Hi everybody. I think this sight is wonderful and I was hoping somebody could help me here. I desperately want to get my PhD in the UK.
The bad news: I'm an American. The good news: I have EU citizenship. The bad news: I'm loopholed right out of the EU scheme because, although I will have spent the three years previous to my PhD in the EU, I will have spent most of them as a student. (Why are they penalizing me for being a student???)
The funding situation looks pretty bleak: Fulbright and ORSAS.
Has anybody got any ideas?
Should I just give up and do it in the US, where I've already been accepted I can do it for pretty much free? Even if I don't want to spend the next 5 years of my life there??? Help! Thanks.

What subject are you studying/wanting to study?

Spanish- literature in particular. Not a lot of money in it I'm sure but I want to teach.

Would Salamanca not be a better place to study Spanish literature?
There you might also be able to earn money teaching English
Just an idea

:) Good advice, but I already live in Madrid (and teach English) and I'm kind of itching to get out of Spain. Besides, I think school in Spain is cheaper than the UK but I believe I'm still stuck with the non-EU fees.

Ah,

did not realise that.

I am afraid do not know a lot about the opportunities in the UK, although in general find everything extremely expensive down there.

'Should I just give up and do it in the US, where I've already been accepted I can do it for pretty much free?'

Yes.

Depending on where you want to study, a Gates scholarship might be an idea. They seem to cover fees and give you a big wedge of cash to drink away too!

http://trust.gatesscholar.org/

Ooh, thanks! I hadn't come across that one yet. I'll keep hope alive a little while longer I guess. :)

you might be interested to know that the residency qualification that says residency doesn't count if it has been for educational purposes - is not valid any more for EU citizens. three years residency in the EU with EU citizenship qualifies you for fees only awards. three years residency in the UK with EU citizenship qualifies you for full scholarship. "for educational reasons" etc. doesn't matter.

Wow that makes my day. But I'm still a little confused. The AHRC website says
"You must have been ordinarily resident in the EU for three years preceding the start of your proposed study, not wholly for the purposes of education..."
Um, what does "not wholly for the purposes of education mean" ? I mean, how do they actually determine these things?

wholly for the purposes of education mean just that - you are living in a country because you attend univeristy there. Ordinarily would mean if that was your home, regradless of going to uni there, for example, you may have moved there with your parents before you started studying and you are there as a consequence of that, not because you chose that institution. Hope you get what I mean. It doesn't sound as if you would be eligible, but why don't you try giving them a call. I've always found research councils really helpful!

I insist I do think you are eligible. Because the "for purpose of education" clause does NOT apply for EU citizens. EU citizens who have been resident in the UK, regardless for what reason, for the last three years, are eligible for the full award. EU citizens who have been resident in another EU country for the last three years, regardless for what reason, are eligible for a fees only award. This is the case since June 2005 when there was a EU ruling after a French student took the case to court.
The qualifications "not for educational reasons" and "must have indefinite leave of stay" count only for non-EU citizens.

Shani, I think you're right. I misread the site. That part about "not wholly for the purposes of education" applies to anyone normally "resident" in another EU country, not EU citizens per se.
On the other hand it doesn't actually address the situation for EU citizens normally residing in other EU countries, only those living in the UK. I'll have to do some more research but it sounds promising. I think I owe you and that French bloke a pint. :)

"I think I owe you and that French bloke a pint. :)"
I'll be glad to take you up on that if you do indeed manage to get some funding!