Some students self-fund their PhD and other receive grants from funding bodies to cover tuition fees and living expenses. Whatever your circumstances, it's important that you understand what expectations exist around your research outputs and what you can do to comply with them. 

If you receive funding, this could be from a UK research council, such as the AHRC, ESRC, EPSRC, BBSRC, MRC or NERC, who offer the largest number of scholarships. Or you may receive a grant from a charity or one of the Cambridge-specific bodies such as the Cambridge Trust. Or you may have an industry sponsor who covers some of the costs, especially if you are working in the area of science or engineering. 

All of these funders have specific requirements for the projects they support. Read the contract carefully before you start and make sure you know what is expected. If you have not received a contract, or you are not sure where it is, do ask your Faculty or Department for it. Breaching the conditions of the contract could have serious consequences, so it's worth spending some time to get it right!

In particular, check if your funder requires you to:

• report to them at regular intervals
• manage information and data in particular ways
• make publications open access
• attend specific training

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