studentships are a financial contribution for doctoral research and are normally fee-free, many universities offer full fee waiver scholarships; for example, the University of Huddersfield offer full fee waivers for all of their subjects.
Course fees may also be affected by where you studied previously – for example, the University of Birmingham currently offer a postgraduate degree fee discount of £1,500 for those who studied there at the undergraduate level.
Loss of earnings
While loss of earnings is not a ‘cost’ as such, it’s certainly something to bear in mind if you are currently earning a salary, as your income may drop significantly.
Even if you are lucky enough to get maintenance funding, bear in mind that the minimum level of stipend set by the research councils is supposed to match the tax-free equivalent average graduate starting salary. Find out about the standard tax-free Personal Allowance here.
Research Council stipends are currently a minimum of £19,237 per annum (2024-25 rates), paid tax-free, and may be topped up by other organisations involved in your research.
Some students can supplement their income with teaching/research assistant work at their university, but unlike undergraduates, PhD students are expected to continue their studies throughout the year, so vacation work is not an option. You are advised to speak with your supervisor before accepting any paid work.
Many self-funded PhD students combine part-time study with part-time jobs to meet their costs, but this means their programme takes some six or more years to complete.
Maintenance
Living costs depend on where in the country you live. For example, UCL in London is estimated at around £20,000, per annum for living costs; however, the University of Edinburgh website suggests that students can spend between £920 – 2,257 per month on living costs.
If you are relocating to study, find out the average price of university accommodation as well as local rates for private accommodation – it may be significantly different from where you currently live.
Living costs as a student are often different from when you are working. If you’re conducting the majority of your research from home, commuting costs will be minimal but utility and phone/internet bills will be higher.
Remember you will still be eligible for the usual student discounts/concessions.
Research costs
Whatever your course of choice, there is likely to be equipment, books, photocopying, travel for conferences and/or fieldwork costs that will need to be factored in. There may be small grants available from either the university or charitable bodies for research costs. The Association for the History of Glass is an educational charity, that provides a Grants budget of £3,000 to support research, projects, and activities for the year 2024/25.
Check with your department to see what’s available.
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