Urge to increase London PhD weighting
Category
Officer Trustees
Date
19 nov 2025
Author
2025/26 Officer Trustees
Read Time
4 min
For the past year and a half different officer teams have gathered evidence on the financial pressures facing PhD students in London. The aim has been for UKRI to raise the London weighting on PhD stipends. The London weighting is an extra £2000 added to the standard stipend.
“Authors: Nico Henry (Union President) and Emina Hogas (Deputy President, Education)”
Hi Imperial students!
This is a project we are pleased to make public. It also shows the value of Union Council policy. This work started because the then PG engineering representative, Deniz Etit, raised the issue at Council through a motion and continued to work on the project alongside the then President, Camille Boutrolle, and Emina. That single policy request triggered the research, the data collection and the sector-wide collaboration that produced this proposal.
When students bring focused proposals to Union Council it becomes a driver for change as it mandates us to pursue it, so continue to use Council to shape priorities and let us know what needs to change about the student experience.
The earliest official mention we can find of the London weighting is from 2006, but anecdotal evidence suggests it’s been this way since at least 1994. During that time the cost of living in London has increased sharply while the weighting has not moved.
Our joint research with the London Russell Group Students’ Unions shows the scale of the problem.
The findings: 90.8% of students struggle to cover their additional living expenses, 78.0% have had their mental health affected by their finances, and 89.8% are dissatisfied with their funder’s response to the cost-of-living crisis. Students are taking on extra paid work to stay afloat. Many rely on savings or family support. This affects access. It pushes out students who cannot absorb that risk. It also weakens the research base that the government’s industrial strategy depends on.
The minimum UKRI stipend adjusted for 2025-26 measures just slightly higher than the CPIH-adjusted value. The set stipend of £22,780 for London stipend is roughly 10% less than the CPIH-adjusted equivalent of £25,320. This comparison between CPIH-adjusted values for the minimal national and London stipends suggests the London weighting would have to be £4,540 per annum to account for the current cost of living.
Housing costs are, as one could expect, one of the major drivers of this gap. According to the Office for National Statistics, average rent in London (£1625 per month) is significantly higher than the national average of £850, and £575 (or £6900 annually) more than the second most expensive region, South-East England.
If you’re doing a PhD here or you’re considering one, you are or will be contributing to something greater. We know this, as does the university, and the government too, through their industrial strategy. It is in the interest of UKRI and the government to make sure London based researchers can afford to live.
You can read the full proposal for the full data set and free text comments below, but our request to UKRI is clear:
- To reviews and implement a step increase to the London weighting, to better reflect the true cost of living in London.
- Index the weighting to an appropriate measure of inflation to maintain its real value.
- Work with relevant stakeholders, including universities and student representatives, to gather data on the financial circumstances of PhD students in London to inform future adjustments.
We have contacted UKRI, MPs, trade unions, and sector media. We are pushing for direct engagement. We’re actively encouraging collaboration with us and want to invite relevant stakeholders to get involved.
Hopefully we’ll have good news in some near future!
Nico and Emina