Choosing your award
Our awards
We offer a variety of funding packages, with the vast majority of students receiving offers of 3.5, 3.75, 4, or 4.5 years.
All NINE DTP awards embed Research in Practice (RinP) as a core part of the studentship, to develop collaborative research leaders who work across sectors and disciplines. As part of NINE DTP’s commitment to RinP, every award includes support for an integrated three-month placement to be undertaken during the period of study. Students who do not undertake a three-month placement will have their funding award reduced by three months.
All award types are permitted on a part-time basis, and in these instances the durations and stipend levels will be adjusted on a pro-rata basis.
For more details on each award type, see the Studentship Competition Policies and Procedures document linked from the right side of this webpage.
Full guidelines
Download a copy of the NINE DTP Annual Studentship Competition Policies and Procedures
GuidelinesNomination Form
Although nomination forms are submitted by prospective supervisors, they require significant input from student applicants
Nomination FormSteered Awards
If you think that your proposed research and training programme may meet one of these steers, please consult the detailed descriptions of each steer in the NINE DTP Studentship Competition Policies and Procedures document (see the link on the right side of this webpage) and also consult with your prospective supervisor. There are places on the nomination form to justify how a proposed studentship meets a steer(s) and, in the case of the collaborative steer, for the non-academic partner to detail the collaboration.
Because NINE DTP must meet the minimum numbers for these steers, nominations that qualify for one or more steer may have a better chance of being successful. However, note that in the case of the collaborative steer, because collaboration is assessed as a separate element, a weak case for collaboration may actually hurt a nomination that could have been stronger if it were not proposed as a collaborative studentship. Also, note that the majority of studentships awarded fall outside of any steer, so you should not be reluctant to submit a nomination just because it does not fall within a steer.
Action for Equality Studentships
We value diversity within our partnership and believe that this diversity enriches our PGR community, the experiences of our doctoral candidates, and our research culture. It further enhances the quality of the research produced within our community, and the social scientists we support. NINE DTP is therefore committed to a policy of enhanced action to support those groups who have traditionally been under-represented within our research environment.
To this end, NINE DTP offers two studentships to UK-domiciled individuals who identify as being of Black British, Asian British, or mixed (Black or Asian) British ethnicity via our Action for Equality (AforE) scheme.
The AforE competition is run according to the same guidelines and procedures as the NINE studentship competition, with eligible candidates being submitted to both the NINE DTP studentship competition and the AforE scheme via the same initial process. Candidates are not expected to provide any additional material, and entry to the scheme requires no additional work from either supervisor or applicant. The supervisor only need indicate eligibility of the candidate for the scheme on the front page of the NINE DTP nomination form.
Additional Support
In addition to the AforE Studentship Scheme, NINE DTP are keen to encourage and support applicants from Black British and Asian British backgrounds seeking UKRI funds via NINE DTP in other ways. As part of our AforE strategy, candidates who meet the AforE studentship criteria may request a meeting with the DTP Director during the Autumn term. As Chair of both the NINE DTP and AforE Studentship Committees, the Director can meet with candidates individually (or in small groups if demand is high) to provide additional advice and guidance on creating and presenting a competitive application in our PhD funding competition. Candidates need not take up the opportunity if they do not wish to, but should they wish to seek this additional support they should contact the DTP team in Durham who will look to arrange the meeting ([email protected]).
Further, should candidates wish, we can work to put them in contact with current award holders, or academics, from similar backgrounds and with similar interests for an informal discussion with the candidate around their application and around strategies for thriving as a postgraduate researcher.
Action for Equality Scheme Guidelines
Read more around our initiative to support candidates of Black British, British Asian, or mixed Black or Asian British heritage
AforE Guidelines