PhD tuition fees (2017/18)

See tuition fees for 2017/18 and fee for returning PhD students.

PhD researcher development

Fees for 2018 entry

Fees are displayed with each PhD degree. See our 2018 PhD degrees.

The University’s annual fees cover registration, tuition and examinations. Fees must be paid in full at the beginning of each academic year. Self-funding students may, however, have the option to pay in instalments, subject to standard payment terms.

Note that your fees may be subject to an increase prior to 2018/19 and on an annual basis thereafter.

As is normal, MPhil/PhD fees will be published in May 2018, since we routinely follow the fee levels set nationally by the Research Councils, we may increase fees for 2018/19 at that stage.

Find out more on our Student Accounts website.

Fees for 2017 entry

The University’s annual fees cover registration, tuition and examinations. Fees must be paid in full at the beginning of each academic year. Self-funding students may, however, have the option to pay in instalments, subject to standard payment terms.

Note that your fees may be subject to an increase prior to 2017/18 and on an annual basis thereafter.

As is normal, MPhil/PhD fees will be published in May 2017, since we routinely follow the fee levels set nationally by the Research Councils, we may increase fees for 2017/18 at that stage.

Find out more on our Student Accounts website.

Fees for returning students (2017/18)

Home/European Union (EU) PhD student fees are set at the level recommended by Research Councils UK (RCUK) annually, rising in line with inflation.

The indicative tuition fees for returning home/EU PhD students (published by RCUK) for 2017/18 is £4,195.

International student fees are set by Council for each year’s cohort.

The first year fee and annual inflationary increases (subject to rounding for administrative purposes) are set for the duration of the course at the outset.

All current cohorts of returning students have approved fee rises of 2.5% per annum.

Tuition fees for returning international PhD students will rise to:

  • £15,100 (standard lower rate)
  • £18,750 (standard higher rate).

See paragraph 4 of the Postgraduate Terms and Conditions for details of fee increases.

Late registration fee

A late registration fee, currently £50, is payable by students expected in the autumn term who fail to complete their registration by the end of the first week of that term.

Pre-submission fee

Registered research students who have transferred to pre-submission status pay a pre-submission fee. For 2017/18, the pre-submission fee is £500 for the year.

Students may apply in quarters, up to a maximum of one year (four quarters) and the fee is £125 per quarter. Pre-submission status is not normally approved before the completion of three years of full-time study or five years of part-time study.

Distant students

If you spend part of your registration as a distant student, you pay full fees for the periods spent at Sussex and 65% of the full fee for periods spent as a distant student.

Fieldwork

In exceptional cases, students who are absent from the University on approved fieldwork are charged a reduced fee, which in the academic year 2016/17 is 65% of the full fee for the relevant period.

Reduced fees owing to fieldwork are at the discretion of the relevant Director of Doctoral Studies.

If you hold an award from a grant-awarding authority, find out whether your grant includes provision for travelling expenses incurred during fieldwork.

Provision is not made, for example, by the British Council, and you should take account of this in your research proposal.


Fee status

The tuition fee you are charged will depend on your fee status, and whether you are classified as ‘home’, EU’, ‘Channel Islands and Isle of Man’ (‘Islands’) or ‘overseas’ for fees, following strict criteria defined by the UK Government.

The regulations determining fee status are complex and if you are in any doubt as to what category you come under, you are advised to visit the UKCISA website where you can find detailed information on the criteria used, as well as obtain free information and advice.

The following is intended as a general guide only:

  • home/EU: applicants who are ‘settled’ and have been ordinarily resident in the UK for the three years prior to the start of the course (not wholly or mainly for the purposes of education); EU (including UK) nationals who have been ordinarily resident in the EEA, Switzerland or the overseas territories for the three years prior to the start of the course (not wholly or mainly for the purposes of education); refugees or persons granted Humanitarian Protection who are living in the UK
  • Channel Islands and Isle of Man:  applicants from the Channel Islands and Isle of Man, who are within the British Isles, but outside the UK. These applicants are charged fees at the home/EU rate
  • overseas: applicants who do not meet the criteria for home/EU or Islands fees as listed above, including nationals of non-EU countries (who do not have ‘settled’ status in the UK) and applicants who have not maintained ordinary residence in the EEA, Switzerland or overseas territories for the required three-year period of residency.

Applicants with UK or other EU nationality should be aware that such nationality does not guarantee that you will be classed as a home/EU student – you must also satisfy various residency requirements.

If your fee-status classification is unclear, we will send you a questionnaire to complete, so that your status can be determined by the University. You must contact our Postgraduate Admissions team by emailing researchstudentoffice@sussex.ac.uk.

Fee-status appeals

If, having been notified of your fee status, you disagree with the outcome, you can request for your fee assessment to be reviewed by emailing:

Research Students Admissions  
researchstudentoffice@sussex.ac.uk

We may ask for additional information or evidence in relation to your claim. You may also wish to submit additional information as part of your request.

Once your case has been reviewed, we will respond in writing (which might include email) to confirm your fee status.

If you remain dissatisfied with the outcome, and believe that your fee status has been incorrectly assessed, you can appeal against this by writing to:

Academic Registrar  
SSRO, Bramber House 
University of Sussex  
Brighton BN1 9RH 
United Kingdom

Your case will then be reviewed and a final assessment of your fee status will be made. The Academic Registrar will respond in writing (which might include email) to confirm the University's classification of your fee status. This fee status assessment is final.

Please note that you need to appeal against your fee assessment before you register and start at the University. Once you are registered as a student, your fee classification will not normally change.


Financial guarantee

As a condition of online registration, one of the formalities you are required to accept is the financial guarantee, which states ‘I have adequate financial provision to cover my living expenses and any fee liability.’

The University reserves the right to refuse admission to any students who have not, in the University’s view, provided adequate evidence of their ability to finance themselves. For non-EU students, the University will require this evidence to match any requirements of UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI).

Re-registration in subsequent years and graduation depend on you being in good financial standing. Debts cannot be carried forward from year to year. Find out more on our Student Accounts website.


Other costs

Graduation 

On successful completion of your studies, you are invited to attend a University graduation ceremony.

The University does not charge students for graduation, but note that you will be expected to hire a graduation gown from a specialist company and this will have a cost, of which you will be advised at the time.

In addition, we do charge guests attending the ceremony in order to help recover the costs associated with staging a high-quality event.

Charges for research students

In some circumstances, other charges may be applicable for research students such as an extension fee of £125 and a re-submission fee of £500.

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