How to apply

Main Recruitment Round

EASTBIO DTP invites applications for UKRI BBSRC-funded 4-year PhD studentships for PhD projects in life sciences, including Collaborative projects with non-academic partner organisations, for a start in the autumn of 2024. EASTBIO PhD projects are currently available across our partner institutions -- Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, St Andrews, Stirling, and Scotland's Rural College (SRUC).

EASTBIO invites applications from candidates with a minimum of 2.1 undergraduate degree or equivalent. EASTBIO is committed to recruiting students from a broad and diverse range of backgrounds and implements a recruitment process informed by principles of equality, diversity and inclusion. This year, we operate a 'guaranteed interview scheme' for home-fees BAME candidates who are nominated by the project supervisor. We will consider and review all candidates on the basis of their academic and professional experience, knowledge and skills, and we will assess each application on the basis of academic merit and potential, motivation and fit to the PhD project and the EASTBIO programme.

Student eligibility guidance:

UKRI-funded studentships are open to students worldwide and will cover tuition fees at the UK rate, plus a stipend to support living costs and an annual research grant of £5,000 for the first three years of the PhD research (this is reduced to £1,500 in the fourth year of the PhD). On the 2 May 2023, UKRI has announced an increase of its minimum stipend levels in response to the ongoing cost of living crisis. The increased stipend of £18,622 full time equivalent applies to the current academic year 2023/24; UKRI is expected to announce stipend increases in spring 2024 for October 2024 starts.

The proportion of international students appointed through the EASTBIO DTP is capped at 30% by UKRI BBSRC. All students must meet the eligibility criteria as outlined in the UKRI guidance at UKRI Training Grant Terms and Conditions, esp. TGC 5.2 & Annex B. Please contact us if you are unsure of your fees status. 

As EASTBIO does not cover the difference between home and international-status studentship fees, we ask our international applicants -- before they submit their application -- to seek confirmation by the host institution that they will fund the international top-up fees.

Closing date 27 November 2023
Student can only apply for one EASTBIO project
We encourage early applications and enquiries

 

Guidance for prospective EASTBIO applicants

 

BEFORE YOU APPLY
 

  • Read this guidance carefully.
  • Check your eligibility for the EASTBIO funding scheme (see above for the UKRI Guidance).
  • Check Find-A-PhD for all EASTBIO available projects and read carefully the application guidance on the Project Advert you are interested in; we will be uploading projects from early to mid-October 2023.
  • Contact the PhD Project Supervisor (name appearing first on the advert) to discuss your application with them.
  • Download all the required EASTBIO forms from this page and start completing them.
  • Contact two of your referees - academic or professional - to ask them whether they agree to provide a reference in support of your application. To do that, please download the EASTBIO Reference Form (that includes additional guidance), fill it in with your details and forward it to your referees to complete, according to the guidance provided on the form itself and the Project Advert. It is your responsibility to inform your selected referees about: (a) the deadline by which they need to send their reference; (b) the institution hosting the project(s) you are applying for; (c) an institutional email address for queries. Make sure to give them ample time to complete a reference.
  • If you have any questions, first contact the local administrator, if mentioned on the Project Advert, or one of the EASTBIO institutional contacts, listed below.

 

TO SUBMIT AN APPLICATION
 

  • After you have approached the project supervisor and discussed your application with them, download and complete the online EASTBIO Equality, Diversity and Inclusion survey; the survey will automatically generate a Unique Number that you should copy and paste on the relevant section of your EASTBIO Application Form.
  • Download and fill in the EASTBIO Application Form. You can only apply for one EASTBIO PhD project.
  • To complete your application, also submit your academic transcripts and make sure that your two referees have the EASTBIO Reference form to submit for you, as instructed by the local institution.
     

Your application for an EASTBIO Project is to the Institution hosting that PhD Project, so please follow the process specified in the relevant Project Advert. Note that some institutions may require additional documents to those required by EASTBIO (application form, two references, transcripts).

Check with your referees to ensure that they have all the information they need and they are able to submit their reference for you within the application deadline.

 

SUPPORT WITH YOUR APPLICATION
 

Make use of the following mechanisms for support that EASTBIO provides:

  • Recruitment flow chart
  • FAQs
  • Q&A drop-in sessions
    EASTBIO will run a series of 6 x 1-hour online sessions open to applicants who have further questions about the application process or can benefit from further discussion with the EASTBIO team. Before you join any of the sessions below, please register via this link. After registering, you can drop in for any of the sessions below, taking place via Microsoft Teams between 13:00-14:00 (UK time) on the following dates. Do contact EASTBIO if the following dates and times are not suitable for you and we can see whether a separate session can be arranged to accommodate candidates who work or have childcare responsibilities.
     

17 October 2023

30 October 2023

7 November 2023

14 November 2023

21 November 2023

29 November 2023 (post-closing date)

 

AFTER YOU SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION
 

EASTBIO will conduct online interviews in early February 2024. Following the completion of the interviews, we will proceed to make PhD offers to successful candidates and we will notify candidates who were either unsuccessful, or added on to the EASTBIO reserve list. EASTBIO offers and notifications will be issued after the EASTBIO Management Group completes the selection process in March 2024.

 

USEFUL CONTACTS:
 

If you have specific queries about your application, the PhD project you are interested in, or questions linked to the documentation that you will need, please use the links below to contact the local administrator at the institution hosting the project you are interested in applying for.