Postgraduate students call for funding extensions amid coronavirus outbreak

PhD students have signed an open letter asking for extensions to their funding and financial aid by research councils amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The open letter has amassed over 4,000 signatories across UK universities. Postgraduate students are calling for the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), a £7 billion-a-year research funding body, to “guarantee an automatic funding extension for all postgraduate students (both masters and PhD level) for as long as the crisis and university closures continue”.

The letter was authored by the Cambridge branch of the University and College Union (UCU), Wolfson College Cambridge Students’ Association, Cardiff University Students’ Union and the Cambridge University Graduate Union.

The letter asks for automatic extensions, as “adopting a case-by-case consultation approach for granting such funding extensions” would create a large amount of casework to facilitate that process.

Alessandro Ceccarelli, the Cambridge University Graduate Union president, co-authored the letter. He said the move to write the letter was prompted by the “massive concerns” many postgraduates voiced in his university that also extends to many across the country.

The letter asks for a “structural response”, to the concerns from students across the UK. Requests for extensions of submissions dates were highlighted as a key component. The letter encourages other funding agencies to take similar approaches and follow suit to the response of the UKRI to ensure there are no “unfairly disadvantaged” students.

We are committed to working closely and at pace with our communities and with the government to understand and respond to the impacts of COVID-19 and find the best solutions

– UKRI

The letter also stated: “Postgraduate research studies are undertaken with limited resources, both in terms of time and finances. Many will have to redirect their efforts away from their research to manage the crisis.

“Through this precarious time they will need to use their funding to support themselves, ultimately drawing on precious resources that would otherwise have been put towards completing their thesis.”

Alice O’Driscoll​, a third-year PhD student at the University of Cambridge who signed the letter, voiced concerns over the closure of libraries and archives.

“We are in limbo at the moment. I don’t have all the books I need. The funding deadline remains the same as far as we know so that keeps coming closer, and yet we are having to stop or significantly slow down our workload,” she said.

The UKRI said: “Student health and wellbeing should be the priority during this unprecedented and uncertain time.

“We will be responding to the letter directly. We recognise the serious challenges facing universities and students as well as the businesses, charities and research organisations we work with.

“We are committed to working closely and at pace with our communities and with the government to understand and respond to the impacts of COVID-19 and find the best solutions,” the statement added.