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We are aware of the restrictions on research activity because of Covid-19. The length of any delay is difficult to predict and the impact it will have on our students’ research progress uncertain. We wish to give reassurance that, in the event of Covid-19 demonstrably effecting PhD completion, we will be open to discussion as to how best to manage the situation, including no-cost extensions to research expenses and the possibility of stipend and fees extensions. Our policy on extensions can be found here. We advise all our researchers to follow the advice given by their Universities and the Government.
Medical Research Scotland has closed its annual call for doctoral training funding applications to University PhD supervisors across Scotland.
Current applicants can access and monitor their applications by logging n to the Application Management System. We hope to notify applicants of the outcome of their application by the end of January 2022.
The charity is looking to fund up to 25 four-year PhD studentships featuring collaborations between Universities and External Partner Organisations which will start in October 2022 and provide students with inspiring research and training experiences.
Funded students receive a generous four-year stipend, up to £35,000 research expenses, £3,000 travel allowance and university fees (home rate) paid.
Applications should:
The applications team is available at applications@medicalresearchscotland.org to answer any questions you may have.
To be eligible, the Administering Institution must be a recognised Scottish University or Research Institution in which the student will be matriculated and which will award the PhD degree. There is no geographical requirement or restriction for the External Partner Organisation.
There is no requirement or restriction on the subject or nature of the research, provided it addresses a question relevant to human health – the causation, prevention, diagnosis or treatment of illness or the development of medical or surgical appliances.
At least three supervisors are required per PhD Studentship, including a Principal and a Second Supervisor from the Administering Institution and an External Partner Organisation Supervisor.
A Principal Supervisor can only hold one active Medical Research Scotland PhD Studentship, though they can apply as Principal Supervisor for a subsequent PhD Studentship to commence after the completion date of their current one. A Second Supervisor can be supervisor on one or more PhD Studentships.
The External Partner Organisation is expected to make a valuable and meaningful contribution to the proposed research project, the specific nature of which will depend on the proposed project. It must provide an appropriate training programme and work experience for the student. It is anticipated that this will be delivered at an operational base of the External Partner Organisation, though the extent of placements at, and remote interactions with, the external partner organisation should be tailored to the nature of the project and collaboration. The arrangement should be to maximise the benefit to both the student and project.
The external partner organisation must provide the following financial contribution to the Studentship:
The PhD Studentship Standard Conditions, to which applicants and awardees must agree, can be downloaded here
To apply, PhD funding applications must be submitted by the Principal Supervisor through our new online application management system. To apply and monitor the progress of your application, click here.
The closing dates for the 2021 PhD Studentship call are: Tier 1 signatories – 12 noon, Wednesday 29 September 2021 Tier 2 signatories – 12 noon, Wednesday 6 October 2021.
Once the Principal Supervisor has initiated the online application they will invite the other Supervisors to contribute to the application via the online application management system. Please see Section 18 of the Guidance Notes for more information on deadlines.
Tier 2 signatories have until 12 noon on Wednesday 6 October 2021 to approve applications – please login to the Application Management System (AMS) to do so. Please ensure you have activated your account by following the link in your registration email before logging in to the AMS.
Guidance Notes and a sample application form are available here alongside the PhD Studentship Standard Conditions, and declarations and authorisations of signatories.
Applications for funding are initially subject to independent review by the members of an expert peer review PhD Studentship Panel, which includes representatives from academia and industry and at least two Trustees of Medical Research Scotland.
The 2021 PhD Studentship Panel members are:
Dr Caroline Barelle Professor Jim Bown Dr Martin Denvir (Vice Chair) Dr Christine Dufés Dr Simon Powis (Chair) Dr Jonathan Taylor Professor Heather Wallace Dr Stewart White Professor Joanna Wilson Dr Emma Wood
Please note that the PhD Panel members’ scientific and medical expertise may lie in a different specialism to that of the proposed research, which should be taken in to consideration when completing the proposal: it is important to make the application understandable to scientifically literate but non-specialist reviewers.
Applications will be assessed on:
The Medical Research Scotland Board of Trustees use the PhD Panel’s assessment of the applications when they make their final award decisions.
From 2020/2021 academic year the Studentships provide the following funding:
MRS will pay an annual student stipend (Years 1 and 2 – £16,000, Years 3 and 4 – £16,500) to the University at the start of each academic year, subject to satisfactory progress.
The External Partner Organisation must provide a top-up of £2,500 per annum for the student. The Administering Institution must undertake to make arrangements to collect the External Partner Organisation’s stipend top-up and the Principal Supervisor must ensure the stipend top-up is received from the External Partner Organisation and the student is paid their full annual stipend.
Past stipend rates can be found here.
Principal Supervisors will be notified by email of the outcome of their application and whether or not they have received doctoral training funding. The Principal Supervisor, EPO Supervisor and Authorised Signatory for the Administering Institution must accept the offer via the online application management system to qualify.
Following acceptance, those awarded funding are required to select a suitable student to carry out PhD study. Medical Research Scotland will arrange for the PhD Studentships to be openly advertised via FindaPhD.com. To apply for the PhD position, candidates must apply directly to the Administering Institution through their usual recruitment process.
The eligibility criteria for candidates applying for a PhD Studentship will be tailored to the individual projects, but the Trustees of Medical Research Scotland expect the student to have been awarded a minimum of an upper second class undergraduate honours degree in a relevant subject.
Candidates will then be interviewed by a panel with at least one of the supervisors from the Administering Institution, a representative from the external partner organisation and an independent Panel Member from the Administering Institution with experience in graduate recruitment.
Medical Research Scotland must be notified of the outcome of the student recruitment process and reserves the right to veto the decision of the interview panel, where there is justified reason.
International students may be appointed to a position funded by Medical Research Scotland as long as they can provide evidence that they have funding from an alternative source to cover the difference between the Home fee and international fee rate for the full duration of the PhD Studentship.
Students joining the programme will also receive career development support through a series of bespoke Researcher Development Events organised by MRS a series of. These take place at least annually and student attendance is compulsory. Due to the coronavirus situation, the programme is currently on hold.
Throughout the term of the PhD Studentship, students and supervisors must submit reports on the progress being made. Reports are required at least annually. Funding for subsequent years of the PhD Studentship will not be released until the student has passed the Administering Institution’s internal annual student assessment and the annual MRS report has been scored as satisfactory by the Board of Trustees.
Report forms for pre-2019 PhD Studentship awardees can be downloaded here:
Reports for PhD Studentships awarded from 2019 onwardswill be submitted through the AMS when they are available, please use the above Set-up report form in the meantime.
Due to the Covid-19 restrictions, we have introduced a temporary alternative to hard copy signatures for reports. Each of the signatories should email applications@medicalresearchscotland.org, attaching a copy of the final Word Doc version of the report form, confirming they have approved the attached report.
MRS will pay the annual student fees and stipend to the Administering Institution at the start of each year of the Studentship, provided the previous year’s annual report has been scored as satisfactory by the Board of Trustee.
Costs must be met initially by the Administering Institution, which should submit fully itemised quarterly invoices in arrears to MRS for Research Expenses, open access publication costs and claims from the Travel Allowance for expenses for attendance at conferences/scientific meetings for reimbursement. Invoices must include the award reference number, the claim period and a fully identifiable description of the items being claimed.
The Travel Allowance Expenses Claim Form must be submitted for any claims from the Travel Allowance.
Payment of Research Expenses and travel expenses cannot be made in advance.
Are you looking for PhD studentship funding? Hear what our students have to say about the programme
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