Additional Funding FAQs

Please see below for answers to frequently asked questions relating to the OOC DTP Additional Funding process. If you have further questions, please email enquiries@oocdtp.ac.uk

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The Sustainable Travel Policy will be applied to funding applications starting with those submitted to the September 2024 deadline and all future deadlines.  The Policy will not be applied retrospectively to previously awarded funding.

Full text of the Sustainable Travel Policy can be found here: Sustainable Travel Policy

If you have made your application in good time, your university, who manages the payment of Additional Funding may be able to advance a proportion of the award ahead of expenditure. Alternatively, they may require you to book through your institution’s travel agency.

The only exception to this is if you have had funding approved for consumables. For the purchase of consumables, we would issue payment on receipt, so you would have to pay for the costs upfront.

For Oxford students:

In accordance with Oxford’s policy on the payment of grants, if you have made your application in good time, you may receive 75% of the approved amount in advance. Following your trip/course, the certification form should be sent to the finance colleagues at your institution (details will be included in your award letter and email) along with scanned copies of your original receipts (travel costs/accommodation etc.). Please also supply an itemised list of the receipts that you are submitting. The form must be countersigned by your supervisor.

The final 25% of the approved amount will only be made once the certification form is received and the costs have been confirmed. If you do not complete and return the certification form, a repayment of any amount already made to you will be requested.

For Cambridge students:

Once the OOC DTP Manager has informed the Student Funding Team about the approved additional funding, the Student Funding Administrator will advise if you need to apply for Leave to Work Away or submit a Risk Assessment. When all is approved you will receive the funding with the next available payroll run. If you are able to plan your additional activities in good time, you may be able to receive the additional funding in advance.

Please ensure that you retain all original receipts and submit them to the Student Funding Team within one month after the end date of your additional activity. Please note that only receipted items will be eligible for funding, any expenses without corresponding receipts should be returned to the Student Funding Team up to the amount of awarded funding. Please complete the:

and return to the Student Funding Team (ahrc.and.esrc.dtp.funding@admin.cam.ac.uk) with your receipts.

For Open University students:

Once you are in receipt of your additional funding award letter, please can OU students contact the FASS-Research-Degrees@open.ac.uk mailbox. The sooner you contact the team the sooner they can help you to navigate how best to process the additional funding and make it available for you.

The OOC DTP is keen to support your doctoral research and training. Applications for additional funding would not normally be rejected outright, unless ineligible under AHRC and DTP regulations.

On occasion, our reviewers may query certain costs or require further information. We do ask that you build a strong case for support within your application, relating this to your doctoral studies. Do ensure that you have considered costs carefully, keeping value for money in mind. We encourage you to submit a carefully planned, evidence-based application to us which references your TNA and how the costs will contribute to the successful completion of your doctoral thesis.

Where reviewers have suggested amendments or requested that you reconsider certain elements of the application, we would normally ask you to respond with clarifications/revisions quite quickly so that a decision can be made within that same round of funding, rather than asking you to resubmit to a later deadline.

Yes, you can include applications for different things within the same application form, e.g. UK/overseas study visit plus conference presentation plus language training. Indeed, you are encouraged to plan ahead and apply for multiple activities in advance each year, rather than applying for small pots of funding on a more regular basis.

As ever, building a strong case for the funding is important, so please do provide clear information and make a case for each request.

If you are awarded funding for more than one activity and/or from two different sources (Research Training Support Grant and Engagement Provision for skills training) this will be detailed on your award letter and funds would be managed accordingly.

In general, we ask that you plan ahead and apply for funding in support of activity required for the successful completion of your thesis. So, for instance, if you are planning to undertake fieldwork and/or study visits following successful completion of your end of year one formal review or confirmation of status, it may be sensible to apply for the funding in advance so that you can progress your research promptly. In the event that you are unable to use the funding that has been awarded to you, there are institutional processes in place for this to be returned. We don’t ask for evidence or proof that you have passed your first year review in your application for Additional Funding, but your home university may check that you have completed any such formal hurdle during their associated approval processes.

It normally takes 4-6 weeks to review and approve applications for Additional Funding. It could take an additional 4 weeks for your institution to process and pay the funds into your account. Consequently, we would advise that you aim to apply three months in advance of expected expenditure.

We ask that you are as accurate as possible in your cost estimations however, so please make sure you have a good idea of the finances involved in your activity/training before you apply. Otherwise, the reviewers will likely have questions and this could delay the approval process. Generally though, if you are ready to apply for something we would welcome your application.  

If you are an Open-Oxford-Cambridge AHRC DTP award holder (full or fees-only, full-time or part-time), and you are applying for funding to undertake advanced language training abroad, you may also apply for an extension to your studentship funding. Extensions on the grounds of advanced language training will normally be for up to two months. You may not apply for an extension that would take you beyond four years of doctoral study (FTE), or the equivalent if studying part-time.

Normal training needs, e.g. palaeography, reading knowledge of European languages, will not be accepted as grounds for an extension, since they are expected to be met within the standard period of funding. However if you require advanced language training and have the support of your supervisor, please apply for an extension to your studentship funding.

We ask that you think carefully about your applications for Additional Funding, and really take time to plan out your funding requests.

Where applying to carry out study visits for instance, we would ask that wherever possible you plan ahead and apply for multiple trips at one time, so as to as to avoid numerous applications for smaller amounts.