Wellcome’s PhD Programmes for Health Professionals offer health professionals outstanding research training in supportive and inclusive research environments.
Wellcome’s PhD Programmes for Health Professionals offer health professionals outstanding research training in supportive and inclusive research environments. Fellowships supported through these programmes aim to create knowledge, build research capability and train a diverse group of future leaders in clinical academia, within a positive research culture.
Individual programmes recruit PhD fellows annually. Please contact individual programmes for more information on recruitment cycles and the application process.
Who can apply
The PhD Fellowships for Health Professionals are for individuals who have demonstrated the potential to pursue a career as an academic health professional.
Our programmes are based in centres of excellence throughout the UK. These programmes provide research opportunities for registered health professionals and specialities, including:
- allied health professionals (art therapists, chiropodists/podiatrists, dieticians, drama therapists, music therapists, occupational therapists, operating department practitioners, orthoptists, osteopaths, paramedics, physiotherapists, prosthetists and orthotists, radiographers, and speech and language therapists)
- chiropractors
- clinical psychologists
- dentists
- dental hygienists
- dental nurses
- dental therapists
- doctors (all specialities, including General Practitioners)
- healthcare scientists (in life sciences, physiological sciences, physical sciences and biomechanical engineering, and bioinformatics)
- health visitors
- midwives
- non-medical public health specialists
- nurses
- optometrists and dispensing opticians
- osteopaths
- pharmacists
- social workers
- pharmacy technicians
- practitioner psychologists
- vets.
Individual programmes have their own eligibility requirements. See ‘How to apply’ for more details.
Who can't apply
You can’t apply for this award if you’re looking for funding to do a PhD outside of our programmes. See details of the recruiting programmes in ‘How to apply’.
You can’t apply to carry out activities that involve the transfer of grant funds into mainland China.
Costs you can claim for
A PhD undertaken as part of one of our programmes is for three years. Some programmes may offer opportunities for additional support pre- or post-PhD. Fellowships can be undertaken on a part-time basis.
Each programme includes support for:
- a salary in line with the most appropriate clinical salary scale in the UK, as determined by the host organisation
- PhD registration fees at the home (UK) rate. We will not fund the difference between this rate and the international fee rate. Visit the individual programme pages or contact the programme teams for more details on the fees you may be required to pay.
- college fees (where required)
- research expenses
- essential travel costs, including registration fees, childcare and costs for other caring responsibilities. Find out about the costs Wellcome fellows can claim on a grant.
- training costs, including for technical, discipline-specific and transferrable skills.
What we don't offer
We don’t fund overheads.
To apply for a PhD Fellowship for Health Professionals, contact the relevant programme directly. Please don’t apply to the Wellcome Trust.
The following PhD programmes for health professionals will recruit once per year.
4Ward North PhD Programme for Health Professionals
Available at:
- Newcastle University
- University of Leeds
- University of Manchester
- University of Sheffield.
Contact: Saini Manninen (N4@manchester.ac.uk).
Edinburgh Clinical Academic Track – Inclusive (ECAT-I) PhD Programme
Available at:
- University of Edinburgh.
GW4-CAT PhD Programme for Health Professionals
Available at:
- Cardiff University
- University of Bath
- University of Bristol
- University of Exeter.
Health advances in underrepresented populations and diseases (HARP) PhD Programme
Available at:
- City University of London
- Queen Mary University of London.
King’s PhD Programme in Mental Health Research for Health Professionals
Available at:
- King’s College London.
Leicestershire Healthcare Inequalities Improvement PhD Programme (LHIIP)
Available at:
- Loughborough University
- University of Leicester.
Contact: lhiip@le.ac.uk.
Liverpool Clinical PhD Programme for Health Priorities in the Global South
Available at:
- Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.
- University of Liverpool.
Midlands Mental Health & Neurosciences PhD Programme for Healthcare Professionals
Available at:
- University of Birmingham
- University of Leicester
- University of Nottingham
- University of Warwick.
Contact: Roxanne Lockett (midlandsmhndtp@nottingham.ac.uk).
Multimorbidity PhD Programme for Health Professionals
Available at:
- University of Dundee
- University of Edinburgh
- University of Glasgow
- University of St Andrews.
PhD Programme for Health Professionals at the Universities of Cambridge and East Anglia
Available at:
- University of Cambridge
- University of East Anglia
- Wellcome Sanger Institute.
PhD Programme for Primary Care Clinicians
Available at:
- Keele University
- Queen Mary University of London
- University College London
- University of Bristol
- University of Cambridge
- University of Exeter
- University of Manchester
- University of Nottingham
- University of Oxford
- University of Southampton.
PhD Programme in Global Health Research in Africa
Available at:
- King's College London
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
- Queen Mary University of London
- St George's University of London
- University of Sussex.
Contact: Katherine Barrett (create-phd@lshtm.ac.uk).
Read more information on how we selected these programmes through our PhD Programmes for Health Professionals competition. This competition is closed to new applicants.
Our previously funded Clinical PhD Programmes are no longer recruiting new fellows.
Find out how we've worked with the funding community to develop principles and obligations setting out what we expect from those responsible for clinical academic training across the UK.
If you have a question about your application, contact the relevant university PhD programme.
Salary and research expenses covered
3 years (full-time equivalent)