Applying to TCRS for PhD Studentship Funding - for Schools and Departments

New matched funding for the purposes of TCRS are funds not previously used in support of doctoral studentships and/or has been newly secured (after 1 October 2024). The use of funds for doctoral studentship support with agreements predating 1 October 2024 will need to be authorized by the TCRS Management Committee.

The individual sources for funds can be for any amount and do not have to make up 50% of a full PhD studentship. Departments will need to liaise with their School about the funding they can put up for possible matched funding. The School will determine how this funding and any other funding they hold together with TCRS funding will be utilized to make up studentships. 

It is up to the School and its Departments to manage the creation of studentships and to ensure that fund proportions meet with TCRS eligibility criteria.

Internal funding:

• Pro-Vice-Chancellor level (i.e. central University/Chest) funds
• School level funds
• Departmental/Faculty funds, including trust funds/endowments that have not been used for PhD funding before. The School can employ these funds for a studentship in another Department of Faculty if the donor Department or Faculty is content with this
• College funds (including subject restricted funds) which meet the required eligibility criteria for TCRS
• Dormant Trust or other Funds which have been dormant for at least three years
• New for Cohorts 2 and 3: Please note that for Cohorts 2 and 3 (i.e. bids made during 2025-26 and 2026-27; cohort entry in 2026-27 and 2027-28), ‘orphaned’ funding may be included as matched funding. That is, funds previously used for PhD funding and since orphaned because of the withdrawal of original match funding from an external funding source (e.g. UKRI), and not capable of supporting PhDs without a match. Schools will need to explain why the funds are orphaned.

External funding includes new funding that may originate from:

• Philanthropic foundations
• Individual philanthropic donations
• Trusts
• Industry (philanthropic giving)

Please note that the same source of internal funding should not normally be provided as TCRS matched funding for more than three years. Schools should look to generate further new matched funding for the programme. A special case can be made to the TCRS MC where:

• Funding is secured which is currently used for fees only / maintenance only / or any fraction of a PhD studentship.  The funds will need to activate some other funding not previously made available for studentships in order to be eligible in the bid made to the TCRS MC
• Funding has been previously or intermittently used for studentships, but not capable of sustaining a full-studentship any longer

• TCRS cannot be matched with industrial research contracts, nor UKRI or ERC grants
• Any research grants provided by the UK Government

Please note that Schools will be expected to have checked matching funds for eligibility and undertaken due diligence with their CUDAR representative before presenting it to the TCRS MC.

INT’s Director will write to Schools shortly after the TCRS MC’s meeting to formally confirm grant awards with further information. TCRS Grants can only be approved by the TCRS MC and confirmed by INT’s Director in writing.

Any School allocation of TCRS funds not matched by new funding in a given year will be rolled over to the subsequent year. Any TCRS funding for which a School is unable to find match-funding by the time Cohort 5 is recruited will return to Trinity College.

The University’s Student Funding Team (SFT) will invoice INT for TCRS funding for the forthcoming year during August each year. TCRS funds can only be paid from INT to SFT and no other party (e.g. a College). Funds allocated to Schools will remain with SFT who will set up accounts for each School.

Once studentships have been agreed, SFT will make maintenance payments to the students directly. SFT will also arrange for the payment of the University Composition Fee and college fees from the funds.