Funding for postgraduate research
The Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering is committed to supporting postgraduate research students through a range of funding opportunities.
We are highly successful in attracting sponsorship for research students - particularly from research councils, industry, trusts and charities. Explore funding opportunities for postgraduate research below and please contact our admissions team with any queries.
Exceptional Women in Engineering PhD Scholarship
The Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering is offering a fully-funded PhD studentship to an outstanding female candidate.
The studentship will be for a period of up to three years and will cover standard fees at either the Home/EU or standard International rate in addition to an annual stipend at the RCUK rate to cover living costs. For a PhD starting in the 2021-22 academic session this is expected to be £15,609.
Candidates can only be nominated by an applicant's supervisor and candidates must have secured an academic offer of study for a place on the PhD programme prior to the nomination deadline. We are hopeful that a call for nominations will take place around May for entry to a PhD programme in September 2021
For more information, please contact our postgraduate research admissions team.
External funding schemes
Below is a list of organisations which offer funding to students of specific nationalities or gender. If any further information is required such as eligibility and criteria details please contact the organisation directly.
Scholarships
- British Federation of Women Graduates - Scholarships available for female postgraduate research students.
- British Marshall Scholarships - Scholarships for high calibre graduate students from the US to study in the UK.
- Commonwealth Scholarships - Postgraduate scholarships for Commonwealth students administered by the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU).
- Croucher Foundation - Scholarships for Hong Kong-born students.
- Fulbright student scholarships - Applicants from the United States can apply to the US-UK Fulbright Commission for a Fulbright Award.
- Global Education Program (GEP) - Russian government funding program that offers Russian citizens an opportunity to study at leading foreign higher education institutions.
- Institute of Mechanical Engineers - for exceptional graduates from an accredited mechanical engineering degree programme.
- LPDP Funding Indonesia - Full funding for students with Indonesian nationality, graduated from an accredited Indonesian university or an overseas university acknowledged by the Indonesian Higher Education Directorate (DIKTI), maximum age 40 (for PhD programme).
- UK-India Education and Research Initiative (UKREI) - This is a major government funding initiative supported by the DfES, FCO and OSI.
Support funding
- Henry Lester Trust - Awards given to Chinese students (including those from Hong Kong) studying for a PhD.
- Postgrad Solutions now offer an Engineering bursary.
There are many other organisations not included in this list that may be able to offer support. Students should apply directly to the relevant organisation.
Dean's Doctoral Scholarship
This is an extremely competitive Faculty-level award that is open to all nationalities and research areas to support entry to a PhD programme in September 2021. Awards will be made on the basis of evidence of academic ability and research aptitude.
Candidates can only be nominated by an applicant's supervisor and candidates must have secured an academic offer of study for a place on the PhD programme prior to the nomination deadline. Following initial shortlisting within the Department a final decision on awards are made by a Faculty panel.
We are waiting for confirmation that this scheme will run to support entry to a PhD in September 2021.
For more information, please contact our postgraduate research admissions team.
Global Challenges Research Fund
The Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) is a £1.5 billion fund announced by the government to support cutting-edge research that addresses the challenges faced by developing countries.
GCRF forms part of the UK's Official Development Assistance (ODA) commitment. ODA-funded activity focuses on outcomes that promote the long-term sustainable growth of countries on the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) list.
The University of Manchester is offering fully funded four year PhD studentships with an integrated teaching certificate. For a list of available projects and further details about the funding please see the University website.
Global Doctoral Research Network Partnerships
The University of Manchester has collaborations with a number of international partners. As an extension of this joint research, we are developing dual-award PhD programmes to allow postgraduate research students access to world-class facilities, expertise and field environments. Visit the University website for more information about the Dual-awards via the Global Doctoral Research Network.
MACE Doctoral Prize
The Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering offers a number of studentships to outstanding PhD candidates. We would particularly like to consider students who have graduated with a Distinction from one of the following MSc programmes:
- Advanced Manufacturing Technology and Systems Management
- Aerospace Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering Design
- Reliability Engineering and Asset Management
- Structural Engineering
- Thermal Power and Fluid Engineering
- Renewable Energy and Clean Technology
Candidates can only be nominated by an applicant's supervisor and candidates must have secured an academic offer of study for a place on the PhD programme prior to the nomination deadline. The studentship will be for a period of up to 3.5 years and will cover standard fees at either the Home or EU/International rate in addition to an annual stipend at the RCUK standard rate.
For more information, please contact our postgraduate research admissions team
Osborne Reynolds Doctoral Scholarship
The Osborne Reynolds Doctoral Scholarship has been established in the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering with the aim to support outstanding PhD students in the area of turbulent fluid mechanics.
One scholarship will be awarded annually. The award provides a total amount of £1,200 annually for each scholarship. The scholarship is open to students of all nationalities who have been accepted for a full-time PhD programme in subjects related to turbulent fluid mechanics. No preference will be given between computational and experimental research or between 'fundamental' and 'applied' topics.
Research Impact Scholarship
The University of Manchester is offering a Research Impact Scholarship to support exceptional candidates who undertake research in the following areas: Discovery, Energy and Sustainability, Graphene and Enterprise, Global Inequalities or Healthy Futures.
The Scholarship will be for a period of up to three years to the value of £14,000 per year. This award can be used against tuition fees, living costs or a combination of both. Nominations for this studentship are made by the supervisory team with a final decision on awards made by a Faculty panel. Applicants must have an academic offer for the PhD programme in place by the closing date.
We are waiting for confirmation that this scheme will run to support entry to a PhD in September 2021.
For more information, please contact our postgraduate research admissions team.
Research Council Funding
These scholarships will be supplied from the Department's EPSRC DTP allocation. Home students are eligible for these awards. It may also be possible to consider a small number of EU and other International students for awards through the relaxation of eligibility requirements permitted by research councils. However, due to the limited number of places available through the relaxation, only the most able applicants can be considered in this way.