Global Research Grants

This Global Research Grant (GRG) is intended to provide a financial contribution to enable King's research mobility overseas. Whilst aimed at individuals as described below, the GRG is also intended to develop and sustain research partnerships with overseas organisations for King's academics, research groups, networks, departments, divisions and faculties.

For more information about postgraduate opportunities to study and research abroad, please visit our Postgraduate Options page.

Eligibility

Applicants must be one of the following:

Current taught postgraduate (PGT) student
Current postgraduate research (PGR) student
Current postdoctoral researcher active at King's in any discipline

What the GRG covers

Visits to universities with whom King's has an existing student exchange agreement (excluding Erasmus partnerships). A list of undergraduate exchange partners can be found here, but this is not an exhaustive list and doesn't include, for example, postgraduate-only exchanges.
Visits to universities or other institutions with whom King's is engaged in some other form of collaborative activity such as a research network. You should speak to your supervisor or Head of Department to find out about current activities.
Visits to universities or other institutions demonstrating a compelling new link for King's. Your supervisor and/or Head of Department will be able to advise how a prospective visit would fit into the department’s future strategy.
Visits by students on a joint PhD programme where King's is their home university and they will be travelling to the partner university as part of their joint PhD research.

Selection guidance

Applications will be assessed by the Global Research Grant Review Panel who meet 2-3 times a year. In reaching decisions on which projects to fund, the panel will take into account:

the expected strategic value of the proposal in establishing or deepening the relationship between King’s and the relevant overseas institution
the likely benefits from the research for the advancement and career of the award winner and associates (research network, supervisor, fellow students, home department, etc)
the quality and accuracy of the application, preparation and proposed budget
the attached support for the application from staff at King's and the intended host organisation

For advice and guidance on writing a successful funding application, please read this blog post.

Please note that the GRG is not intended to support primary data collection required for a PhD or other type of research. However, applications might include data collection as a secondary aspect of the proposal, in order to make as much use of the visit and funds as possible.

When demand for funds is high and applications are of equal merit, evidence of a financial contribution from the department/division/faculty towards costs will increase a researcher's chance of being awarded a GRG.

It is anticipated that applicants for projects (rather than for training initiatives) should be of at least second year PhD level or second semester of their Masters at the time they plan to visit the host institution. Applications for support for research training should specify the level(s) at which the researcher will participate in the proposed scheme.

This funding is not available to support attendance at conferences, as supported by the Centre for Doctoral Studies Conference Fund and/or individual faculty funds.

Value and report

Proposals submitted by students on joint PhD programmes for visits to the partner university are expected to be up to £500 and are primarily to contribute to travel and accommodation;

The maximum allocation for all other applicants is expected to be £2,000. Applicants must submit a full breakdown of expected costs including travel, accommodation and subsistence;

Within one month of the conclusion of the period abroad, successful recipients of the grant must provide a final report, which is expected to be of 750 words or more. This is required so that the panel have evidence of the impact of the visit, and it may also be used for promotion of the Grant in future (with permission). Examples of such reports will be available in due course on this webpage.

To apply

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the year but will be assessed at four points during the academic year by our review panel. The dates of the review panels and deadlines to submit for each one are:

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis but will be assessed at the following points in the 2021/22 year:

7 November 2022 (Apply by 30 October 2022 at 11:59pm)
16 January 2023 (Apply by 8 January 2023 at 11:59pm)
27 March 2023 (Apply by 19 March 2023 at 11:59pm)
12 June 2023 (Apply by 5 June 2023 at 11:59pm)

Joint PhD candidates who are applying for funding to travel to the partner university as part of their joint PhD research should complete this application: Application form for joint PhD candidates

All other applicants should complete this application form: General application form for all other candidates

Application guidance

Please download this document, which contains advice for writing all types of funding applications, including the Global Research Grant.

Student experiences

Hear from previous recipients of the Global Research Grant - where they went, what they got up to, and how the funding supported their overseas visit. Visit our postgraduate student experiences webpage.

Next steps

The Global Mobility Office, who support the GRG panel, will contact applicants within six weeks of the relevant deadline to let them know the outcome of their application. If successful, they will be provided with further details on how to receive their award. If unsuccessful, feedback can be provided and researchers are welcome to revise their applications and resubmit their proposals in a future round.

Where the host institution is an existing exchange partner, applicants may also be required to submit a formal application to their host institution. The Global Mobility office will be able to advise students on this as necessary.

Questions?

Please contact the Global Mobility team.