ESRC full funding applications through to Phd (1+3)

[TinyDiamond]

I am due to graduate 2014 and am hoping to apply for (and secure!) ESRC 1+3 funding to fund masters year through to Phd. Unfortunately though due to how my terms fall I won't be able to start until 2015/16 academic year.

I wondered if there is anyone currently funded by them here who could talk me through the process (timescales etc).

I'd like to know

-At what point in the year did you put your original application in? (and was this to the Uni first or the ESRC or simultaneously) ie do you have to have an official acceptance onto the master course before you can out your Phd funding app in?

-When did you then find out you had been successful?

-If you had to relocate did you have adequate time to do this or was it very rushed?

I have tried to find these specific answers on the website but have had no luck so far and obviously there are only dates present for 2012/13 although I'm aware these will probably stay vaguely the same.

Any input from lecturers or previous students appreciated too, I'd love to hear your experiences

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another hopeful bump as still have had no response to my multiple emails

what I have found from my colleagues who were ESRC funded is that they actually just applied to the university who advertised ESRC funded courses. Mine was actually funded by a charity and you will find many universities sponsor some PhDs themselves also.

Generally start looking from Sept onwards to start the following September. The best thing to do is decide which academics/area you would like to work with and basically stalk them for papers/conferences/twitter etc anything that they are writing and once you have read a few come up with a research proposal and perhaps contact them in advance of studentships being advertised to find out what their workload is like (they may not have spaces to supervise for a year or two) and to get them to know your name/work for when you do apply.

Many people just bite the bullet and support themselves for a masters and then apply for a paid studentship to do the PhD as in some areas the 3+1 are like gold dust....

Which discipline are you looking to research in?

Hi - I had just an ordinary three year one some years ago so not sure I can help. However just wanted to check that quite a few are allocated directly to particular universities - as they often have quite a few these are often easier to get than going to the ESRC direct. What's your subject and where do you want to do it?

I'm in sociology and I am thinking Sheffield as from stalking on the website I see two possible supervisors for my (potential) area of study. Second choice is Nottingham (university of).
I have a few ideas already so I think I would be very ready to start applications in Oct 14 when I finish this undergrad. I am on course for a first class degree so at least that's something in my favour.

Do you think it would be worth e-mailing the potential supervisors now? What would I say?

It's always worth making contact with them, introduce yourself ans say you would like to work with them on a PhD in xyz area and enquire as to whether they would be taking on research students themselves and if they think your proposal seems realistic... You could ask for advice
as to who to read/what to do to make your proposal stronger...

Hi. The applications process usually starts around Jan/Feb for entry the following Sept/Oct. You should approach potential supervisors first informally and they will be able to support you through the application process, if they are interested in supervising you. The formal deadline for applications is usually around Feb/March. And you'll probably find out around April/May whether you've got funding.

You don't need to have an approved application to the Masters course before you apply; you'd usually apply to the university in tandem with your funding application.

All ESRC funding is now organised through doctoral training centres (DTCs) which are usually collaborations between a number of universities. For Sheffield, for example, see www.shef.ac.uk/social-sciences-dtc/index - they say contact the relevant department first.

It would be worth contacting potential supervisors now, even though you're not looking to apply for a while - you can see if they're interested, get pointed in other directions if they're not, and make sure you're in touch in time to get all the relevant info/dates when they're published.

I'm a lecturer and always like receiving emails from students who are interested in doing a PhD with me - I don't always want to supervise them, but I never see it as irritating. But do make sure you have a bit of an idea what you want to do (it sounds like you already do) before you contact them as extremely vague queries are a bit annoying .

Hope this helps.

Thanks. That is so positive that you like hearing from people for possible supervision. The reason I haven't yet is I was worried it would be annoying and add to an already heavy workload.
This thread has made me feel much more positive about things after a tough day working on an essay where I had one of those losing the plot moments. I'm doing distance learning but effectively full time, working part time and looking after my family. Gin. I need gin.

Hi I'm right in the middle of this. I've just applied for esrc 3+1 through kent in sociology. I worked hard with my supervisors to build a proposal and submitted in jan. I've my interview on tuesday. My uni run their own scholarship programme as well, so I'm hoping for one or the other!

good luck rose! what are you hoping to research? I looked at kent, there is someone there who would be my perfect supervisor for my (hopeful) project but I just couldn't relocate that far.
will you come back and tell us how the interview goes please?

All around the vcs and relationships to the community and statutory service provision. Will update I promise. I've been interviewed and interviewed 100s of times but this one is making me nervous esp as I'm 7mths pregnant!

Well looks like I've secured a minimum of a university funded place and being put forwards as nominated by the university for ESRC funding. Over the moon!

congratulations! brilliant news. feeling warm and fuzzy for you