Doctoral College Research Enhancement Fund

The Application Process is straightforward.  A link to the Doctoral College Research Enhancement Fund Application Form is below which should be completed as fully as possible.

• You must be registered as a Doctoral or MPhil Student at Newcastle University, unfortunately, due to limited funding this funding is not available to Research Masters Students, e.g., MRes (Master of Research), MMus, MLitt.  
• Please refer to the published call timetable below for the opening and closing dates for 2023/24 and 2024/25.
• Please refer to the DCREF funding criteria (100.1 kB) before completing your application.
• You must obtain a supporting statement from your Academic Supervisor before making your application showing how your proposed activity aligns with your research priorities and those of your academic unit.  Ensure you upload a Supporting supervisor statement for DCREF June 2023 (64.6 kb) (or School Director of PGR or Institute PGRSC) to your application.
• Ensure you hit submit after completing the final question to send your application to the Doctoral College for consideration.

Please note:-

• There will be four calls per year
• There will be a finite number/value of awards under each call.  It may not be possible to support all applications and/or if supported it may not be to the level requested.
• Each application will be ranked by a cross-Faculty Decision Panel made up of Postgraduate Research Deans and Doctoral College representatives.
• Retrospective applications for additional training or travel, that took place before the date of the call deadline, will not be considered.

The Cross-University Decision Panel will rank each application using the DCREF funding criteria (100.1 kB), only the best applications will be funded, and each call will have limited funding/awards available.

To be considered for funding you must ensure your application:

• Places a greater emphasis on research outcomes and outputs and demonstrate the value of the proposed activity to yourself, your academic unit and the University.
• Clearly set out the positive impact that a Doctoral College award would have on the quality of your research, and the value of the additional activities undertaken to both your research and your personal development. 
• Demonstrate value for money, with realistic costings for the activity or opportunity, bearing in mind the guidelines for maximum expenditure for the different types of funding.
• Be fully supported by your Research Supervisor and align with both your research priorities and those of your academic unit.
• Applications for Covid 19 support will be considered in accordance with the Covid 19 support criteria (30.3 kb)

Guidance Notes

• You must be registered as a Doctoral or MPhil Student at Newcastle University, unfortunately, due to limited funding this funding is not available to Research Masters Students, e.g., MRes (Master of Research), MMus, MLitt.  
• Please ensure you time your application appropriately.  Awardees must spend their funding within the same budget year that it is awarded (1^st Aug – 31^st July). Funding cannot be rolled-forward over to subsequent years. Any unspent awards will be cancelled and recycled, and applicants invited to apply to the next call.
• For Post Submission Bursaries you must already be under examination or due to submit within three months of your application date.  You must have submitted by April of the financial year in which you are applying.
• For Travel and Conference Fund Applicants you will need to indicate if you have been provided with opportunities like this previously, for example UKRI funded students who already have RTSG (Research Training and Support Grants funding).

Please refer to further guidance notes available under each of the Doctoral College Research Enhancement Funding Information.

This will provide an award of up to £1500 to support you to engage in a conference or an event.  The application would need to demonstrate that this will add value or impact to your research and you will need to demonstrate the outcomes and outputs that would be result of this activity.

Applications must be made at the appropriate call prior to the event date.  We are unable to accept retrospective applications for funding.

Please read the additional guidance on travel and conference funding before completing the application form.  Please note all international travel must be arranged via the University's travel management company Selective.

Applications must be made at the stated calls and any funding awarded must be incurred within the financial year (1st August - 31st July).  This means that funding awarded at call 4 for events in the next financial year must be paid for in advance using the available funding.

 SAgE student feedback - "Attending the conference was an extremely valuable experience as it is a platform for exchanging ideas, findings, and advancements in my research field, as well as forming part of a network with fellow researchers which could potentially lead to collaborations or future research partnerships. I am very thankful for getting support from this funding."

This will provide an award of up to £1500 to support you to engage in additional training that you wish to undertake in support of your research project or for any other activities.  The application would need to demonstrate that this training will add value or impact to your research and you will need to demonstrate the outcomes and outputs that would be result of this activity.

This bursary can be applied for at any time throughout your studies.

Applications must be made at the appropriate call prior to the training date.  We are unable to accept retrospective applications for funding.

Applications must be made at the stated calls and any funding awarded must be incurred within the financial year (1st August - 31st July).

