Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) for PhD Study

If you’re studying a PhD with a disability in the UK, you may be eligible to receive Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA). This is a form of additional financial support provided to students by the UK Government.

Disabled Students’ Allowances are designed to help cover expenses incurred through a disability or chronic illness. This can include the cost of purchasing any necessary equipment (such as a computer), paying additional travel costs, or providing specialist staff to assist you.

This guide will help you investigate whether you qualify for Disabled Students’ Allowance as a PhD student, find out how much support you can receive and begin your application process.

You can read more about studying a PhD with a disability and your legal rights as a disabled PhD student elsewhere in this section.

You will usually be eligible for Disabled Students’ Allowance if you’re:

• Legally qualified as disabled
• Ordinarily resident in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland
• Not receiving equivalent funding from another source

More detailed information on these criteria is provided below.

Disability criteria

To qualify for Disabled Students’ Allowance you will need to have a disability that fits the criteria defined in the Equality Act. This means you will need to have a long-term condition that significantly impairs your ability to complete your studies.

This could be:

• A physical disability
• A mental health condition
• A chronic illness
• A learning difficulty

You can read more about the legal definition of disability in our guide to the rights of disabled students in the UK.

Proof of disability

You will need to provide proof of your disability to receive Disabled Students’ Allowance. This will usually be quite a simple process. In many cases your existing doctor will be able to supply a medical report of your condition and its impact, and will do so free of charge.

If you suffer from a learning difficulty such as dyslexia you will need to supply a diagnostic assessment made since you were 16. You may already have this if you have received specialist support at previous stages of your education. If you require a new assessment you should be able to receive one from a qualified individual (such as a psychologist, special needs teacher or education specialist).

Residency

To qualify for DSA you must be a UK national and ordinarily resident in the UK prior to beginning your PhD.

This means that the UK is your normal place of residence and you have the right to live there. Moving to the UK for the purposes of study doesn’t count as being ordinarily resident.

In most circumstances EU students won’t qualify for DSA. However, if you’ve been ordinarily resident in the UK for five years before the start of your PhD, you may be eligible.

Mode of study

You can receive Disabled Students’ Allowance to study a PhD on a full or part-time basis. If so, your course must last at least one year. This means that there must be a year or more of your PhD remaining (based on your registration status) when you apply.

Additional criteria also apply regarding the intensity of part-time programmes:

• Part-time PhD students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland must be studying at a rate equivalent to at least 25% of full-time study. Under normal circumstances this will mean you expect to complete a standard three-year PhD in no more than 12 years of part-time study.
• Part-time PhD students in Scotland must be studying at a rate equivalent to at least 50% of full-time study. Under normal circumstances this will mean you expect to complete a standard three-year PhD in no more than six years of part-time study.

Financial circumstances

Disabled Students’ Allowance is designed to help you cover additional costs associated with PhD study as a disabled student. It is therefore needs-tested rather than means-tested. As such, you can receive DSA as a PhD student regardless of your personal financial circumstances, provided you have a need for support arising from your disability.

DSA and other PhD funding

You can apply for DSA from a student finance body regardless of any PhD funding you receive, unless your PhD is already funded by the NHS or one of the seven UK Research Councils. These organisations provide their own Disabled Students’ Allowance and you should apply to them in the first instance. You cannot combine Disabled Students’ Allowances from different sources.

Your right to any form of DSA is unaffected by any other PhD funding you receive (such as university scholarships), unless that funding is specifically intended to assist you with costs arising from a disability. This means that:

• If you receive a scholarship from your university to cover tuition fees and living costs, you can still apply for Disabled Students’ Allowance to meet other costs associated with your disability.
• If you receive financial support from your university that is specifically intended to cover all costs associated with your disability, you cannot apply for additional Disabled Students’ Allowance from the Government.

You can claim DSA for the duration of your course, provided you continue to be defined as disabled. Some providers may ask you to review and renew your DSA application each year, but this will usually be a simple process.

Disabled Students’ Allowance is paid up to a maximum rate that varies slightly in individual UK countries. With the exception of Scotland, UK student finance bodies pay postgraduate DSA as a single grant (whereas undergraduate rates are broken down according to different types of expense).

DSA is provided as a supplementary bursary, not a loan, so you won’t have to pay any of the money back.

Postgraduate Disabled Students' Allowance in individual UK countries

The maximum rate of Disabled Students’ Allowance for postgraduates varies year on year and from country to country. In the 2021-22 academic year, these are the maximum amounts students could receive:

• England – £26,291
• Wales – £31,831
• Northern Ireland – £10,469

Disabled PhD students in Scotland receive DSA at the undergraduate rate. This breaks down into a basic allowance of up to £1,725, a large items allowance of up to £5,160 and a non-medical personal help allowance of up to £20,520. You may also submit additional claims for travel expenses.

Each of these figures is the maximum rate payable for a year of full-time study. In practice DSA is needs-tested. The amount you receive will be based on the specific costs you will incur as a disabled PhD student. This means you will probably receive less than the maximum amount, but cannot normally receive more than it.

How much Disabled Students’ Allowance do part-time PhD students receive?

DSA for part-time PhD students is paid on a pro-rata basis. The rate depends on the speed at which you are studying in comparison with an equivalent full-time student.

