Funding, Work, and Finance
As for funding, I don't really know anything that's not on the University's website which I'm sure you've already scoped. I wish I could say I had found some Mancunian genie or something, but it's a tough slog and many either do a little work of some kind (your visa will allow up to 20 hours per week), and/or take a FAFSA or two. Some luck out with a few scholarships, and some also have a spouse or partner who is willing to work here in the UK. Spouses can usually work full time without many hassles as they are under the student's visa. There are quite a few administrative type jobs here if that's an option they're interested in.
The Religions and Theology Subject Area also sometimes hires a few PhD students as Graduate Teaching Assistants. What GTAs typically do is lead seminar discussions for first year undergraduate students. You’ll want to email the current head of subject area with your cv if you’re interested. Just let them know that you’re a new PhD student inquiring about any available GTA positions. The job pays around 30 pounds an hour and will probably be around 2-3 hours a week. It looks great on the cv as it is teaching experience, is a great way to stay connected to the department, and you’ll meet other doctoral students. It might also put a dent in that grocery bill.
If you are thinking about loans, you’ll need to get in touch with the student services centre early on as they require you to give them a hard copy of the FAFSA green sheet. FAFSA here can be a hassle because they don’t know the US system very well. What this means is that you have to put in some extra effort to find out exactly what they need and then stay on top of them to make sure that it is being processed. Also, it will take you a bit or horsing around to get a bank account here, so you’ll probably want to get in touch with your lender to have them direct deposit your loan into your US bank account rather than mailing a check to the University which if you deposited here will cost you in exchange rate conversion fees and probably a lame rate from the UK banks. I say all this because you have to have your cash ready to register with the University in September and many US students get jacked because Student Services Centre didn’t follow up on the paperwork which meant that these students had some serious extra financial stress at the beginning of their year. Also, make sure you set up your US bank account so that you can transfer funds overseas to your UK bank account when you do get it set up. Often US banks require you to fill out paperwork in person to set this up.
All in all it is pretty good value for money given that the degree is a bit shorter – this is especially true for the MA which is one year and much more research oriented. For the PhD, if you bust tale and get it done at the end of three years, then you’ll be getting a pretty good deal all in all. Keep in mind however, that it takes most people a few years at least until they are established in an academic post. In any case, you will have three years to research, and then you can submit at any time in your fourth year. So theoretically if you started in September 2006 you could submit at the end of September 2009, or the beginning of September 2010 (or anywhere in between). I say all that because it was a little unclear to me when I came how long the degree actually is.