Turing Scheme for Postgraduate Researchers
The Turing Scheme is the UK Government’s global programme for studying and working abroad. The University of Leeds has been granted a limited amount of funding to support overseas placements, including for Postgraduate Researchers.
The scheme is particularly focused on helping students from underrepresented backgrounds and provides generous non-repayable funding.
Turing funding is intended to provide PGRs with the chance to:
- Undertake an international placement or visit that will provide a focus for and develop new or additional skills
- Provide opportunity to gain new insights into their research area
- Develop skills that will enhance future employability
- Develop your academic network beyond University of Leeds
You can see examples of trips taken by previous Turing grant holders, and their accounts of how they benefitted from the funding on our Turing PGR case studies Sharepoint page.
We are currently welcoming applications from PGRs for Turing funding for travel in the 23-24 academic year.
Eligible opportunities
Applicants must be registered as a student at the University of Leeds. The scheme is open to home and international fee rated PGRs; suspended PGRs cannot apply.
Your placement must be international and last a minimum duration of 28 days.
Funding can cover up to 12 weeks of placement.
Placements must take place between 1 September 2023 to 31 August 2024.
The placement must be relevant to your research degree, and your supervisor must consider you in good academic standing and be prepared to support your application.
There cannot be any double funding (eg Turing and RTSG to cover the same costs).
UKRI funded PGRs are not eligible to apply.
Funding
The Turing Scheme offers two types of grants:
- Standard Cost of Living Grants
- Underrepresented Backgrounds Grants (including a Travel Grant)
The grant amounts listed below are for placements in the 2023-24 academic year and are subject to change in the future.
Standard Cost of Living Grants
The Standard Cost of Living grant amount provided depends on the destination of your host country and your length of placement. The Turing Scheme funds projects that are a minimum of 4 weeks and maximum of 12 months.
The Turing Scheme bands countries together by cost of living:
- Group 1 (high cost of living)
- Group 2 (medium cost of living)
- Group 3 (low cost of living)
The full list of destination countries within each group is available on the Turing Scheme website.
For placements lasting four to eight weeks, students will receive £136.25 per week for group 1 destinations, or £120 per week for group 2 and 3 destinations. For placements lasting nine weeks to 12 months, students will receive £380 per month for group 1 destinations, or £335 per month for group 2 and 3 destinations.
Underrepresented Backgrounds (URB) Grant
The Turing Scheme is keen to support students from backgrounds that have been underrepresented in the uptake of global opportunities. If one or more of the following categories applies to you, you may be able to receive an additional £110 per month (or £27.50 per week) to cover living costs, as well as a contribution towards your travel costs:
- Students with an annual household income of £25,000 or less (UK nationals only)
- Students who have access to the Plus Programme
- Students who have access to the Disability Services at the University of Leeds
- Students from UK Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Groups (UK nationals only)
- Mature students (undergraduates who started their degree aged 21 or over and have been out of formal education for at least 3 years)
- Students receiving Universal Credit or income-related benefits because they are financially supporting themselves or financially supporting themselves and someone who is dependent on them and living with them, such as a child or partner
- Students who are care-experienced or care leavers
- Students who have caring responsibilities in a formal capacity, for example caring for a disabled parent or sibling
- Neither of the students’ parents can be found or it is not reasonably practicable to get in touch with either of them, therefore they are considered estranged students
- Refugees and asylum seekers
We will ask you to declare if you believe that you are eligible for the Underrepresented Background Grant on your Turing Scheme Application Form. Internal teams at the university verify your status. We may ask you to provide evidence if our teams cannot verify your eligibility.
Travel Grants
If you qualify for an underrepresented background grant, you will also receive a travel grant. Travel grant amounts are a one-off fixed payment and depend on the distance in kilometres between Leeds and your host country. Full details are available on the Turing website
Additional Funding for Students with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities
Students with special educational needs or disabled students (SEND) who receive Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA), e.g., mentoring, may be eligible to receive funding to continue this support whilst on placement abroad. Funding to support SEND-related costs will be in addition to underrepresented background funding, if students are eligible to receive both.
Students will have the option to declare eligibility for SEND funding on the Turing Scheme application form. If you wish to apply for SEND funding, please specify your needs and the support you are seeking in detail on the application form to help Disability Services in offering you the best support. Full details are available on the Turing website
Changes to your placement and funding
If your placement dates change, you must inform the Turing team and the Doctoral College as soon as possible. If your placement ends up being shorter than expected, you will be required to pay back any grant money that has been overpaid. If the dates on your Certificate of Attendance confirm that your placement was shorter than 28 days, you will be required to repay your Turing grant in full; failure to meet paperwork deadlines may result in having to repay Turing grant in full.
Payment schedule
For more information about the payment schedule, please visit University of Leeds Turing Scheme webpages.
Application process
Two stage application process:
- Nomination form
- Turing Scheme application form
The Nomination form is available online
Deadline: 12pm March 20th 2024
Before completing the nomination form, discuss it with your supervisor, and check that you meet the eligibility criteria. We recommend that you contact your preferred overseas institution, and ideally gain their support.
If you are in your overtime period, it is important to clearly articulate why the scheme would be of benefit at a late stage in your research project.
Nominations must be reviewed and approved by your PGR supervisor and Graduate School before they are reviewed by the selection committee; they will be contacted by email after you submit the form.
We will inform everyone of the outcome by 18 April 2024. Selected participants will be sent a Turing Scheme application form via their University of Leeds email account.
Selection process
As there is limited funding available to award, if we have to prioritise eligible applications, we will do so as follows:
Priority will be given to participants from under-represented backgrounds, followed by self-funded PGRs, and then non-UKRI funded PGRs.
The second criteria that we will use to assess and rank the applications will be the supporting statement. The panel are looking for placements that will add value to the research project. We want to assess what the opportunity will mean to you, and what difference it will make to you or your project.
If we are unable to make a call between projects, it will be decided via a lottery.
For successful participants
You will be responsible for organising your travel, and bookings must be through Key Travel. Check your passport is in date for the duration of your trip.
Supervision meetings should continue with your supervisors and notes should be recorded in GRAD.
Successful candidates will need to complete a ‘Change of Study Location Form’ in GRAD.
A risk assessment will be required – you/your supervisor would be responsible for this. Confirmation will be required.
International PGRs should take advice from the Student Visa Advice Team.