Increase to the UKRI doctoral stipend for academic year 2022/23
UKCGE welcomes decision by UKRI to increase doctoral researcher stipend
The UKCGE welcomes the decision by UKRI to revise its stipend increase for UKRI-funded doctoral researchers up to 13.19% for the next session.
The minimum UKRI stipend from 1 October 2022 for the academic year 2022/2023 will now be £17,668 (full time equivalent, outside of London), an increase of 10% on the previously announced £16,062. This decision will benefit both doctoral researchers who are continuing their studies and those commencing in 2022/23.
It is especially welcome that this increase will be consolidated in the next academic year, meaning that the annual increase for 2023/2024 will use £17,668 as the baseline.
Although this announcement was made with less than a month prior to it being implemented, UKRI are to be commended for waiving co-funding principles and covering the full increase until 31st March 2023. This gives institutions some breathing space to work through the financial implications.
The latest figures from the Bank of England (4 August 2022) predict that inflation will reach 13% later this year. All postgraduate researchers are affected by this. Now that UKRI have announced their response, it is up to institutions and other funders to ensure that their scholarships are subject to equivalent uplifts. Further, routes to hardship funds should be made available to research students, particularly those who are not in receipt of such scholarships.
The UKCGE Deans and Directors of Graduate Schools is convening a special meeting at 1pm on 23rd September to discuss the institutional responses to the cost of living crisis for PGRs.
There will be significant short-term administrative challenges for institutions to overcome, especially given that many will have already put different stipend payment arrangements in place for October. To find out more, please click here: