Budgets

Research & Training Support Grant (RTSG)

Each student typically has a £25,000 RTSG budget in total, that is split across the CDT at the University of Manchester and at your university. Each party usually contributes £12,500 to the overall RTSG budget (50% each).

  • All RTSG budgets apply across the whole 4-year term.

  • You must not exceed any budget heading - so careful expenditure planning is required.

  • The host university holds the budget for your EngD project consumables (£9,000) and your research placement (£3,500). This is £12,500 total.

  • The CDT at the University of Manchester holds the budget for the CDT training (£5,500), and Conferences & Summer Schools (£5,500), and a top-up to the placement (£1,500). This is £12,500 total.

Consumables Budget

This budget is entirely under your control, it must last for all 4 years. Your supervisor will give you the RTSG budget code at your university. It should be at least £9,000. You are responsible for managing your planning and expenditure of your budget. We suggest that you include this data in your supervision meetings. How you have managed your Consumables budget is suitable evidence that you should include in your competencies in your C.Eng portfolio.

Placement Budget

Your placement proposal (submitted in Year 2 - see link below) should set out how the £5,000 budget will be used to maximum impact and benefit for your research and thesis - you will receive confirmation if your placement proposal is successful.

University of Manchester students - use Key Travel to make all accommodation and travel arrangements - use the Budget Code P132213 A0818 - you should use the UoM PGR Travel Guidance and send your itinerary to your local Ops team. See the Travel Guidance document here. Please also email Fran to confirm the exact cost of the placement, so that we know it is going ahead.

Non-University of Manchester students - please arrange your accommodation and travel locally at your host university. Your university finance team will claim back £1,500 of your expenditure from the CDT.

The placement can be at an industrial or academic location, and can be arranged as one longer period, or split across several events, as suits your needs. It’s timing is decided by you and your supervisor, to get maximum benefit to you. It might be arranged so that you can use facilities at another university or national lab, or to work alongside an international research group, or to spend time with your industrial supervisor. You may spend the budget on travel, accommodation or facilities fees. Subsistence expenses are not allowed, unless during a travelling day (usual CDT expense claim rules apply).

Placement Proposal Form *please email the CDT to let us know you have submitted a proposal - we do not recieve automatic notifications*

Note for international students - the ‘placement’ is in effect ‘off-site research’ - it is within the 4-year programme, related to your doctoral project, funded wholly by the CDT, and you will continue to have regular academic supervision meetings throughout - therefore it does not require any revision to the project description in your student visa or approval by/notification to UKVI.

Conferences & Summer Schools Budget

This budget is managed by the CDT.

Proposals (see link below) should set out how the £5,500 budget will be used to maximum impact and benefit for your research and thesis. Your conference budget supports your attendance at the CDT conference in your first year, project-specific conferences that you are presenting at, or attending a summer school. Please note, it should not be used to attend a conference that you are not presenting at (you should use your consumables budget instead).

  1. Complete the Google Form below.

  2. Await confirmation from the CDT that it is approved.

  3. Once approved, follow the UoM PGR Travel Process or the Non-UoM PGR Travel Process for your travel and accommodation.

If you need to register for an event online using a credit card, please complete the Credit Card Request Form. See example copy. Non-UoM students - send the credit card form to Fran, UoM students - send the form to your local ops team with the CDT project code that Fran has sent to you (it is a person specific code).

Conference & Summer School proposal form

CDT Training Budget

CDT training workshops are managed wholly by the CDT. CDT training includes the Protium and Tritium programme across years 1, 2, 3 and 4. If you opt to attend additional training in support of your EngD/PhD project this must be arranged locally and charged to your local Consumables budget.

  • You must use Key Travel to make all travel arrangements (see Key Travel section below).

  • The CDT will arrange all accommodation bookings.

  • Send your travel requirements as an itinerary via Key Travel to Fran, along with a completed risk assessment. Example generic Risk Assessment (document download). You will need to update it to reflect your travel needs.

Computer Equipment

Your supervisor should arrange for you to be provided with a laptop at the start of your programme. The CDT may be able to lend you a laptop for the first 3 months, if you need it. It is your responsibility to look after the equipment that has been loaned to you, it is for your exclusive use. You must bring the laptop to any training for which it is required.

