Fees and funding

Tuition fees

The annual tuition fees for doctoral studies are linked to your mode of study (full- or part-time) and residential status. The University reviews and sets tuition fees annually. Each student is responsible for the payment of their fees. If your fees are paid by a sponsor you will need to submit written proof of this annually in order to be eligible to re-enrol.

The University also provides information on funding and a training and development allowance. See below for more details.

Find out more about doctoral student fees in the Graduate School SOL page.

The table below sets out the 2024/25 annual fees for research degrees:

	UK and Channel Island students	EU, EEA and overseas students
Annual fee full-time	£5,040	£15,265
Annual fee part-time	£2,550	N/A
Writing-up fee full-time*	Two-thirds of full-time fee	Two-thirds of full-time fee
Writing-up fee part-time*	Two-thirds of part-time fee	Two-thirds of part-time fee
Six months major amendments fee part-time	One-third part-time fee	One-third part-time fee
12 months major amendments fee part-time	Two-thirds part-time fee	Two-thirds part-time fee

* Full-time research students who are ‘writing-up’, prior to the submission of their thesis for examination, may pay an annual writing-up fee for a maximum of one year. Part-time research students may pay an annual writing-up fee for a maximum of two years. Both full and part-time research students will be eligible for a pro rata refund if they submit before the end of the academic year in which they are ‘writing-up’. This writing-up period cannot exceed the maximum registration period of the degree registration.

Find out more about the registration periods for research degrees

If a research student subsequently fails to submit by the end of their ‘writing-up’ period and is eligible to continue their registration within the maximum registration period, they will again become liable for the full annual tuition fee appropriate to their mode of study. If they submit before the end of the academic year they will be eligible to receive a refund as above.

Find out more about tuition fees and how to pay them

For information about writing-up and major amendments fees for UK, EU and Island students and EEA and International students please contact student.registry@solent.ac.uk

Students may be sponsored or self-funded for their fees and/or living expenses. The University’s Finance pages hold information about various sources of funding for postgraduate studies.

Paying your fees, postgraduate funding, early payment discounts, alumni discounts and payment forms

Studentships

The University may, from time to time, advertise funded doctoral degree studentships. Studentships may be fully funded (fees, maintenance stipend, training allowance) or part funded (eg, fees only). Stipends are normally aligned to the RCUK minimum stipend levels and will generally be disbursed on a quarterly basis to students.

Studentships will normally be advertised through findaphd.com or on the Solent website. Studentships may also be advertised through other media as applicable.

Alternative Guide to Postgraduate Funding

The University also subscribes to the Alternative Guide to Postgraduate Funding. The Guide has information on alternative sources of funding – especially charities – which can make awards (fees, maintenance, research costs) to any student regardless of subject or nationality. The Alternative Guide Online contains a database of funding opportunities, comprehensive guidance, and numerous tools to help you prepare a grant application. Solent has a licence to the Guide, so it is free for all students and staff with a University log in to use. If you are a prospective student who has applied to the University, please email research.admissions@solent.ac.uk to request a PIN to give you access to this resource.

The University provides support for research, including training in research skills and career development through the Researcher Development Programme (RDP), including tailored content in the Doctoral Training Programme. Access to in-house training and development is free and students are encouraged to make full use of the resource available. Find out more by exploring the researcher support pages.

Doctoral students are further supported by specific training to support their studies on the postgraduate research degree pages. Staff and students can use the links to self-enrol on to the relevant courses in Solent Online Learning.

Go to the Researcher Development Programme on SOL

Go to the Postgraduate Research Degree course on SOL

Go to the Postgraduate Certificate in Research Methods course on SOL

Go to the Graduate School on SOL