APPLICATIONS OPEN ON 7th OCTOBER 2025
APPLICATIONS CLOSE ON MONDAY 5th JANUARY 2026 AT 5PM SHARP (UK TIME)
Ensure that you submit your application by the deadline or your application will not be reviewed.
We are holding application information sessions as follows:
Wednesday 12th November 2025 from 16.30 to 17.30 (UK time)
Monday 8th December 2025 from 16.00 to 17.00 (UK time)
INTERVIEWS DATES - DTP
- Experimental and Translational Medicine - Wednesday 11th February 2026
- Fundamental Mechanisms of Disease - Tuesday 10th February & Friday 13th February 2026
- Health of the Public - Tuesday 10th February 2026
- Neuroscience and Mental Health - Wednesday 11th February & Thursday 12th February 2026
INTERVIEW DATES - iCASE
To be confirmed
All interviews will be held on Zoom or Teams
All applicants will receive an update after the shortlisting stage is completed for all of the interview panels
Application form details
Please create an account to submit an application for the DTP or iCASE route.
A sample copy of the application form can be viewed here.
DTP ROUTE
There will be 18 DTP studentships available over the four research themes in the 2026/27 academic year. Students on the DTP route undertake 3 twelve week rotations in up to three laboratories at Birkbeck or UCL.
iCASE ROUTE
5 iCASE studentships are available in the 2026/27 academic year.
ENTRY CRITERIA
Applicants must hold, or be expected to achieve, a first or high upper second-class undergraduate honours degree or equivalent (for example BA, BSc, MSci) or a Masters degree in a relevant subject.
All students whose first language is not English must be able to provide recent evidence that their spoken and written command of the English language is adequate for the programme according to UCL requirements. Applicants must achieve the level of ‘good’.
FUNDING CRITERIA
The UKRI has updated their eligibility criteria to confirm that international students will be eligible for all UKRI-funded postgraduate studentships from the start of the 2021/22 academic year.
All UKRI-funded PhD students will be eligible for the full award – both the stipend to support living costs, and fees at research organisations UK rate, however UKRI funding will not cover international fees set by universities.
The 2025/26 stipend rate is £22,780 per annum for students on the DTP route. Students on the iCASE route receive an additional annual top-up of £2,500 per annum.
The 2026/27 stipend rate will be announced by the UKRI in April 2026.
There is also a Research and Training Support Grant (RTSG) of £5,000 per annum for the duration of the PhD programme.
UCL Birkbeck MRC DTP has limited institutional bursaries to fund the difference between the home and international fee rate. We also welcome applications from international students in receipt of alternative studentship funding.
Interviews
At interview you will be expected to answer questions about your previous research experience and potential for an academic career
The interview panel will include the Theme Directors, a selection of Principal Investigators from the theme and a current PhD student from the relevant theme.
Interviews dates to be confirmed.
Interviews will be held on Zoom or Teams