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How to Apply for Students

Please note: We currently have a limited number of projects available to only UK citizens. Recruitment for the 2024 cohort will begin on Monday September 4th 2023 and the website will be updated accordingly.

This page covers the following topics:

What We Offer

The GW4 BioMed2 MRC DTP operates across four research-intensive universities (Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter) providing students within our programme access to the combined research strengths, training expertise and resources of each institution. Many DTP projects are co-supervised across two or more of these universities, allowing students to join existing and emerging research partnerships

The GW4 BioMed2 MRC DTP offers competitive, fully-funded studentships in one of our three research themes:

All projects within our programme reflect on the collective strengths of the DTP:

  • Quantitative skills (including mathematical modelling)
  • Using data for discovery
  • Interdisciplinary skills and approaches (including physics, engineering, chemistry and health economics)

Students in the GW4 BioMed2 MRC DTP have access to a broad range of training opportunities across all four universities. In addition we provide bespoke training specific to students within the DTP, that spans the three strands of our training programme including research skills, professional and career development skills and opportunities to broaden horizons.

How to Apply

Students can apply to GW4 BioMed2 MRC DTP projects by using our online form.

Key Documents

Candidate Support

Please see the presentation slides for our previous candidate support webinars. For further questions please contact us.

Eligibility

Our current projects are only available for UK citizens. Following Brexit, the UKRI now classifies EU students as international unless they have rights under the EU Settlement Scheme. All studentships will be competitively awarded.

Academic Requirements

Applicants for a studentship must have obtained, or be about to obtain, a UK degree, or the equivalent qualification gained outside the UK, in an appropriate area of medical sciences, computing, mathematics or the physical sciences. Please check the entry requirements of the home institution for each project of interest before completing an application. Academic qualifications are considered alongside any significant relevant non-academic experience.

Funding

A GW4 BioMed2 MRC DTP studentship includes full tuition fees at the UK/Home rate, a stipend at the minimum UKRI rate, a Research & Training Support Grant (RTSG) valued between £2-5k per year and a £300 annual travel and conference grant based on a 4 year, full-time studentship. iCASE may have an additional stipend top-up. Please see the project details for more information.

Throughout the duration of the studentship, there will be opportunities to apply to the Flexible Funding Supplement for additional support to engage in high-cost training opportunities.

The Application Process

To begin a GW4 BioMed2 MRC DTP studentship, applicants must secure an offer of funding from the DTP and an offer of study from the home institution of the project for which the applicant was granted funding.

Stage 1: Applying to the DTP for an Offer of Funding

  1. Select your projects from the available projects page available on this website. You may select up to three projects in your application.
  2. Submit your application using this online form before Friday 16th June 2023 at 5pm.
  3. Student shortlisting is conducted in a blind review of studentship applications by a theme-specific panel. Up to 8 top candidates who emerge from this deliberation will be invited to interview.
  4. Informal, virtual meetings will be arranged by the successfully shortlisted candidates with the lead supervisors of each project to which they have applied before the formal interview.
  5. Formal interviews will occur virtually by theme-specific panels including representatives from each GW4 institution on Wednesday 2nd August 2023.
  6. Student selection for up to 3 funded studentships occurs after the formal interviews. Projects are allocated based on the rank of the successful candidates, therefore, it is not always possible to offer an applicant their first-choice project.
  7. A clearing period will follow until approximately mid-August 2023 until all places have been offered and accepted. For this reason, it is not possible to provide immediate interview results to shortlisted applicants.

Stage 2: Applying to the lead institution for an Offer of Study

Once you have been offered a studentship with the GW4 BioMed2 MRC DTP, you will need to apply for an Offer of Study at the home institution of your lead supervisor.

Applicants for any of our projects should apply to the DTP first to secure an offer of funding. Once an offer of funding is issued by the DTP, you will receive more information on submitting a formal application to the relevant institution, guided by the DTP and local admin contacts.

Selection Criteria

Your online application form will be evaluated against the following criteria:

  • Proven academic quality: normally evidenced by an excellent performance to first degree and/or Master’s level but may also be demonstrated by an equivalent, high quality provision of evidence related to professional practice.
  • Research potential: evidenced through examples of achievement within academia/research related projects and outside of academia, evidencing relevant skills.
  • Personal motivation and commitment: evidenced through supporting statement of understanding, motivation and suitability for their first choice project and by their wider enthusiasm, interest and commitment to the MRC DTP programme.
  • Non-biomedical disciplines: In line with supporting interdisciplinary and quantitative skills, special consideration will be given by the interview panels to non-biomedical applicants. Such candidates should not feel the selection criteria are biased towards biomedical applicants as their unique skills will be taken into account.

Candidates selected for interview will be evaluated against the following criteria:

  • Critical thinking assessed via discussion of a student-selected piece of data
  • Fit with the project: The interview panel will evaluate the candidate’s aptitude and understanding of the key issues in the project, supported by feedback from informal meetings with the potential lead supervisor.
  • Personal commitment & motivation

Contact Details

If you have any queries about the GW4 BioMed2 MRC DTP or about applying for an Offer of Funding, you can get in touch with the DTP Team by emailing GW4BioMed@cardiff.ac.uk.

If you have any questions about applying for an Offer of Study, you can get in touch with the administrative team at your home institution:

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