Student FAQs

Applications are now closed for 25/26. Projects for the October 2026 intake will be advertised from September 2025.

The GW4 BioMed2 MRC DTP aims to attract the best students for training in high quality projects and environments. The student FAQs contain guidance for students considering submitting an application for a GW4 BioMed2 MRC funded studentship.

Advice on the whole process including eligibility, the selection process and critical dates can be found below:

How many studentships are available?

Up to 17 studentships are available for our October 26/27 cohort. This comprises of 17 (notional) MRC studentships per annum.

What are the student eligibility criteria?

Academic Criteria

Students will need to meet the standard academic eligibility criteria. Applicants for a studentship must have obtained, or be about to obtain, a first or upper-second-class UK honours degree, or the equivalent qualification gained outside the UK, in an appropriate area of medical sciences.

However, the DTP also welcomes students from non-medical backgrounds, especially in areas of computing, mathematics and the physical sciences.

Applicants with a lower second class will only be considered if they also have a Master’s degree and/or an equivalent, high-quality provision of evidence related to professional practice. At the University of Bath a second-class degree will only be accepted for PhD study if you also have a master’s graded at merit level or higher. Successful applicants will also need to meet the entry requirements of their home institution.

International Students

UKRI funded studentships through the GW4 BioMed2 MRC DTP are now available to applicants who would be classed as an international student. Following Brexit, the UKRI now classifies EU students as international unless they have rights under the EU Settlement Scheme. The GW4 partners have agreed to cover the difference in costs between home and international tuition fees. This means that international candidates will not be expected to cover this cost and will be fully funded but need to be aware that they will be required to cover the cost of their student visa, healthcare surcharge and other costs of moving to the UK to do a PhD.

There is a limit to the number of International students that we can accept into our programme (up to 30% cap across our partners per annum).

If English is not your first language you will need to meet the English language requirements of the university that will host your PhD by the start of the programme. Please refer to the website of the university to which you are applying for further information.

How do I submit an application?

Applications must be submitted using the online form. We do not require any additional documents at this stage and ask that you please refrain from sending in any CVs, certificates or transcripts.

Can applicants apply from disciplines other than biomedical science?

Yes. The DTP is particularly interested in recruiting students from non-biomedical, but numerate subjects (e.g. from a computing, mathematics, statistics, chemistry, engineering or quantitative social sciences background).

Can I apply in more than one year?

Yes, you can apply for a studentship in each annual call for applicants.

Can I submit more than one online application in this round?

No, in each call for applications we can only accept ONE online application per candidate. If you submit more than one application, this will be identified. We will submit your first application for review by the shortlisting panels and any subsequent applications will be rejected.

What is the likelihood of gaining a studentship offer?

Our scheme is highly competitive and we want to ensure full transparency with you. Last year we received a record number of 2,421 applications for just 18 studentships. International students had a 0.275% chance of being successful and home students had a 2.16% chance. Why the difference? 75% (1,818) of the applications that we received last year came from international students and the MRC permits us to offer a maximum of 30% of our available studentships, that’s a maximum 5 places. This means that the level of competition is higher is generally higher for international applicants.

Do I need to send a CV, references or transcripts?

You do not need to email a CV, reference or transcripts to the DTP when you apply. If you do, these will not be considered in the shortlisting process. If your application is progressed to the interview stage, we will contact you requesting additional information at this point only.

I haven’t completed my MSc yet, what do I put on the form?

You can enter a predicted grade if you have one, but your offer may be conditional on this grade. Alternatively, you can put ‘pending’ for your result.

Do I need to apply to the University as well as complete the GW4 application form?

Not at this stage, but you will need to apply from an ‘offer to study’ if you are successful at interview. This is an administrative process and more information on this will be provided to you if you are offered a studentship later in the process.

When is the closing date for applications?

We close to applications on 20^th October at 5pm, however we reserve the right to close to either home or international candidates (or both) before that date if we receive an unprecedented number of applications. Please check our website for regular updates on this. For fairness, we are unable to accept applications once a given closing date has passed.

Are International students eligible to apply?

Yes, international students are welcome to apply to our DTP. There is a limit to the number of international students we can accept onto our programme (up to 30% cap across our partnership per annum).

Are EU applicants considered as home or international candidates?

Following Brexit, the UKRI now classifies EU students as international unless they have rights under the EU Settlement Scheme.

Do international students have to pay additional fees?

