Hi Smilodon & Jayney, thanks a lot for clearing things up =)

Thanks cytochrome; I was asking because my supervisor was very (overly) adamant that I apply for the award and I couldn't understand why, do they get some money from the award too or is he just a very nice guy?

Are such awards rare to get?

Hi everyone:

I hope this isn't too much of a silly question but I wasn't sure so wanted to confirm.

I was recently accepted onto a PhD (England) and was lucky enough to get some funding from the EPSRC (Doctoral Training Award) through my school. I know this award will pay for my first year fee but the award also gives a sum of money in stipend. The letter that I received (about the funding) states that the additional sum of money can be used toward my maintenance costs.

I just wanted to know what "maintenance costs" actually meant, does this mean my living expenses (accommodation costs) etc or am I able to spend it on anything I want (like books and other things that aren't necessarily contributing to my PhD)?