Hi in response to Kirsty Mackenzie - PhD students and DSA

I have enclosed below an extract from the guidelines sent to LEA's
regarding - enjoy

Regards

Barry Farleigh
Students with Disabilities Officer
National Union of Students

HIGHER EDUCATION STUDENT SUPPORT IN ENGLAND AND WALES IN 2003/2004:  CHAPTER
7 - GRANTS FOR LIVING COSTS

DSAs for postgraduate students
B76     The Education (Grants for Disabled Postgraduate Students)
Regulations 2000 (SI 2000 No. 2330) provide for eligible postgraduate
students to be eligible for the DSA where they are obliged to incur
expenditure in respect of attendance on their course as a direct result of
their disability.  The Education (Grants for Disabled Postgraduate Students)
Regulations 2000 have been amended each year by the following sets of
amending regulations:  SI 2000 No. 3087, SI 2001 No. 2300 and SI 2002 No.
2104.  The amendments have increased the maximum allowances, included
students undertaking courses as eligible students and removed the
requirement that the standard of education provided by the course should be
higher than first degree standard.  A further set of amending regulations
will be laid after the publication of this chapter.  The regulations allow a
DSA of up to £5,370 for the academic year 2003/04 to be paid to eligible
postgraduate students on designated part-time and full-time postgraduate
courses.  Postgraduate students undertaking part-time distance learning
courses are also eligible for the DSA. The scheme for "the postgraduate DSA"
largely follows that for undergraduate students in the Student Support
Regulations.  However there are, necessarily, some differences and these are
explained below.

Eligibility

B77     To be eligible for the postgraduate DSA students must meet the
personal criteria set out in the Schedule to the regulations and undertake
designated postgraduate courses.  The criteria in the Schedule to the
regulations are the same as those in Schedule 1 to the Student Support
Regulations with the exception that paragraph 7 is omitted.  Paragraph 7 of
Schedule 1 to the Student Support Regulations refers to a person who is a
national of an EU member state or the child of such a national.  An EU
national, or the child of an EU national is not eligible for the
postgraduate DSA unless he or she meets the criteria in paragraphs 1 to 6 of
the Schedule to the postgraduate DSA regulations.

B78            Students are not eligible for the DSA if they have been
bestowed or paid a non-income or an income assessed NHS Bursary or any
allowance under the Nursing and Midwifery Student Allowances (Scotland)
Regulations (regulation 3(2)(a)(i)).  Students undertaking the postgraduate
Diploma in Social Work (DipSW) may be eligible for a bursary from the GSCC.
Students in receipt of GSCC bursaries are  also eligible for DSAs through
the GSCC Bursary Scheme.  Students in receipt of a GSCC Bursary are not
eligible for a postgraduate DSA from their LEA.

B79            Students may be in receipt of a specific award for living
costs that includes an element to cover the additional costs incurred by the
student's disability.  The Research Councils and similar bodies may offer
scholarships which include DSAs.  A list of the relevant Research Councils
and similar bodies is at Annex 9.  There may also be awards offered by
institutions to cover living costs which include DSA type awards for
postgraduates.  If postgraduate students are already in receipt of an award
of this type, they are not eligible for the DSA (regulation 3(2)(a)(ii) and
(iii)).  Funds paid out of an institution's Access and Hardship Fund to a
disabled postgraduate student will not cause him or her to be ineligible for
the postgraduate DSA.

B80            Students who undertake more than one designated course at a
time are not eligible for more than one DSA (regulation 3(3)).

B81            Students must be ordinarily resident in England and Wales on
the first day of academic year of the course (paragraph 7(a) of the Schedule
and regulation 3(4)).