No, if you’re successful in being offered a studentship the GW4 partners have all agreed to cover the difference in cost between home and international tuition fees. This means that international candidates will not be expected to cover this cost and will be fully funded in the same way as home students.

Will I get support in applying for a visa to study?

Yes, if you are successful, your home university will provide you with guidance to enable you to navigate the process of applying for a visa to study in the UK.

Do international students have to pay any other additional costs?

While our studentships are MRC funded, international students will need to provide their own source of funding to cover the cost of visa application fees, health surcharges and moving to the UK, including accommodation deposits. The DTP is unable to help with these costs.

What support do you offer students with disabilities?

All 4 institutes have student support services who can support you and apply for a disability support allowance to fund any adjustments that are required.

If you accept a studentship, we recommend that you contact your host University as soon as possible to begin to arrange additional support and reasonable adjustments. This is to ensure that your needs are supported before you begin your studies.

The DTP also has a Research Culture and Wellbeing Lead who can assist in sign-posting all students to the right support.

If you have specific needs around your engagement in the interview process, please let us know in advance.

What support do you offer students who are part of the LGBTQ+ and/or Global Majority Background communities?

All GW4 institutions have support groups, and we are keen to ensure everyone has the opportunity to access the DTP, particularly those from marginalised groups.

Can I take family leave?

Yes, UKRI funded Students are entitled to family leave. Maternity leave can commence up to 11 weeks before the expected week of childbirth. A student is eligible if the leave commences during their funded period and they are the birth parent of the child. A stipend can be paid at the full rate for the first 26 weeks, followed by 13 weeks commensurate with Statutory Maternity Pay. The final 13 weeks would be unpaid. The studentship may be extended to account for the period of maternity leave.

Partner’s or paternity leave (leave for partners following the birth of a child) may be paid for two weeks of leave for a student who is the partner of a mother or birth parent following the birth of their child. Further leave may be taken on an unpaid basis.

Provision is also made for adoption leave, neo-natal care leave, and for pregnancy loss, or the loss of a child.

The arrangement for family leave are visa dependant and there is no qualifying period for maternity, paternity or adoption leave and full details can be obtained for the DTP.

What medical leave is available?

Medical leave is available in circumstances by which a Student is deemed unfit to study. It may also be used to provide paid leave to attend medical appointments where flexible study is not possible.

A stipend may be paid for Medical Leave of up to 28 weeks in a rolling 12-month period. The total cumulative amount of medical leave must not exceed 52 weeks across the whole studentship.

The arrangements for medical leave are visa dependant and full details can be obtained from the DTP.

What additional leave is available?

Additional leave may be provided to cover specific instances where a Student may be required to be absent from study that are not covered by other types of leave. These include:

Special leave (including bereavement and pregnancy loss)
Baby loss (including stillbirth and neonatal death)
Carer’s leave
Additional disability leave associated with delayed adjustments
Health and safety related leave
Public duties including jury service

The arrangements for additional leave are visa dependant and full details can be obtained from the DTP.

What annual leave is available?

Reasonable holidays, a minimum of 30 days to a maximum of eight weeks per year to include public holidays is recommended and should be allowed for by Supervisors (pro rata for part time students). Please check your home institutions guidance on this. Students undertaking work in collaboration with non-academic partners are expected to consider their obligations to those partners in planning leave.

Do I have to live near my host university?

Yes, you will need to be located within reasonable commuting distance to ensure that you can fully engage in your studies in person. Unfortunately, we are unable to accommodate remote study.

How will students be selected?

All studentships will be awarded competitively. In your application, you can apply for up to two projects in order of preference.

Theme specific panels will consider and score all applications before drawing up a ranked interview shortlist of around 60 applicants. A reserved shortlisting quota of 20% for students from self-declared under-represented groups (including ethnicity, disability, and other protected characteristics) will be used to encourage equality, diversity and inclusion.

Shortlisting

The shortlisted interview applications will then be passed to the lead supervisor of their chosen project(s). Shortlisted students are then required to meet (remotely or in person) with their potential lead supervisors. The onus for arranging these meetings is placed on the students and expenses will not be available for candidates to attend these discussions.

References

Candidates that have been informed they have been shortlisted for interview will be required to provide their academic transcripts, certificates and two references to the DTP. One academic reference must be academic, however the second can be personal or work related if needed.

References should be sent directly to the DTP from the referee via their professional email address. While there is no set format for reference letters, they should contain official branding of the referee’s organisation, describe to context in which they know the named candidate and provide comment on their suitability as a PhD candidate.

