This document is a list of some specific funding available to PhD students only (listed first) or PhD students and early career researchers (ECRs). Funding is also organized by category (either meeting attendance, or general research activities). Note that some of the funding listed here for PhD students is internal to the University of St Andrews and only available to matriculated students.
If you apply to any of these, please edit this Wiki page to add helpful information (e.g., amount, due date or time-of-year for deadlines, etc.).
PhD students only¶
Meeting Attendance¶
SEES Conference Fund – check current student handbook. This was available as of 2023.
The Challenger Society offers support to attend any meeting (up to £250 for UK travel or £500 for international travel).
Research or Other Activities¶
(*) IAGC PhD Student Research Grants (International Association of GeoChemistry) (sponsored by Elsevier)
(*) SEES Small Research Grant – check current student handbook. This was available as of 2021.
St Andrews Scholarships Catalogue. On My Saint, navigate to
My Applications > e:Vision applications > Scholarships and funding > View the scholarships and funding catalogue to apply.The Challenger Society offers an ECR grant and a “Stepping Stones Bursary” for research or related activities.
Meeting Attendance, Research, or Other Activities¶
GSIS Interdisciplinary PhD Research and Travel Fund (Graduate School for Interdisciplinary Studies). “To support PhD students in an interdisciplinary activity to help further their postgraduate research.” This can be research/activity or meeting attendance. Just have to convince them that your research is interdisciplinary!
St Leonard’s College Postgraduate Travel Award. “Supports postgraduate students with any travel that would benefit their research and development. Applications for the award are open to all postgraduate students who are matriculated at the University of St Andrews for any postgraduate degree. The grant can cover travel expenses towards travel, accommodation and subsistence for any trips taken up to July 2025.”
University of St Andrews Employability Bursary. In the past, it’s been possible to convince them that attending a meeting enhances career prospects and employability!
PhD and ECRs¶
Meeting Attendance, Research, or Other Activities¶
(*) Geochemistry Group offers support to attend any meeting, but you first must have attended one of their meetings to be eligible.
(*) SAGES Small Grants Scheme (Scottish Alliance for Geoscience, Environment and Society) – you must be a member of SAGES to be elligible for this award. This award can be used for meeting attendance (maximum award £300), activity/research (maximum award £500), or collaborative activity involving two or more SAGES partner institutes (maximum award £1500).
Miscellaneous¶
Royal Society of Edinburgh funding opportunities
MASTS (Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland) funding opportunities