Funding

Funding is often secured through Wellcome Trust or MRC DTP Fellowships. Further information about this and specific projects studying under the supervision of Departmental supervisors who have obtained funding are advertised below.

For up-to-date information on tuition fees, please refer to the College's Fees and Funding pages. It should be noted that supervisors may charge an additional ‘bench fee’ from sponsors to cover the costs of laboratory expenses (consumables and equipment) for postgraduate research projects.‌‌‌‌

PhD studentship: Defining interactions between PDE5 and endothelin-1 inhibition underlying cerebrovascular dysfunction in small vessel disease

Award

Applications are invited for a fully-funded (at home/UK fee rate) 4-year PhD studentship funded by VIDA DTC. VIDA (Vascular and Immune contributors to DementiA) is a new multi-institutional partnership between Alzheimer’s Society and four world-leading research sites: the University of Manchester, University of Edinburgh, Imperial, and City St George’s University of London. With projects focussing on the importance of vascular and immune mechanisms in dementia, VIDA PhD students will become the next generation of much-needed dementia researchers, contributing to breakthroughs in dementia diagnosis and treatment.

VIDA students will embark upon a 4 year fully-funded PhD project at one of the four institutions above, with access to the state-of-the-art research facilities and interdisciplinary training available at all sites. Students at each site will come together as a cohort at several points during the programme, most importantly for an induction week at the beginning of the programme, followed by annual conferences and residential workshop retreats which will link in with other Alzheimer’s Society Doctoral Training Centres across the UK. Students will also participate in engagement schemes with the Alzheimer’s Society and beyond, sharing the impact of their research in the community. The programme also benefits from built in opportunities for placements with leading industrial partners, and bespoke training plans including schemes to develop teaching, mentoring, and grant writing skills.

• Full funding for home tuition fees
• A stipend of £22,500 per annum rising by £1,000 each year
• Funding is also provided for research expensives, career development and student travel/conference attendance.
• International student fees will not be covered.
• Full project information can be found in this document.

Eligibility

• Applicants should hold or attain (by October 2023) a First Class or an Upper Second Class degree (or equivalent overseas qualification) in a neuroscience, cardiovascular science or related discipline.
• A Master's degree in a related and related research is desirable but not essential.
• Applicants must also meet Imperial College’s English language requirements – further details can be found at https://www.imperial.ac.uk/study/pg/apply/requirements/english/. All Imperial College London PhD entry requirements must be met.

Application

• Applicants should submit their CV and cover letter including full contact details of two referees, to Dr Alastair Webb at alastair.webb@imperial.ac.uk.

• Once shortlisted, the applicant will undergo an interview by the VIDA management board. The successful applicant will subsequently need to apply online. 

• The deadline for applications is 20 December 2024.

Further links

https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/vascular-and-immune-contributors-to-dementia/ 

https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/research/our-research/alzheimers-society-doctoral-training-centres/vascular-and-immune-contributors-dementia 

https://profiles.imperial.ac.uk/alastair.webb

‌PhD studentship in Machine Learning for Genomics

Award

Applications are invited for a fully-funded (at home/UK fee rate) 3.5-year PhD studentship in the research group of Dr Nathan Skene at the UK Dementia Research Institute, commencing during 2023 for the project: Using machine learning to predict cell-type specific effects of genetic variants which influence genome regulation. The project is based at Imperial’s White City Campus, the Hub for convergent research. The candidate will be part of the UK DRI’s Neurogenomics Lab under the supervision of Dr Nathan Skene. 

• Full funding for tuition fees (currently at £7,030 per year)
• A stipend of £21,000 per annum for 3.5 years

Eligibility

• Applicants should hold or attain (by October 2023) a First Class or an Upper Second Class degree (or equivalent overseas qualification) in a quantitatie discipline, such as mathematics, statistics, computer science or engineering. 
• Imperial would normally expect successful applicants to hold or achieve a Master's degree in a related field. Prior experience with programming is essential, but no experience with biology is necessary
• Experience using machine learning methods will be beneficial. Applicants who are interested in this topic and are interested in applying for the Doctoral Training Centre scholarship’s in AI4Health or MultiSci, or who have qualifications suitable for the President’s Scholarship, are encouraged to contact Dr Nathan Skene.

Application

• For informal enquiries please contact Dr Nathan Skene.
• For application, please send a full CV (including confirmation of home fee status), and contact details for two academic referees to n.skene@imperial.ac.uk.

• We regret that due to the large volume of applications received, we are only able to notify those shortlisted for interview. Applications will be considered throughout the 2023/24 academic year.

‌The President’s PhD Scholarship

Award

• Full funding for tuition fees
• A stipend of £25,150 per annum for 3.5 years
• A consumables fund of £2,000 per annum for the first 3 years of study
• 50 scholarships awarded per year.

Eligibility

• Includes First Class UK degree or equivalent. If a Master's is held, it must be awarded with Distinction.
• The Department will consider one exceptional overseas student however this must first be approved by the Department. Please ask your supervisor to discuss with their departmental manager before applying.
• Prior to applying - Applicants must have made contact with a supervisor who has agreed to supervise their research project. Supervisors are limited to supervise one student at any time. Once you have a supervisor who has agreed to support you, please email Mojiba Khanum m.khanum@ic.ac.uk  so your PhD scholarship application can be prioritised for review and shortlisting.

Application

• Complete an online application by the deadline stated on the President’s PhD Scholarship webpage. 
• Prior to applying applicants must have made contact with a supervisor who has agreed to supervise their research project. Supervisors are limited to supervise one student at any time.

Read more about our current PhD funding opportunities

Imperial College’s Scholarships Search Tool

Other scholarships may be available for students with particular track records and nationalities, and it is advised that this tool is used to help search for available scholarships.