I've been out of academia for a few years and I'm in the process of applying for my PhD, however with the new Block Grant Funding Scheme, I'm lost! Does anyone know.... Can you apply for more than one AHRC studentship? For instance is it possible to apply for an AHRC studentship at Leeds and one at Reading? I've been onto the funding boards but they've been curiously unhelpful....

I think the AHRC is going to have two ways of getting an award from this year onwards - the Block Grants (where certain university departments can give out a specific number of funded PhD awards to whoever they choose) and the Open Competition (where you apply through a university department to the AHRC, and it is the AHRC itself which decides whether or not you get the award).

As far as I can tell you can apply for the Block Grants at as many universities as you want, as it is up the individual university if they give you a place (and how would they even know you had applied to other places?). However, with the Open Competition you can only make one application, through one university department.

Hope this makes sense!

From what I know, Universities kicked up a fuss about the fact that students could potentially apply to multiple universities for BGP awards, with the increased administrative load that this would entail and the difficulties of ranking applications when a number of candidates could effectively withdraw when offered awards, having taken funding via another University's BGP awards.
Essentially I'm unclear about the result of this. You will not be able to do the formal approval by the AHRC award in multiple places, that is for sure. I suspect that the same system as imposed before will be used, i.e. if you're found to be applying via multiple institutions you invalidate all of your applications. If not, given the obvious concerns of Universities, I think it's likely that the forms they produce will ask whether you're applying to multiple places. The whole system is a shambles really, the best I can advise is that you apply for places (and quickly, I know my Institution is imposing a deadline of 30th Jan for applications for those intended to apply for AHRC) at all of the places you'd like to study and then you're in a position to make multiple AHRC applications when the system becomes clear. Which it clearly isn't at the moment -- in fact it has the potential to become shambolic.

Thanks Guys,
Your replies are much appreciated :-) (...and yes, XJR it does make sense!)

Evidently they felt the previous application system wasn't complex enough.... I've managed to rumble a vague reply from the AHRC and I remain none the wiser! .... so I think I shall follow your advice PM and make my initial applications to the universities - at least then I'm in a position to apply for funding - whatever the restrictions or processes!

Thanks!