PhD Studentships 

Timeline

• Applications open – 7 April 2025
• Deadline – 9 July 2025
• Rebuttals open – October 2025
• Deadline – 22 October 2025
• Funding outcome shared with applicants – December 2025

Eligibility

• Lead supervisors and co-supervisors must be affiliated with UK academic or medical institutions.
• The research must take place within the UK, although with justification, a small amount of time can be spent outside the UK to enable the student to travel to collaborator(s) to learn techniques required for their project. Plans and costs should be clearly stated and justified in the application form.
• Lead supervisors are expected to have a PhD or MD and will usually have a tenured post or be able to demonstrate that they will have a salary for the lifetime of the grant.
• Applicants are encouraged to check if the proposed research studentship is more suitable for the UKVRN Doctoral Training Programme. 
• Lead supervisors must not currently have two or more active grants with the charity. An applicant with two active grants where one (or more) is due to end by the outcome date of this scheme may still apply.
• Applications must be made by the potential PhD supervisor(s).
• Where the FTE for the PhD student is under 100%, adequate justification is required.
• The scheme does not cover funding gaps for Studentships already started.

Financial support

Funding is made in line with AMRC’s position statement on supporting research in universities.

• Applications can include costs for:
  - Stipends
  - PhD fees at UK rates
  - Consumables of up to £10,000 per year for Years 1-3, up to £5,000 for Year 4
  - Equipment essential for the project
  - Animal costs
  - Open access publication costs
  - Conference costs for the student (including one international conference)
  - Other expenses, such as PPIE or travel
• Applications cannot include costs for:
  - Salaries for the lead supervisor or co-supervisors(s)
  - Maintenance of equipment
  - Recruitment costs
  - Indirect costs
  - Non-attributable overhead costs

Application process

All applications must be submitted via Fight for Sight’s Grant Tracker system. New applicants must register for an account to access the application form. Returning applicants can login to their existing account.

You must submit your application for approval by the stated deadline for your submission to be processed.

Following submission, applications will require approval from two authorised signatories of the host institution (Head of Department and Finance Office). We allow 48 hours (two days) from the deadline for approvals. It is recommended to seek the appropriate signatories as early as possible, as these must be added when you submit your application. Please consider any annual leave and double check email addresses, as applications with outstanding approvals 48 hours past the deadline will not be processed

Go to Grant Tracker