The University of Sheffield
Research & Innovation Services

AHRC Research Training Support Grant

The University is allocated an annual amount from the AHRC to fund study visits, conference attendance and fieldwork. As funds are limited, there is no automatic entitlement to funding and students must apply to the University using the AHRC RTSG Application Form, which can be downloaded from this web page. The application form should be submitted by email, by the supervisor, to pgr-scholarships@sheffield.ac.uk (the form does not need to be signed – an email from the supervisor is sufficient for verification).

There will be two deadlines for student applications per year – 30th November and 30th April. Initially, 50% of the annual funding will be available for the November round of applications; if this is not fully allocated, any remainder will be rolled forward to the April round. If there are remaining funds after April, a third round of applications may be invited. Students may apply retrospectively for visits which have already taken place, but should note that there is no guarantee that these will be reimbursed.

Please note the following guidelines:

  1. The RTSG can be used to fund UK or overseas study visits and the costs of attendance at overseas conferences.
  2. The RTSG cannot be used to fund attendance at UK conferences.
  3. Any funded study visits must be for the purposes of conducting primary research. 
  4. All study visits must be essential to the satisfactory completion of the your thesis/course. You must explain on the form why the visit is essential to your research.
  5. Funding will not be provided for students in the writing-up stage of their course/project (year 4 for full-time students, year 6 onwards for part-time students).
  6. Study visits and conference attendance must not take place before 1st October in the first year of your award.
  7. You should plan your visit in the most economical way possible (e.g. standard travel fares, budget accommodation) - this means we are more likely to be able to cover your costs.
  8. The fund can cover or contribute to accommodation costs, but will not pay for living expenses such as meals. You are expected to cover normal everyday costs from your stipend.

In the past, amounts awarded have not exceeded £350 for a UK study visit, or £1000 for an Overseas conference/ visit.

Applications will be considered by a committee, and students will be informed as to whether their application has been successful within three weeks of the closing date. If there are more applications than we are able to fund, then priority will be given to students who have not previously received AHRC funding for study visits or conference attendance. 

If you have any queries about the AHRC Research Training Support Grant, please contact pgr-scholarships@sheffield.ac.uk.