President’s PhD Scholarships


The Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction is looking for talented students for the President’s PhD Scholarship. For further information, please see the College website.

Find out more information about fees and funding for 2019-20

Funding is often secured through Wellcome Trust or MRC DTP Fellowships. Further information about this and specific projects studying under the supervision of Departmental supervisors who have obtained funding are advertised below.

For up-to-date information on tuition fees, please refer to the College's Fees and Funding pages. It should be noted that supervisors may charge an additional ‘bench fee’ from sponsors to cover the costs of laboratory expenses (consumables and equipment) for postgraduate research projects. 


PhD Studentship: Tommy’s National Centre for Preterm Birth Research

We are seeking a high performing undergraduate or Master's student who has a strong desire to undertake a PhD and join the Tommy’s National Centre for Preterm Birth Research, in the Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction

The successful applicant will be largely involved in the ‘Genomic and trans-ethnic studies of gestation in women of African, South Asian and European ancestry’ project. We have a strategic partnership with Genomics England to initially perform whole genome sequencing (WGS) in individuals of European and African ancestry to evaluate genomic susceptibility to preterm birth and length of gestation. We will then extend this work to see whether the same genes increase the risk of premature birth in people of South Asian origin. We hope the data generated by this project will enhance our ability to work out which pregnancies are most likely to be complicated by premature birth.

How to apply: Please send your CV and a covering letter describing why you are suitable for the studentship and interested in the project and lab, along with the details of two referees to Olivia Barrett (olivia.barrett@imperial.ac.uk) by 23rd June.


4-year PhD studentship funded by an EPSRC industrial CASE award - Structural elucidation of small molecules using tandem mass spectrometry and accurately predicted fragmentation patterns

The studentship will be supervised by Prof. Zoltan Takats, Division of Systems Medicine, Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction, Imperial College London, Dr. Bela Paizs, Biological Mass Spectrometry Theme, The Rosalind Franklin Institute, Dr Stephen Holman, Chemical Development, AstraZeneca, and Dr Andrew Ray, New Modalities Product Development, AstraZeneca.

Studentship Details: The award is for 48 months (full time) and covers course fees at the Home/Ireland rates and a stipend of £19,668 in addition to an AstraZeneca CASE top up. Applicants must hold a First Class or an Upper Second Class degree (or equivalent overseas qualification) in Chemistry/Biochemistry/Biomedical Sciences, a Master's degree in a related field is desirable but not essential. The studentship will principally be based at Imperial College, with a placement at AstraZeneca in Macclesfield (for 3 months) and in close collaboration with the Biological Mass Spectrometry Theme at the Rosalind Franklin Institute.

For informal enquiries please contact Prof. Zoltan Takats (z.takats@imperial.ac.uk), Dr Bela Paizs (bela.paizs@rfi.ac.uk) and Dr Stephen Holman (stephen.holman@astrazeneca.com).


The President’s PhD Scholarship

The College provides the home UKRI fee rate and a bursary. Departments pay the home tuition fee top-up i.e. the difference between the UKRI home tuition fee rate and the Department’s home tuition fee rate. MDR will consider applications from outstanding overseas applications but these must first be approved by the Departmental Manager, Joanna Thompson, Joanna.thompson@imperial.ac.uk.

Award

  • Full funding for tuition fees
  • A stipend of £21,400 per annum for 3.5 years
  • A consumables fund of £2,000 per annum for the first 3 years of study

Eligibility - First Class UK degree or equivalent. If a Masters is held, it must be awarded with Distinction.

Application - Complete Imperial College’s online application by the deadline stated on The President’s PhD Scholarship Webpages: 

Prior to applying - Applicants must have made contact with a supervisor who has agreed to supervise their research project. Supervisors are limited to supervise one student at any time.


MultiSci MRC DTP Studentship

This is a 1+3 Studentship which provides funding for the MRes Biomedical Research in Year 1 and, after successful completion, 3 years’ funding for a PhD. 

Applicants should hold, or expect to receive, a First Class or a good Upper Second Class Honours degree or equivalent. If the candidate holds a Master’s, it must be a Pass or above.

Funding includes the following:

  • The MRC pays the home UKRI fee tuition rate. Departments pay the home tuition fee top-up i.e. the difference between the UKRI home tuition fee rate and the Department’s home tuition fee rate.
  • Bursary (£17,009 for MRes and £18,500 per annum for PhD).
  • Research Training Support Grant of £5k per annum paid to the supervisor (not applicable for Master’s year).
  • Payment of Continuing Research Status of £200.
  • A conference fund of £300 per annum (not applicable for Master’s year).

CSC Joint Funding

15 scholarships awarded per year.

The College covers overseas tuition fees. Departments are expected to cover bursary payment. As was the case in the old Department of Medicine, in the four new Departments (created in the Faculty Reorganisation when the Department of Medicine was replaced by four Departments), responsibility for bursary payment is delegated to supervisors. All CSC applications (submitted to Karine Gay) must include confirmation from the supervisor that he/she can cover the bursary of approx. £18k per annum for 3 years. Students are not permitted to apply for fees-only studentships.

‘Funding for the scholarships is split between the CSC and the College. Within the College it is shared between Departments and Central College funds.’

The College level funding is delegated to the Department which is usually delegated to the supervisor who is expected to cover the student’s stipend and £1k to attend conferences.

Award

  • Overseas fees at the prevailing rate in any given year;
  • Maintenance allowance equal to Imperial’s minimum stipend allowance in any given year. For 2019/20, this is £17,009 per year;
  • One economy class return journey to China (one journey during the PhD – not on an annual basis).

Eligibility

  • Chinese students with a strong academic background;
  • Applicants must hold a PR China passport. Students do not need to be resident in China at the time of/before application;
  • Students with prior experience of studying overseas (including in the UK) are eligible to apply;
  • Current Chinese Master's students at Imperial are eligible for the scheme;
  • Students who are not currently studying must be working full time and must apply through their previous academic institution in China;
  • Students from Hong Kong or Taiwan are not eligible to apply.

Please note: successful scholarship applicants are required to return to China to work for a period of two years after graduation.


CSC Fully Funded Scholarship

Students should apply directly to the CSC usually through their ‘home’ Chinese institution. Further information is available from the ‘home’ Chinese institution.

Fees and stipend paid in full by Central College funding.


AI4Health

This is managed by Britta Ross - CDT Manager - UKRI Centre for Doctoral Training in AI for Healthcare. The AI CDT is managed by Computing, Engineering where all students are registered irrespective of supervisors’ Departments. The 2:1 financial cost sharing model of the CDT is as follows: 2/3 of the PhD student costs are covered by the CDT and 1/3 (or 1/6 if two joint supervisors) of the PhD student costs are covered by the supervisors.


Imperial College’s Scholarships Search Tool

Other Scholarships may be available for students with particular track records and nationalities, and it is advised that this tool is used to help search for available scholarships.

Investigating the determinants of trans-placental antibody transfer