President's Doctoral Scholar Awards 2012
Please note that the application window for this scholarship has now closed for September 2012 entry. It is planned that this scholarship will be offered again in 2013 and so this information is kept here to assist with future applications.
The University of Manchester has launched a further £2.5m investment in PhD training with the creation of the President's Doctoral Scholar Awards (PDS Awards). These prestigious awards are open to all nationalities and research areas.
Within the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, PDS Award funding will be allocated to our most outstanding applicants seeking PhD training opportunities starting from September/October 2012. We aim to award at least 40 scholarships as part of our 2012 PhD recruitment round, which may include a number of collaborating schemes such as:
- 2012 Faculty PhD Studentships
- BBSRC Doctoral Training Partnership Awards
- EPSRC Doctoral Training Awards
- Alumni 'Research Impact' Studentships
Based on the academic track-record of applicants, and evidence of research potential, we will select our Presidential Scholars from the various applicants across our 2012 funding schemes. For this reason, PhD projects will not be listed as offering PDS Awards at this stage. Instead, our most outstanding applicants will receive confirmation of their PDS Awards status alongside confirmation of their PhD place and funding.
PDS Awards status will entitle our successful candidates to a further £1,000 enhancement to their funded stipend/living allowance. They will also have the opportunity to:
- Be invited to attend a series of exclusive events where you will have the opportunity to meet the University of Manchester President and Vice Chancellor, interact closely with our academic community and network with other PDS Awards students.
- Benefit from international research leadership under distinguished scholars
- Become a PDS Awards ambassador for the University
- Receive a President’s Doctoral Scholar medal at graduation
- Benefit from our extensive transferable skills training for PhD researchers
Criteria
Applicants must have obtained (or expect to obtain) a minimum first-class honours degree (or equivalent), and ideally hold a Masters-level qualification at merit or distinction (or equivalent). They should also have a track-record of engaging with research. This may include contributions to publications/articles, promoting their research to a wider audience, prizes/accolades for previous research work, setting up research collaborations with other groups etc.
How to apply
Applications for PDS Award funding are open across the Faculty. Full details on our research groups and activity can be found on the main Faculty website:
This page also has links to our application processes. It would be helpful if your application can be clear as to what sources of funding you may have available to you or may also be applying to as some of the awards will be held in conjunction with other scholarships/monies.
You would need to be nominated for the President's Doctoral Scholar Award by the School to which you are applying (e.g. Electrical & Electronic Engineering). There is not a separate application form to complete for the Award, you should simply mention the PDS Award to the School during the application process (e.g. the funding section of the application form or by email to the admissions office). The School may need to get certain pieces of information from you if they are nominating you for the award later in the process. They will also need to have decided that they can make an offer of a place to you.
The next deadline date for nominations will be around the end of February 2012, as the Faculty will be reviewing these at the beginning of March across the Faculty. The School should be able to advise you of their precise internal deadline as our application progresses.
Any enquiries on PDS Awards funding within the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences should be directed to Ian Bradley at Ian.Bradley@manchester.ac.uk