Black Leaders in Cancer PhD Scholarship programme

This programme is aimed at students from Black heritage backgrounds pursuing a PhD in cancer-related fields. This scheme is open to people who self-identify as being from a Black heritage background, including a mixed background, for example: Black African, Black Caribbean, Black Other, Mixed background (to include Black African, Black Caribbean or other Black backgrounds). You will need to summit an initial application to the Windsor Fellowship.

The funding for this studentship covers students with UK Home tuition fee status only. However, the CRUK Manchester Centre are able to offer a number of overseas fee scholarships to candidates deemed appointable at interview. These scholarships cover fees only and do not cover health/visa surcharge costs.

The standard CRUK Manchester Centre PhD programme and studentship academic eligibility criteria are:

• A first or upper second-class honours degree (or equivalent from a non-UK university) in a relevant subject.
• Appropriate research experience as part of, or outside of, an undergraduate or masters degree course in a relevant subject.
• Appropriate English language skills.

Our Non-Clinical PhD Studentships are usually funded for four years, with funding covering:

• Project running costs
• University tuition fees university tuition fees (at the UK rate, with some scholarships available for high-performing EU/International candidates)
• An annual stipend of £21,000 to help with living costs

Studentships are highly competitive and so we encourage you to contact any supervisors who you are interested in working with before applying for our Non- Clinical PhD Studentships.

International Candidates

The University of Manchester aims to support the most outstanding applicants from outside the UK.

We are able to offer a limited number of bursaries to high-performing EU and international candidates, covering PhD fees only. Bursaries do not include financial support for visa/health surcharges.

We assess each EU and international candidate’s suitability for a bursary at the application and interview stages.

The CRUK Manchester Centre has a dedicated Training Office with in-person/hybrid support offered by our Postgraduate Programme Manager and Outreach and Engagement Manager. As well as having an academic supervisory team, mentor and academic cohort advisor, our Training Office is there to provide you with support throughout your PhD programme and beyond.

You will also be supported by our CRUK Manchester Centre Postgraduate Reps (Clinical, Non-Clinical and MB-PhD), who are there to provide a voice to and advocate for students throughout their PhD journey.

Students enrol on the CRUK Manchester Centre’s bespoke curriculum providing tailored training across six pillars designed to train cancer leaders of the future: health data sciences; research in healthcare systems; EDI; clinical trials of the future; commercialisation and entrepreneurship; leadership. Training sessions can be completed at any point during the PhD.

The CRUK Manchester Centre also hosts an annual Postgraduate Researcher Showcase in collaboration with the Manchester Cancer Research Centre and UoM Division of Cancer Sciences designed to showcase our PGRs featuring additional talks from international keynotes and workshops on career support, funding and mental health/wellbeing.

Why have you developed this programme? 

Diversity is integral to excellence. A diverse and inclusive research community ensures equality and equity for all and will help beat cancer sooner. We are committed to creating equal, diverse and inclusive research environments that enable all researchers to realise their full potential to beat cancer.

As part of our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in Research action plan published in 2021, we are committed to working with our training centres to understand and implement initiatives to increase diversity of students, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds.

This programme builds on the various initiatives we are supporting to improve diversity in our research careers pipeline. We’ve partnered with organisations like In2scienceUK and Black in Cancer to mentor school children and undergraduates from low socio-economic backgrounds and of Black heritage to offer opportunities to build a career in cancer research.

We hope this programme will create an immediate and tangible impact on the diversity of our researcher community. In tandem, we are working with our centres and institutes to embed EDI principles throughout the PhD recruitment process and to ensure positive and inclusive research environments across our network.

Read our interview with the programme leads to find out how programmes like this can help create a more diverse and inclusive research community.

Hear from the programme leads

Read our EDI in research action plan

Who have you consulted in developing this programme?

This programme was developed in close consultation with our research community including our expert partner organisations Black in Cancer and Windsor Fellowship who helped with the design of this scheme.

Throughout the development, we engaged with various other organisations such as our centres and institutes and other research funders. We also sought feedback from research organisations with experience of establishing positive action schemes including the Sanger Excellence Fellowship programme at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, as well as from other organisations that have extensive experience of the barriers faced by underrepresented students accessing STEM careers such as In2ScienceUK.

Our internal Race Equality and Equity staff network also provided valuable insights to shape our plans.

Find out about Black in Cancer

Find out about the Windsor Fellowship

How can I find out more about whether a PhD and a career in academic research is right for me? 

For each round of the programme, we run an insight session. This is an interactive webinar where you can find out about what it is like to be a PhD student, get tips and advice about how to successfully apply to a PhD programme, and ask questions about careers in academic research.

The insight session for this upcoming round of applications will be held on 7 October.

Register now

How are applications reviewed?

Your application will be supported by us and the Windsor Fellowship. Once you are approved to apply to one of our centres, you will undergo their formal PhD application process.