Expense Claims

Subsistence Bursary - Protium training programme 2026

During the 10-week CDT Protium Training Programme (Monday 5th October to Friday 18th December), all students in the 2026 cohort will have a subsistence bursary paid directly into their nominated bank account (at the University of Manchester). The bursary covers subsistence costs to attend the weekly in-person CDT training sessions. Please note;

  • the subsistence bursary is £90 for the induction week, and £60 per week for other Protium CDT training weeks, to cover all food and drink costs incurred

  • you do not have to take any action to receive the bursary - it will be paid into your nominated bank account at The University of Manchester - please ensure you add your bank details when you register

  • you do not have to submit any receipts for expenses incurred.

  • it is only paid for the weeks that you are travelling to another campus for in-person training, therefore some students will receive a higher bursary than others

  • It is paid in two parts - early October and mid-November

  • if you miss a CDT training week, the value of excess bursary will be deducted from future bursary payments or expense claims.

  • no subsistence claims will be allowed during this period.

  • the bursary does not apply during the Design Project reading week (9-13th November)

Expenses during CDT training & workshops

  • Accommodation and travel must be organised through the Key Travel service (see Key Travel further down this page). You will need a Key Travel profile using your @manchester email to propose accomodation and or train bookings, which will be forwarded within the Key Travel system to Fran for review and approve.

  • Please ensure that you complete the Proposal Form to secure authorisation for either a Placement or Conference before using Key Travel.

  • If you book accommodation or train travel yourself your expenses claim will be rejected.

  • You must seek prior approval (before the date of travel) to claim mileage where train travel is a reasonable option.

  • If training is held at your host university, no travel, accommodation or expense claims can be accepted.

All expenses should be submitted in a single PR7 form to Fran (frances.rocca@manchester.ac.uk) once per month - these will be processed at the end of each month. Expense Claim form

  • Email the the PR7 form and associated receipts to Fran.

  • Non-UoM students- Fran will return the completed form, approvals and receipts to you. You will then need to email all documents to the Fees and Expenses Team at feesandexpenses.people@manchester.ac.uk and cc Fran.

  • UoM students- follow this Guidance

  • Example of the expense claim form with highlights for the sections you need.

  • Expenses cannot be accepted for receipts dated >3 months ago.

General expense rules:

  • Under no circumstances can any alcohol be expensed

  • Itemised receipts are essential. Claims will be rejected without an itemised and dated receipt. We recommend that you take a photo of all receipts immediately.

  • Taxi fares cannot be claimed where there is a reasonable public transport option available. If travelling alone late at night or once it is dark, please use common sense to consider when you should use a taxi rather than public transport.

  • Subsistence limits for meals are as follows;

    • Breakfast: £5 - note that this can only be claimed when travel starts before 7am

    • Lunch: £10

    • Dinner: £20 - note that this can only be claimed when travel ends after 7pm

    • No ad hoc snacks or drinks can be claimed

  •  Subsistence claims are only eligible away from home - hence food delivery to your home when returning from a trip is not eligible.

  • The Fees & Expenses team aim for a 4-week turnaround, but this can be longer during busy periods.

  • You may only claim for the cost of a meal for yourself.

  • Meal claims over the budgets will be capped.

Expenses during project-related activities should be submitted to your academic supervisor at your host university, and will be charged to your project consumables budget.

Key Travel

New Students- you will be sent instructions to create a temporary raveller profile with Key Travel using your personal email to arrange trains for the induction. As soon as you have been enrolled at Manchester University in the induction week, all students should create a new profile using the @manchester email. This will enable Fran to book travel during the Training Programme.

Once you've registered with UoM, your profile is given 'Look not Book' access to Key Travel with your UoM email. You can create itineraries for train tickets the Training Programme. It is your responsibility to send an itinerary at least 2 weeks before travel so that tickets can be purchased. without a last minute rush.

Helpful links

Travelling by Car

The University of Manchester policy is that the use of private vehicles for work is only permitted when all other means of transport i.e. trains, buses etc. are impractical, as per the University’s sustainable travel policy. If you wish to travel by car, you must first make sure you have permission from your University (some use an authorised drivers system) and have suitable business insurance. You must also seek permission in advance from the CDT, explaining the rationale for your request. Fuel / mileage can be expensed up to the cost of a standard class rail card off-peak return rail ticket from your home university.

Travelling by train

As train travel is the primary transport method employed by the CDT, if you do not already hold a rail card, please buy a 3-year rail card (£80) - you can expense the cost. If you are over 26 and cannot buy a 3-year type, you can expense the yearly costs. Rail cards that will expire in year 4 can not be renewed.