Eligibility
To be eligible for funding, you will need to meet the official ESRC requirements. Please find below details of the new eligibility guidelines released on 14 October 2020.
Please note: eligibility for funding does not guarantee you eligibility for a place at the University of your choice, which will have separate eligibility requirements.
Candidates for the Action for Equality Scheme must satisfy the below requirements, as well as being UK-domiciled candidates of Black, Asian or mixed Black or Asian heritage.
Academic Qualifications and Experience
Applicants applying for a studentship must hold or be predicted a First or a good Upper Second Class undergraduate degree in the social sciences, or have relevant comparable experience.
A Masters degree is not a prerequisite for studying with the NINE DTP. Applicants without relevant training to Masters level can apply for Master plus PhD (a 1+3 award) funding. All studentships can be offered on a full or part time basis.
If you are applying for PhD funding (a +3 award) you must hold or be completing a Masters degree in the social sciences, which includes at least 60 credits of research methods training. Applicants with Masters degrees that do not include research methods training can be offered funding for 3.5 years to enable them to complete the Postgraduate Certificate in Research Methods.
Commencement of Awards
To be eligible for a studentship in this current recruitment round you must be applying to commence a programme of postgraduate study which starts from October 2023. Awards cannot be deferred and selected candidates will be assumed to be starting their studies in October 2023 unless there are exceptional circumstances.


Home / International Student Status
In August 2020, the UKRI announced changes to their residential eligibility rules.
From October 2020 onwards, the residential eligibility rules have been relaxed and candidates may apply for NINE DTP funding irrespective of their residential status or nationality.
However, applicants and supervisors should be aware of the following:
- NINE DTP may only award a maximum of 30% of all studentships to international candidates, as defined by the ESRC and UKRI (please see gull guidance below)
- All awards will be made at the full studentship rate for the UKRI, set at £4,596 for fees and £17,668 for stipend in 2022-2023.
- Where students are required to pay international student tuition fee rates, the difference in funding between the UKRI fee rate and the international tuition fees will need to be covered by the department / institution / other funding sources. Please note: NINE DTP cannot provide funds to cover this difference.
Candidates and supervisors should discuss the eligibility of all applicants to determine whether the candidate would be considered a home or international student.
Full guidance, including all exceptions and caveats, is available via the ESRC Postgraduate Funding Guidelines.
Please note: NINE DTP cannot advise on fee status, and will not make determinations on individual student eligibility in advance of receiving the nomination form; institutions and departments should determine each candidates fee status, in conjunction with Postgraduate Admissions teams.
For the purposes of clarity, these changes are not retrospective, and will not impact on the current funding arrangements of any UKRI funded students.