What we fund

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Non-clinical PhD Studentships

To provide a foundation training in research to enable a graduate to proceed to a PhD degree at a university in the UK.

Entry requirements

  • Awarded or expected 1st class or high upper 2nd class BSc degree, or MSc with merit or distinction.
  • Residency requirements apply - check eligibility.

Grant duration

  • 3 years.

Award may include

  • Student stipend at current BHF rates.
  • Tuition fees at standard home student rate (set by the research institution).
  • Research consumables, directly attributable to the project, usually less then £10,000 per year.

How to apply

Who can apply?

The application must be made by an established investigator who will be the supervisor and may be for a named or unnamed student. The primary supervisor must devote a minimum of 10% of their time to supervising the student and a second supervisor should also be included.  Extra scrutiny will be given to applications from institutions in receipt of a BHF Research Excellence award or from supervisors named on a BHF 4 year PhD Scheme.  These applications will require additional justification and should be for named students only. 

Additional information

You will be asked to attach a single PDF document to your online application form containing the following information:

Additional information checklist

  1. Abstract of the proposed investigation in less than 150 words.
  2. Background to the project and pilot data.
  3. Original hypothesis.
  4. Experimental details and design of proposed investigation.
  5. Power calculations.
  6. Expected value of results.
  7. List of references relevant to the proposed project.
  8. List of recent relevant publications from supervisor.
  9. Additional pages for appendices (e.g. charts, graphs, photos); must be kept to a minimum and should be submitted only if essential to the understanding of the application.
  10. Statement detailing the scientific techniques in which the student will be trained.
  11. Full CV of the candidate; including list of publications, statement of career intentions and email address.
  12. Statement of Academic Performance (named student only).
  13. Two academic references (named student only).
  14. For named students with non-UK university degrees - evidence from Graduate Office that degree conforms to 2.1 degree or better.
  15. Supporting letters from collaborators.
  16. Valid copy of ethical approval if relevant.

Sections 1-6 must not exceed 6 A4 sides. The PDF file size must not exceed 20MB.

Please ensure Arial font size 12 is used. If this font size is not used, the application will be rejected prior to formal consideration.

You may supply contact details of suitable reviewers (who may or may not be used) or those considered to have a conflict of interest.  Once you have submitted your application, please email details to research@bhf.org.uk

Decision process

There are no closing dates.

Please submit the application when it is ready. Receipt will be acknowledged within 24 hours and we will advise you when you can expect the result. A decision will be reached by the Fellowships Committee (4 meetings a year) after it has considered external peer review reports.

Allow 6 months from submission to decision.

Apply online