Costs and Sources of Funding

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Costs and sources of funding

The tuition fees for the academic year 2012-13 for international students are £11,000. For residents of the United Kingdom or another EU country the tuition fees are £3,400. The tuition fee tends to rise slightly on a year-by-year basis. Further information on tuition fees can be found on the University Registry’s web site.

Further information on the costs of living can be found by clicking here.

Sources of funding for research degrees are limited but the following are some suggestions. This list is not necessarily exhaustive but provides information on sources of funding about which we are aware. It is also worth investigating other possible sources of funding which are external to the University, particularly if you are not from the UK.

Please note: most of the funding bodies listed below will require you to confirm that you have applied to the University of Aberdeen for admission as a research student. Some will require you to have been accepted by the University before they will consider your funding application. Thus it is vitally important that you do not forget to complete the University’s application process as well as putting together your funding application. Information on how to apply can be found here.

• Sources of funding for students applying from the United Kingdom/European Union
• Sources of funding for students applying from outside the United Kingdom/European Union

Sources of funding for students applying from the United Kingdom/European Union

The Law School at the University of Aberdeen

The School of Law is offering four fee bursaries of £500 each for students who wish to begin research degrees before the end of July 2012. For further details click here.

The College of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Aberdeen.

The College of Arts and Social Sciences (of which the Law School forms part) awards a number of research masters and PhD studentships on an annual basis. The Law School considers whether to nominate applicants to the College of Arts and Social Sciences as potential scholarship recipients at the same time as considering whether to offer a place. It is therefore not necessary for applicants to submit separate funding applications to the College of Arts and Social Sciences. For further information on the scholarships available through the College of Arts and Social Sciences See this link.

The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)

The AHRC offers funding for research LLMs (through the Research Preparation Masters Scheme) and PhDs (through the Doctoral Competition). Candidates for the doctoral award are expected to have or be close to completing a masters level qualification. Those applicants who have or are about to complete an undergraduate degree should apply to the Research Preparation Masters Scheme.

The AHRC awards for 2012-2013 will be administered by the College of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Aberdeen. Further information about these scholarships can be found here.

Vikram Reddy Scholarship

The Vikram Reddy Memorial Scholarship offers £1,000 to support one postgraduate student from the United Kingdom (British Citizen) through a one year full time Master of Laws (taught or research) programme at the University of Aberdeen. For further details click here.

University of Aberdeen Alumni Discount Scheme

Aberdeen Alumni may apply for a 20% fee discount, which is applied to one year's fees of further academic study at the University of Aberdeen. For full details click here.

The Carnegie Trust

The Carnegie Trust, via its ‘Carnegie/Caledonian scholarships’ normally provides two or three PhD scholarships on an annual basis (although they are not limited to research in law). A Carnegie Trust award covers fees at the UK/EU level and maintenance. Awards are open to graduates of a Scottish University or those who expect to graduate from a Scottish University within a short time of making their application. A first class honours degree is a pre-requisite. If you have not yet completed your undergraduate studies, you can still apply, but may receive an award conditional upon obtaining a first class honours degree. The closing date for applications is usually in March each year. Further details are available at www.carnegie-trust.org.

The Stair Society

The Stair Society periodically provides scholarships for research degrees with a Scottish legal history aspect. Further information is available on their website: www.stairsociety.org.

The Clark Foundation

The Clark Foundation provides partial funding for research degrees in any aspect of Scots law and/or its relationship with other legal systems or institutions within the European Community. The Foundation has a total of approximately £60,000 per year to be allocated, but this is usually split among a large number of projects, so it is unlikely to make an award that would cover the entire cost of a research degree. The deadline for applications is normally the end of March in the year in which you wish to commence study. The scheme is administered by Tods Murray, a firm of solicitors (www.todsmurray.com). You can email them for an application form at clarkfoundation@todsmurray.com.

Smaller organisations and charitable trusts

In addition to the sources listed above, there are numerous other organisations that will award smaller grants if you or your research fit certain specified criteria. The Directory of Scottish Grant Making Trusts is a good place to start: at the time of writing it was available at this link. There is also some information on the prospects.ac.uk web site (click on “funding my further study”).

Sources of funding for students applying from outside the United Kingdom/European Union

The Law School at the University of Aberdeen

The School of Law is offering four fee bursaries of £500 each for students who wish to begin research degrees before the end of July 2012. For further details click here.

The College of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Aberdeen.

The College of Arts and Social Sciences (of which the Law School forms part) awards a number of research masters and PhD studentships on an annual basis. The Law School considers whether to nominate applicants to the College of Arts and Social Sciences as potential scholarship recipients at the same time as considering whether to offer a place. It is therefore not necessary for applicants to submit separate funding applications to the College of Arts and Social Sciences. For further information on the scholarships available through the College of Arts and Social Sciences See this link.

University of Aberdeen Alumni Discount Scheme

Aberdeen Alumni may apply for a 20% fee discount, which is applied to one year's fees of further academic study at the University of Aberdeen. For full details click here.

Commonwealth Scholarships

Commonwealth Scholarships are available to Commonwealth nationals under the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowships Plan (CSFP). Further information is available at www.csfp-online.org.

CB Davidson Fund

This is a fund that provides limited financial support for graduates in law from outside the UK to undertake postgraduate study in Aberdeen. Awards, except in exceptional circumstances, will not exceed £2,500 and in most instances will be less.  The closing dates for applications to the CB Davidson Fund are 31st March and 30th September each year. Further details and an application form are available at: www.abdn.ac.uk/registry/cb_davidson.shtml.

The British Council

The British Council does not fund research students directly, but does administer the Chevening Scholarships, which support outstanding graduates wishing to study in the UK for a taught masters degree or a research degree. Further information is available at www.chevening.com. The British Council also has a useful list of potential funding sources at www.britishcouncil.org/learning-funding-your-studies.htm.

NB: The law school is not responsible or liable for the content of external web sites, and please be aware that information may change.