What Does the Headline Award Value Include?
Start by identifying the unit and the components: annual stipend, total award, tuition contribution, research budget or employment salary. Cambridge's genome chemical-biology studentship is an example where the headline annual award value includes fees and must not be treated as a maintenance payment. If the source does not give a separate cash stipend, record it as unknown rather than subtracting an estimated fee bill. The provider's award letter should settle the final package.
Which Academic Year's Rate Is Being Quoted?
Copy the reference year beside the amount, not just the programme's future start year. UCL Gatsby quotes a 2026/27 stipend on its current recruitment pages. That is evidence of a reference rate, not independent confirmation of the exact 2027/28 payment. In a comparison, show the advertised reference amount and future rate as separate entries. Do not apply an assumed increase or present a predicted figure as a confirmed entitlement.
Does Fee Coverage Match Your Actual Fee Category?
Compare the funding contribution with the university's fee classification for you. A Home-rate contribution does not automatically cover an international bill. Reading's AHRC award explicitly makes some overseas applicants responsible for a fee difference and says the maintenance stipend cannot be used to meet that gap. Other schemes may waive it. Record a waiver only when the relevant provider confirms it; eligibility to compete is not evidence that the difference has disappeared.
Is a Research Budget Available for Living Costs?
Treat training, conference, laboratory and placement support as separate from maintenance. Such resources may be restricted, reimbursed against costs or controlled through the research group. A useful research allowance is not necessarily cash a student can spend on accommodation. Ask who administers each component, what expenses it covers, whether approval is needed and whether payment is upfront or reimbursement. Leave the personal living-cost contribution unchanged until the provider confirms otherwise.
Does Part-Time or Distance Study Change the Package?
Do not divide or multiply a full-time figure without checking the scheme. Duration, payment intensity and fee coverage may follow different rules. Reading's international competition distinguishes Reading-based study from distance or off-campus routes, for which it does not provide a stipend. A programme offering several study modes does not prove that every mode receives identical funding. Compare the approved mode, residence expectations, funded period and payment schedule together.
How Should We Compare an Unconfirmed Figure?
Use three labels: confirmed for the intended award year, published reference only, and unknown. Build the main affordability calculation from confirmed components and keep a clearly labelled alternative scenario for unresolved support. Ask the provider what evidence would resolve the uncertainty, especially where two official pages disagree. Keep tuition, maintenance and additional personal costs separate; neither an attractive headline nor a zero fee balance establishes that the whole course is fully funded.
Your Next-Step Checklist
- Identify whether the figure is stipend, fees, total award or salary.
- Record the amount's reference year and payment period.
- Confirm Home or international fee coverage and any gap.
- Keep restricted research support separate from personal cash.
- Check mode, location, duration and payment intensity.
- Use only confirmed support in the main affordability calculation.
Official Reading
Read the official school, university, funder or government sources below.
Cambridge:genome chemical-biology studentshipUCL Gatsby:PhD programmeReading:AHRC doctoral awardsReading:international studentships