Stipends and other Allowances

Information about your stipend payments, sick leave pay, disabled students allowance and other financial matters.

Stipend

UKRI doctoral stipend level for 2022/23 is £17,668. The stipend level increases every year in line with the GDP deflator.

Students are paid their stipends one month in advance except at the start of the programme when they receive a lump sum payment of three months.

Payment is usually made on the 28th of the preceding month.  Therefore, after your first payment - which will cover September, October and November – your next payment will be 28th November, for your December stipend, and continuing once a month thereafter.

Disabled Students Allowance (DSA)

Disabled Students Allowances are intended to help with additional costs of study-related requirements that may be incurred as a result of disability, mental health problems or specific learning difficulties that means additional support is needed to undertake a UKRI-funded studentship. The allowances can cover the cost of non-medical personal assistance, items of specialist equipment, extra travel costs and general expenses.

If you have any special requirements and would like to access DSA, please get in touch with the Student Disability Service to undertake needs assessment.

• Student Disability Service

Sick Leave

Your stipend payments will continue for absences covered by a medical certificate for up to thirteen weeks within any 12 month period. If the illness lasts for more than thirteen weeks your stipend will be suspended in accordance with UKRI guidelines.

• IGS guidance in interruptions of study
• PGR Sick Pay entitlements

Maternity, Paternity, Adoption and Parental Leave

UKRI funded Students are entitled to 52 weeks of maternity or shared parental leave. The first 26 weeks should be paid at full stipend rate, pro-rated as necessary for part time Students. The following 13 weeks should be paid at a level commensurate with statutory maternity pay. The final 13 weeks are not paid.

Partners are entitled to up to 10 days paid Ordinary Paternity Leave on full stipend.

Partners may be entitled to up to 50 weeks of Shared Parental Leave; this may include paid and unpaid leave, depending on the individual circumstances, any paid leave should be at full stipend.

Adoption leave should be granted on the same basis as maternity leave.

There is no qualifying period for maternity, paternity, adoption or shared parental leave.

• IGS guidance on parental leave

Caring responsibilities

The costs of additional caring responsibilities, including childcare, beyond that required to meet the usual requirements of the studentship and which are directly related to the project, may be claimed against the CDT grant where this is required in order for the student to participate. However, costs associated with the student’s normal working patterns may not be sought.

Tax and National Insurance

Payments made as part of a UKRI funded Studentship are training awards and not regarded as income for income tax purposes. No additional payments will be made for your National Insurance contributions. You can, if you wish, pay contributions as non-employed persons. You should consult your local office of the Department for Work and Pensions about your position to determine the impact of non-payment of contributions on any future claims for benefit including the basic State Pension.

Your earnings received from sources such as teaching and demonstrating may be taxable and should be aggregated with income from any employment when assessing income tax liability in any tax year.

• Voluntary national insurance contributions
• Tutoring and demonstrating vacancies at the School of Informatics