Postgraduate research stipends, tuition fees and Research Training Support Grants (RTSG)

Set up your stipend

We will set up your stipend payment automatically. We will inform you of this by email.

Stipends for the 2025/26 academic year will be set up by mid-September 2025. I

If you have any questions about your stipends being set up, contact the School or Faculty's PGR Administration Office.

Payment amounts

Your funder will decide the amount of stipend you get. You can find this in your funding offer letter, which will confirm your annual stipend rate.

Stipend payments are usually paid each month at 1/12th of your annual stipend rate.

In months where you are not eligible to receive payment for a whole month, your payment will be pro-rated. This means your stipend will be for 1/365th of your annual stipend rate, multiplied by the number of days you are eligible for funding.

If you pay rent quarterly, you could also get your stipend in quarterly payments. To arrange this, email pg-funding@bristol.ac.uk.

Receive your stipend

To get your stipend, you must:

• be fully registered as a student
• register your bank details with us

Stipend payments are made via bank transfer to your nominated UK bank account.

International students

If you are an international student, you need to set up a UK bank account to receive your stipend.

When to expect your stipend

You will get your stipends in advance on the last working day of each month, just before the month you are being paid for. For example, you will get stipend payments for October on the last working day in September.

If your programme start date is in September, your first payment will be for the month of October. Any unfunded days for September will be paid to you in the last month of your PhD.

Payment schedule 2025/26

Dates of Study	Final date for receiving stipend changes	Date stipend will be paid
1 to 31 October 2025	19 September 2025	30 September 2025
1 to 30 November 2025	21 October 2025	31 October 2025
1 to 31 December 2025	18 November 2025	28 November 2025
1 to 31 January 2026	15 December 2025	31 December 2025
1 to 28 February 2026	20 January 2026	30 January 2026
1 to 31 March 2026	17 February 2026	27 February 2026
1 to 30 April 2026	20 March 2026	31 March 2026
1 to 31 May 2026	21 April 2026	30 April 2026
1 to 30 June 2026	19 May 2026	29 May 2026
1 to 31 July 2026	19 June 2026	30 June 2026
1 to 31 August 2026	21 July 2026	31 July 2026
1 to 30 September 2026	11-August 2026	28 August 2026

If your payment is not processed in line with the payment schedule, we process extra payments twice per week. You will get an email when we have processed a payment. This will confirm the payment amount and payment date.

Check your payments

To view your individual payment schedule:

1. Access your financial statement at: https://bristol.ac.uk/fees-and-funding
2. In the 'Bursaries and Scholarships' section select 'View payments'

Payments may not shown in order, so check all listed payments. Your financial statement will show stipends for one academic year at a time only. You will be able to see payments for the 2026/27 academic year in August 2026.

If you think that your stipend is incorrect, either too high or too low, email pg-funding@bristol.ac.uk.

If you need a letter to confirm the stipend you will get this academic year, email pg-funding@bristol.ac.uk.

Change of circumstances

Any changes to your study programme, could impact the amount of funding you get. Changes that affect your funding could include:

• suspending your studies
• extending your studies
• changing your mode of attendance
• withdrawing from your studies
• early completion of your studies.

If you have any questions about a change of circumstance, contact your supervisor or faculty administration team.

Overpayments

It can take several weeks for a change of circumstance to be reflected in your funding amounts. This can lead to an overpayment of your stipend.

Our PG Funding team will notify you by email if this happens.

You will be required to return any overpayments.

You must talk with your supervisor or school so they can advise you about the financial implications.

Renewal in future academic years

Stipends are set up for one academic year at a time, from October to September. Stipends for the next academic year are usually set up in August of each year. You will receive an email to confirm when this has been set up.

If you are due an annual increase to your stipend, this usually takes effect from 1 October every year. This may vary depending on funder. You can find out about this by referring to your funding offer letter.

Research Training Support Grant (RTSG)

If there is a Research Training Support Grant (RTSG) attached to the studentship, contact your faculty administration team. They can provide information on how to use these funds.

Tuition Fees

If you have questions about your tuition fees or other programme costs, contact your School or Faculty’s PGR Administration Office.