Medical charities are offering PhD studentships worth considerably more than those offered by research council programmes, it has emerged.

The Macular Society is to fund a doctoral studentship with a total value of ?100,000, which is ?17,000 more than the sum offered for research council-funded PhDs outside London. The charity¡¯s six-figure offer covers student stipend, tuition fees and consumables for three years commencing in 2014-15.

An equivalent studentship from the Medical Research Council is worth a minimum of ?23,159 in the first year. The MRC funds its PhD studentships for three and a half years and the amount awarded each year is incrementally increased during the programme, bringing the total to at least ?83,000 over the course of a PhD. Studentships based at institutions in the capital get an enhanced stipend of ?2,000 per year, according to figures on the MRC¡¯s website.

Tony Rucinski, chief executive of the Macular Society, said that it wants to fund the highest quality and best value research. ¡°We understand that good research doesn¡¯t always come cheap,¡± he said.

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The society felt it ¡°prudent¡± to at least match the Research Councils UK minimum student stipend, and looked at other charities¡¯ awards when arriving at the figure.

¡°Fight for Sight offer ?100,000 studentships for three years, and while other funders are more flexible in the maximum amount they fund, the figures remain comparable,¡± Mr Rucinski said. Last grant round, Fight for Sight offered nine studentships, according to its website.

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Mr Rucinski said that applicants must ¡°fully justify¡± costs, and its research committee reviews them ¡°to make sure they are accurate and realistic¡±.

An MRC spokesman said that the values published on its website were ¡°based on existing MRC research funding already in place¡± and that ¡°universities with MRC Doctoral Training Partnerships have the flexibility to use the funding to provide higher levels of support¡±.

Participating universities could make awards of three or four years, ¡°depending on the needs of the student and the project¡±, he said.

holly.else@tesglobal.com