Xiaohongshu
Written by Postgraduate Officer, Darcy Lan, and Education Officer, Sarah Jilani.
At UCL, we have thousands of doctoral students studying towards a PhD. Our PhD students break new boundaries in research across disciplines and play a massive role in supporting teaching and learning for undergraduate and postgraduate taught students. We have been lobbying with others for more financial support for PhD students studying at UCL and from 2026/27 some of our PhD students will be £1025 better off compared to 2025/26, but we know there’s more to do.
How PhD study is funded
PhD students can fund their studies in a variety of ways, some get grants or loans, others will apply for public funding.
Public Funding for Research Study
Some PhD students receive a stipend from the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the largest public funder of PhDs in the UK. UKRI fund about 7,000 PhDs in the UK annually. Studentships are awarded to universities, which then select and fund students competitively.
This funding is tax-free and (unlike maintenance and tuition fee loans) do not need to be repaid. We fully support funding for students to undertake vital research that contributes to wider society.
The 2025/26 annual stipend for students in London is £23,805 for full-time students. This amounts to:
- £1,983.75 a month
- £457.79 a week
Acceptable Living Standards
For some, those figures might seem like a lot on first viewing. But PhD students are expected to commit to their studies full time and, as I'm sure you will know, living in London is expensive. Since 2020, the cost of groceries, amenities, and rent have risen sharply.
This recent report from the Higher Education Policy Institute attempts to calculate a "minimum income standard" for students (i.e. how much money a student would need to live to an acceptable standard of living). They found that for students in London, this value is £24,900.
Using this metric, the stipend for students in London does not allow students to live to an acceptable standard. We also know that PhD students spend a huge number of hours per week working on their research (an average of 47 hours according to one report), so it is difficult for them to work alongside their studies.
Russell Group Students’ Unions
Last year, Russell Group Students' Unions, led by Imperial SU, carried out research into the financial state of PhD students in London. They found that:
- 90.8% of students struggle to cover their additional living expenses
- 78% have had their mental health affected by their finances
- 89.8% are dissatisfied with their funder's response to the cost-of-living crisis
The research also demonstrates that the London weighting has fallen behind inflation - up to 10% at the time of the research.
Early Success
Since this research was published there has been an increase of 4.6% for 26/27. This follows an 8% increase the previous year and equates to £1025 more a year for London-based PhD students compared to 2025/26. Whilst we recognise and support recent uplifts from UKRI, we still believe that the value of the stipend falls short.
We echo the calls in RGSU research to further increase the stipend to match inflation and, at a minimum, provide the minimum income standard of £24,900.
Join our community of researchers
Students’ Union UCL runs the UCL Research Students’ Network which works to represent the needs and interests of postgraduate research students in our community. If any keen researchers are interested in joining, please follow this link.
Get in touch
Postgraduate Officer: [email protected]
Education Officer: [email protected]
Research Students’ Officer: [email protected]