i am hoping to undertake a PhD course, although i have missed deadlines to secure funding i was wondering if its still possible to secure funding for your second and third year?

i guess it depends a bit on your situation. at my university for example the university's research studentships are decided on a yearly basis, so anyone has to (re-)apply for the second year. concerning research council funding, yes you can apply in your first, for your second and third and, if your first year was privately funded, also fourth year. you would need to check out if you are eligible though.

if you are in the economic/social sciences and would be applying at the ESRC (and perhaps the same is true for other RCs) be aware that most studentships are distributed by a quota system, so your department gets f.e. two quotas and gives them more or less to whom they like. thus it is important to check if your department has a policy of only chosing people who haven't started yet. the welcome trust does not accept applications from 1st year students. if you are a woman, check out IFUW - there you can ONLY apply if you have already started. in general... i have financed my first year privately and have worked very hard on getting funding for my second, with no luck so far.

thanks for the advice