HaSS student feedback - "The doctoral college funded my attendance at an online course .... Without this financial assistance I would not have been able to attend .... I have now passed the course and have already felt it to be beneficial in my communications."

Our PGR Students contribute to some of our best research papers, the Post Submission Bursary was established to support the time needed (post submission) to write, revise and submit papers for publication in high-quality journals and periodicals. If successful, the fund could support you with a stipend (at the UKRI rate at the time of the application).  The duration of this funding varies between one and three months depending on the impact and scope of the additional research needed, and the benefits to the individual and the University must be clearly articulated in applications.  The application would need to demonstrate to demonstrate the research value to the student and the University and the outcomes and outputs that would be result of this bursary.

To be eligible you must be a Doctoral or MPhil student who is already under examination or will be submitting your thesis within three months of the application date.  Funding must be incurred within the financial year (1st August - 31st July) in which you apply so your thesis submission date can be no later that April of that year.  This will enable funding to be paid in May, June and July prior to the end of the financial year.  If your thesis submission date is after 30th April you will need to apply at the first call of the next financial year.

Funding will not commence until the Doctoral College has received confirmation of your thesis submission to your Graduate School and your registration status has changed to 'under examination'.  If you complete your programme, or start full time paid employment, whilst still receiving this funding, payments will cease once you are no longer a registered student.

FMS Student feedback - "The post submission bursary was fantastic to receive and use. Having received the funding almost 2 months after submitting my PhD it enabled me to take a step back and think of my PhD in a new way. .... This therefore has meant my research will be published which benefits myself, my supervisors and the university."

This bursary provides support to spend time with an organisation outside the University for a period of training. Internships offer the chance to demonstrate the broad range of skills developed through research and support employability.  It is expected that the internship would be arranged and organised by yourself.  Any contribution made by the host organisation would be viewed favourably in an application.  The application would need to demonstrate to demonstrate the research value of this internship to the student and the University and the outcomes and outputs that would be result of this bursary.

The bursary can be applied for at any time throughout your studies and will provide a stipend (at the UKRI rate at the time of the application) for up to a maximum of three months and may also meet other reasonable, necessary costs associated with the internship.

Applications must be made at the stated calls and any funding awarded must be incurred within the financial year (1st August - 31st July).

HaSS student feedback - "The internship fund was absolutely invaluable. I was able to accept the internship.....This added value and impact to my research in a number of ways"

Either directly or indirectly many research projects lead to significant social benefits and commercially viable products or services. This bursary allows you time to investigate the full potential and benefits of your findings.  The application would need to demonstrate the research value of this bursary to the student and the University and the outcomes and outputs that would be a result of this funding.

The bursary can be applied for at any time throughout your studies and will provide a stipend (at the UKRI rate at the time of the application) for up to a maximum of three months and may also meet other reasonable, necessary costs associated with this activity.

Applications must be made at the stated calls and any funding awarded must be incurred within the financial year (1st August - 31st July).

There is also a small amount of funding available if you have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.  Funding will be paid weekly at the current UKRI rate and is available up to 12 weeks.  Guidance on the Covid 19 support criteria (30.3 kb) should be viewed prior to completing your application. 

To be considered for funding a successful application will:

• Confirm that you have already completed your minimum candidature, or it is due to end by 30th April 2024.  This is usually 12 months before your thesis submission date.  Your thesis submission date is on your student record in the PGR COP system. 
• Clearly demonstrate the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic had on your research degree studies and/or your personal circumstances
• Clearly demonstrate the positive impact that the funding would have on your research degree studies
• Be fully supported by your supervisor
• Be within 3 months of the end date of any existing stipend

Please note that students who are registered as 'under examination' are not eligible to apply.

Please be aware that there are limited funds available in each call, it may not be possible to support all applications and/or if supported they may not be to the level requested.

Please note that requests for extensions to thesis submission deadlines due to the impact of Covid need to be submitted via a mitigation using the PGR COP system.  See the Student Progress webpages for guidance.

Additional financial advice and support is also available from Student Finance.

The Doctoral College uses post award evaluation to demonstrate the impact of their DCREF support. 

This takes the form of a short evaluation questionnaire. Where appropriate, a PGR Student, may be invited by the Doctoral College to prepare a Case Study setting out their experience and the benefits gained. This material (with their permission) could then be used for promotional purposes or disseminated to Peer Groups.