So, if you are completing your PhD at 50% of the full-time rate (in six years instead of three, for example) you could receive at most 50% of the maximum payable DSA per year. This amount will still be needs-tested.

Disabled Students’ Allowance is designed to cover additional expenses you incur as a student that derive from your disability. These can take a variety of forms, but the four student finance bodies group them under broadly similar categories:

• Equipment costs – DSA can help pay for specialist equipment you require as part of your PhD. Common examples include computer hardware and software to assist with learning difficulties or sensory impairment. DSA will not necessarily cover mobility aids such as wheelchairs unless these are very specifically required by your PhD (and would not be otherwise needed).
• Non-medical help – DSA can also help cover the cost of additional personal to help you with difficulties arising from your disability. These could include staff to assist you with mobility problems or note-taking. DSA may sometimes pay for additional tuition to help manage learning difficulties such as dyslexia. However, it will not normally cover any medical assistance or assisted living support you require on a routine basis (separately to your studies).
• Travel expenses – DSA may help cover any additional travel costs you incur because of your disability while completing your PhD. This money could be provided as part of a grant or claimed back in the form of specific expenses.

You may also receive DSA funding to pay for other costs that derive from your disability, but do not fall under any one of these categories.

Disabled Students’ Allowance for PhD students is only intended to cover costs that are specifically incurred as a result of your disability while studying a PhD. This means that it will not normally cover:

• PhD fees and maintenance – Disabled Students’ Allowance is not a form of normal PhD funding and will not be awarded to pay tuition fees or routine student living expenses (such as food, drink and accommodation costs). You can still receive other funding to help with these costs as a PhD student, but you cannot pay for them with your DSA.
• Other costs, not associated with your PhD – Costs that arise from your disability, but do not result directly from your PhD, are not normally covered by DSA. These include mobility aids or medical help that you would require anyway and which don’t specifically support your PhD study.
• Services that are already being provided by your university – Under the Equality Act, your university has a legal obligation to make reasonable adjustments to avoid disadvantaging you as a disabled PhD student. You do not need to use your Disabled Students’ Allowance to cover these, but nor can you claim for services that are already being provided by your institution.

Don’t worry too much if you are unsure what specific costs you can claim DSA for. Individual circumstances vary and the disability or student support office at your university should be able to advise you.

You should make your DSA application to the appropriate Student Finance body. This will depend on the country in which you are (or will be) studying your PhD. Application forms and further information are available on the organisations’ websites:

• Student Finance England
• Student Awards Agency for Scotland
• Student Finance Wales
• Student Finance Northern Ireland

You don’t normally have to apply for DSA at any specific point in your studies. However, you should try to apply as early as possible. The DSA application process can take some time, requiring evidence and the completion of a study needs assessment.

The sooner you apply, the sooner you can receive the support you need to get on and succeed in your PhD.

In most cases you can apply for DSA at the same time as other funding. For example, if you are applying for a Research Council studentship, you can include a claim for DSA as part of that process.

Supplying proof of disability

Applications to the above student finance bodies will require you to provide appropriate evidence of your disability and its impact on your PhD studies. The form this takes will depend on the nature of your condition, but it will need to be given by a medical professional or other suitably qualified person.

See the earlier section on eligibility for Disabled Students’ Allowance for more information on providing evidence of your disability.

Study needs assessments

Part of your application for Disabled Students’ Allowance will usually involve completing a study needs assessment. This may take place at a specific assessment centre or it may be completed by a qualified person at your university.

If your disability improves or worsens during your PhD, this may affect the amount of DSA you can claim. If so, you may be asked to undertake a new Study Needs Assessment. Your DSA provider will then increase the amount of money you receive to pay for any new expenses. Alternatively, they may reduce your DSA if your condition improves to take into account any reduction in the support you require.

Other sources of Disabled Students’ Allowance for UK PhD students include the UK Research Councils and the NHS. If you are already receiving PhD funding from either of these organisations you should apply to them for DSA and not to Student Finance bodies. Remember, you cannot combine Disabled Students’ Allowance from different sources.

Disabled Students’ Allowance from UK Research Councils

If your PhD is funded by one of the seven UK Research Councils, you may be eligible to receive Disabled Students’ Allowance from them on top of your normal PhD studentship.

You normally apply for Research Council DSA through the university at which you hold a Research Council studentship. They will be responsible for appointing staff to confirm your eligibility, assess your needs, and claim relevant funds from the Research Council. Those funds will be paid to your university, who will use them to cover the cost of support on your behalf or pay them directly to you, as appropriate.

The amount of DSA you can receive from a Research Council will depend on your individual needs, but will normally be similar to the support available through a Student Finance body.

More information on Disabled Students’ Allowance from the UK Research Councils is available at the UK Research and Innovation website.

Disabled Students' Allowance from the NHS

Students on courses funded by NHS bursaries should apply for DSA from the NHS itself. NHS bursaries are available on degrees that lead to registration as a qualified medical practitioner such as a doctor or dentist. This can include some PhD programmes.

DSA from the NHS covers similar costs to the student finance bodies or Research Councils and will normally be paid directly to you alongside your bursary.

More information on Disabled Students' Allowance from the NHS is available on the UK government website.