MB-PhDs

The PhD component of the MB-PhD studentship is usually funded for three years, or four years in exceptional circumstances with prior agreement of MB-PhD Committee and supervisory team.

The studentship covers:

• An annual stipend of £21,000 per year to help with living costs
• Full funding for your PhD tuition fees (at the UK rate, with fee bursaries available for high-performing EU/International candidates)
• PhD project consumables and running costs, including costs for researcher development such as conferences and travel
• MBChB tuition fees (at the UK rate) up to a maximum of £45,000 per student inclusive of interest.

Please speak to the MCRC Training Office regarding individual calculations as these could vary from the stated amount, dependent on how and what fees have been paid. These are conditional upon completion of MBChB and PhD components.

Each year, we recruit a number of undergraduate students onto our three-year PhD programme, with the approval of relevant intercalation teams.

We are looking for candidates who are seeking to develop as clinician scientists of the future.

We encourage candidates to contact multiple potential supervisors as early as possible and to submit their applications before the deadline. However, in exceptional cases, we may consider late applications if places are still available.

If you wish to be considered for the Cancer Research UK MB-PhD programme and meet our eligibility criteria, you must complete an online application.

Follow the steps below, and ensure you submit all the required documents. References can be emailed separately if they are not available to submit immediately (see below).

Here are our quick steps to apply for our MB-PhD programme:

1. Eligibility

First, you need to check you are eligible to apply for an MB-PhD. Please see the eligibility tab (below) to read all criteria. 

2. Contact supervisors

We encourage you to contact the supervisor of any MB-PhD projects that you are interested in before starting your application. Having these conversations will help you to get a feel for the different research themes and projects on offer.  

3. Register

Register to apply for our MB-PhD opportunities using the Postgraduate Application Form. You must create an account to register. 

4. Create a new application

When you create a new application make sure you select the following: 

• Academic Career – Postgraduate Research
• Mode of Attendance – Full-time
• Program Description – search for MB-PhD and then select the MB-PhD Programme
• Under ‘Research Title’ list MB-PhD Programme. You can provide supervisor preferences/research interests in your accompanying supporting statement and these will be considered at and after interview. You can apply for a maximum of two projects. 
• If you are shortlisted, you’ll be interviewed by our MB-PhD Committee and subject to your interest performance and your project/research preferences will be matched with a lead supervisor.
• For the funding resources section, please include the following information: 

– Select ‘Yes’ from the drop-down
– Type of Funding: University of Manchester Scholarship
– Awarding Body: Cancer Research UK MB-PhD
– Status of Funding – Awarded
– Funding Covers – Fully Funded
– Leave the remaining boxes blank

5. Supporting documents

Your application form must be accompanied by a CV and supporting statement. You will also provide referee details (see 6. References). You do not need to add a research proposal, and can ignore this section of the application form, since your lead supervisor will have already produced this to advertise their project. 

CV 

This should include: 

• qualifications (GCSE, A-level or equivalent, and any higher education qualifications, including grades, and your current programme)
• academic prizes, research projects, and academics interests
• extracurricular interests, and activities and positions of responsibility relevant to your application

The information you provide in your CV will be considered in relation to widening participation, and/or university access policies, to ensure that all applicants are treated fairly. 

Supporting statement 

This should be 1,000 words maximum and include your reason for applying to the MB-PhD programme and your interest and suitability for the project/s you are applying to (maximum two projects). You can include project/research interest/s here and these will be considered at and post-interview. 

Supporting documents can be uploaded and submitted with the online application form.

If you have any issues, your supporting documents can be sent directly to the Doctoral Academy Admissions Team at admissions.doctoralacademy@manchester.ac.uk, CC’ing in mcrctraining@manchester.ac.uk. 

6. References 

You need to list two referees, one of which must be an academic referee from the University of Manchester, University of St Andrews Manchester-pathway or University of Leeds MBChB programme. 

This could be a: 

• Clinical debrief tutor
• PEP tutor
• Literature research project supervisor
• PPD tutor

Your referees will be automatically contacted by UoM Doctoral Academy when you provide their details upon application. We would recommend notifying them of application timelines in advance.

References cannot be submitted by a supervisor named on the project you are applying for. 

7. Acknowledgement and review process

Once you have submitted your application form, we will email you with an acknowledgement. 

We will review your application after the application deadline and once we’ve received all your supporting documents. If you are shortlised, you will be invited to attend an interview. If successful at interview, we will also share your application with a nominated supervisor(s) to review. 

8. Interviews

We will email you if you are invited to interview. 

Interviews will take place at the Oglesby Cancer Research Building in Withington in Spring 2025.

Applying to intercalate 

UoM MBChB students must complete an intercalation Expression of Interest form by Friday 24th January 2025 (we may be able to consider late applications to intercalate in exceptional circumstances). This form is available on 1MedForms via the following link: https://www.onemedforms.manchester.ac.uk/ 

UoL MBChB must apply to intercalate via UoL processes by Friday 24th January 2025.

University of St Andrews Manchester pathway students can contact mcrctraining@manchester.ac.uk for guidance.

To apply to intercalate onto the PhD in Cancer Sciences component of the MB-PhD, you must meet the below criteria and satisfy the general requirements for permission to intercalate set by your institution, including passing all components of the MBChB at first attempt in the year prior to intercalation.

A University of Manchester MBChB student

• holding a BSc (hons) 2.1 or above in a relevant subject and in year 2 or year 3 of the MBChB or year 1 or year 2 of GEM; or
• currently studying in year 3 of the MBChB or year 2 of GEM

A University of St Andrews Medicine BSc (Hons) student on the Manchester course pathway:

• holding or predicted a BSc (hons) 2.1 or above and be intending to intercalate straight onto the MB-PhD ahead of your arrival in Manchester or by no later than between year 3 and year 4 of the Manchester MBChB programme

A University of Leeds MBChB student:

• currently studying in year 3 of the MB ChB

International applicants (including EU nationals) must ensure they meet the relevant academic eligibility criteria (including English Language).