Interviews

Candidates will be interviewed by a centralised DTP theme-based interview panel with representatives from all HEIs. Interviews will be 30 mins in length and will include discussion of a piece of data research that the student was involved with. Your supervisor report, interview feedback, academic transcripts, references and the application form will all contribute to the panel’s considerations for allocating studentships.

Students for whom their first-choice project has already been taken by a higher ranked candidate will be offered their second-choice project, if they have selected one.

If they have not selected a second-choice project, we will be unable to offer a studentship in this circumstance.

Who will students be registered with?

Students will register for a PhD with the Higher Education Institute of the lead supervisor. They will be registered with one HEI only but will also be registered as visiting students across the other HEIs to provide them with access to resources, training courses and facilities across the GW4.

What funding is available during the studentship?

The funding elements of the studentship are:

fees (UK rate)
UKRI national minimum stipend
RTSG (Research Training Support Grant) to support training
a high-cost training grant which is project dependant
a conference/travel allowance

Studentships will be funded for a 4-year duration. As such, awards have been calculated on this basis. Part-time studentships will also be considered and are usually arranged on the basis of working between 50% and 80% of a full-time studentship, over a period of 6 years but can be up to 7 years’ duration.

What funding is available for project costs?

Each studentship will include a Research Training Support Grant (RTSG) as a contribution towards basic consumables to support training to carry out a technique, but not for ongoing project costs. The MRC makes a distinction between wet-lab and dry-lab projects and expects wet lab projects to receive a higher amount than dry projects. This could be up to £5,000 per year, depending on the project.

On a project dependent basis a further one-off, high-cost training grant of up to £10,000 can be applied for by the Lead Supervisor where there are high-cost elements in the project. This is to cover the costs associated with a particular skill/need, which may include training. High-cost elements may include:

In-vivo biology
human brain scans
high performance computing
large data set storage

(NB this is for the lifetime of the project and cannot be applied for again).

Please note that that the studentship is expected to cover all training costs but NOT ongoing consumable and equipment costs for the project; support is expected to be provided from the project and programme grants held by the supervisory team for these project costs.

Our MRC funding also includes a Flexible Funding Supplement, which is a small budget that aims to support high costs research and/or enhanced training needs. To determine the allocation of this funding the Management Board set up a funding panel, comprising of the three Research Theme Leads. Calls for funding will be held twice a year and your application acts as your first call. Supervisors should identify any high-cost training or training-related expenses (including travel) integral to the project in the application form.

Student can apply for up to £5,000 flexible funding during the course of their studentship.

When students undertake research at different GW4 institutions, how will their research be funded?

Research at GW4 institutions other than the student’s home institution will be supported through the RTSG, which will be made available to the lead supervisor via the host institution.

What training will the DTP provide?

A core set of basic research skills consistent with those recommended by the MRC has been agreed by the DTP. All students are required to record their projected training plans and progress in completing a Training Needs Analysis, which will be shared annually with supervisors and the DTP Management.

Online Core Training

An Online Core Training Course has been developed with 30 elements over 3 modules, which covers all aspects of the agreed DTP research skills. This is undertaken during your first year of study. As specified in the Supervisor Expectations document, it is a requirement of GW4 BioMed2 MRC DTP that supervisors agree to contribute to student training, including facilitating the online training. Basic core-skills training as defined by the DTP may be provided at institutional level (research ethics and integrity, statistical approaches, presentation skills, etc.), via the DTP Online Core Training Course modules or through a mixture of both, so long as all areas are covered. Students can request exemption from duplicated elements of the online core skills training programme if they can provide evidence of having done them elsewhere.

Advanced Training

In addition to Online Core Training, students are required to take advantage of the wide range of advanced training offered across the 4 HEIs of the GW4. The DTP will facilitate access to a range of advanced training across the partnership and will co-ordinate specialist focused training days around the research themes that are aligned to MRC priorities for training. There will also be mandatory orientation days, an annual congress and cohort building activities and supervisors are required to release students to attend these events.

Engagement with the DTP training programme is compulsory and continued sponsorship is contingent on that engagement. It is important that Supervisors allow time for all these commitments when planning a project.

Does the studentship include a placement?

Yes, all GW4 BioMed2 students are required to undertake a 3-month ‘Broadening Horizons’ placement as a mandatory, integral and assessed part of their studentship. This usually takes place during the second or third years. Further information on this will be provided at your orientation.

Further questions

If you have any further questions, please contact the DTP Hub at GW4BioMed@Cardiff.ac.uk