Funding for UK/EU PhD applicants
The following funding bodies provide the majority of PhD studentships within the Faculty.
Research Councils
Medical Research Council (MRC)
The MRC fund postgraduate research into clinical areas of medical science, with particular emphasis on the following:
- Ageing: from birth to adulthood
- Environment and health
- Genetics and disease
- Lifestyles affecting health
- mental health and wellbeing
- Repair and replacement
- Systems biology approaches to biomedical research
- Tissue disease and degeneration
For further details, see: MRC: funding
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)
The BBSRC fund postgraduate research that increases understanding of how living organisms function and behave – from the level of individual molecules and cells to ecological systems and populations.
For further details, see: BBSRC: funding
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
The EPSRC fund postgraduate research in the engineering and physical science disciplines. EPSRC funding is most prominent in the Faculty in the following PhD areas:
- Biomaterials
- Biotechnology
- Drug delivery and pharmacokinetics
- Drug design
- Medical imaging
For further details, see EPSRC: funding
Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) now funds postgraduate training through a network of Doctoral Training Centres (DTCs).
The University hosts a North West Doctoral Training Centre in collaboration with the Universities of Liverpool and Lancaster. ESRC DTC funding provides support for both 1+3 (Masters-PhD) and +3 (PhD) training across a number of disciplinary themes. The themes most directly related to this Faculty are:
- Lifelong Health and Wellbeing
- Psychology
- Social Work
ESRC funding is most prominent within the Faculty in the following areas:
- Anxiety and depression
- Associative memory and recognition
- Development of language
- Health economics
- Psychology and psycho-social interventions
For further details, see: ESRC: funding
Charitable Trusts
A wide-array of charitable funding bodies support PhD research across the Faculty. The majority of charity PhD funding is applied for directly by academics and research groups who then advertise suitable projects in line with the remit of the charity providing the funding. Examples of charitable trusts providing PhD funding within the Faculty include:
- The Wellcome Trust
- Cancer Research UK
- Tommy's: the baby charity
- British Heart Foundation
- Arthritis Research Campaign
- Royal Pharmaceutical Society
- Alzheimer’s Society
- Stroke Association
- Age UK
Projects attracting funding from charitable trusts are advertised throughout the year on our website. Applicants interested in PhD study within the area of a medical charity, should contact an academic within the Research Group they are interested in working within to enquire about funding availability.
Industry
Industrial companies associated with the biomedical and pharmaceutical sectors often contribute to PhD training by offering studentships within certain disciplines. Many pair their funding with the UK Research Councils to offer Industrial CASE studentships. Examples of industrial sponsors across the Faculty include:
- AstraZeneca
- Colgate-Palmolive
- Croda
- GlaxoSmithKline
- Morvus Technology
- Novo Nordisk
- Pfizer
- Philips
- Phonak Hearing Systems
PhD studentships attracting industrial funding will be advertised on our website along with details of the company supporting the project. Many industry sponsored studentships include training placements within the company and so provide excellent routes into commercial settings.
Alumni Development Office
The Division for Development and Alumni Relations at the University fund a number of PhD studentships. These are open to candidates currently registered on an undergraduate or Masters course. In addition, graduates of the University of Manchester (on or after September 2005) are also eligible to apply. The studentships provide tuition fees and a maintenance award for a three-year PhD project within one of the alumni philanthropic themes.
For further details, see: Alumni PhD studentships
Grundy Educational Trust
The Grundy Educational Trust (GET) was established in 1991 to advance education by providing or assisting in the provision of postgraduate awards and/or loans to students for research and higher learning at institutions in the UK. It invests approximately £25,000 each year for awards, the maximum individual amount of which is currently limited to £4,500 per annum.
The Trustees currently limit awards to candidates:
- Not above 30 years of age, who are citizens of the UK
- Who are intending to pursue courses leading to careers in technologically or scientifically based disciplines in industry, commerce or the professions
- Who have been accepted or provisionally accepted for a postgraduate degree at Manchester
- Who are in need of financial assistance to fund their maintenance costs
For further details, see: Grundy Educational Trust: funding
Wingate Foundation
The Wingate Foundation offers scholarship support to candidates from the UK and commonwealth countries seeking financial assistance towards their PhD projects. They are directed at applicants who are due to conduct pioneering, interdisciplinary research of scientific value. Projects must not fall into any conventional funding categories as the Foundation aims to promote research that is truly cross-disciplinary.
The scholarships are designed to help with the costs of a specific project that may last up to 3 years. The average total award is about £6,500 and the maximum in any one year is £10,000.
For further details, see: Wingate Foundation: funding
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