Do all students have to follow ESRC approved training programmes?
No. This was an expectation under earlier recognition arrangements where ESRC research students followed three-year training programmes. However, the ESRC recognises that it would be inappropriate to impose a four-year model (1+3) on students it does not fund and this is no longer a requirement. However, there will be an expectation that the Masters courses and PhD programmes recognised by the ESRC will be available to all students. The ESRC does expect that all students should have completed the training necessary to achieve the outcomes required by the Guidelines by the end of their PhD. For ESRC-funded students this will be the result of their completion of a 1+3 programme. However, as the ESRC cannot insist that other students complete a four-year programme comprising a research-training masters and doctoral training it is acceptable not to do so. In such cases applicants for recognition will need to describe how the outcomes required by the Guidelines are achieved for non-ESRC fun
