Eligibility Criteria
Who should apply?
Chemistry, physics, mathematics and engineering graduates who wish to learn how to apply their physical sciences skills to biological problems.
Students from biological or medicinal backgrounds are usually not eligible, unless the content of the degree was at least 50% physical sciences or if they have experience working in a relevant laboratory on top of a more biologically focused degree.
The entry requirement is a degree in the physical sciences with a minimum 2.1 or above (or equivalent).
How is the studentship structured?
Our studentships are for 4 years, covering the fees and bursary (stipend) for both our one-year MRes Chemical Biology and Bio-Entrepreneurship, followed by the three year PhD, subject to passing the MRes.
Studentships for October 2027 were released on 5 November 2026.
For further updates on our studentships, including any new studentship releases which will continue into 2027, please keep checking our website, and follow us , and on .
From October 2026 entry, the EPSRC CDT in Chemical Biology: Empowering UK BioTech Innovation was selected to be part of a government led TechFirst pilot.
, helping open pathways into the UK’s fast-growing tech sector.
The doctoral support strand of TechFirst is a pilot funding an enhanced stipend for ~500 doctoral students with home fee status in priority technology areas over four years, beginning with the 2026 cohort. It has now been extended to another cohort for 2027.
TechFirst doctoral support students receive an enhanced stipend above the UKRI minimum, receiving a £30,000 stipend per year for the 2027 cohort. Students are expected to take part in up to 10 days of TechFirst doctoral support activity each year, including commercialisation and national security training, cohort networking, and engagement with the wider TechFirst programme.
The pilot is delivered by EPSRC through participating CDTs. It aims to strengthen the UK’s domestic research pipeline and build a more inclusive, resilient and high-impact research ecosystem.
The TechFirst doctoral support is only open to applicants with Home fee status; everyone is welcome to apply, if you are passionate about chemical biology and looking to develop your research and innovation skills at doctoral level.
Applicants with Overseas fee status are still able to apply to our CDT studentships, as we have a limited number of CDT international student scholarships.
Fee status eligibility
The Centre for Doctoral Training in Chemical Biology: Empowering UK BioTech Innovation is funded by the and is subject to their eligibility criteria.
Following the UK’s exit from the EU, EU and EEA students who are recruited and start from October 2021 onwards will become international students with Overseas fee status, if they do not meet UK fee status eligibility criteria.
In response to this, UKRI have opened up a limited number of UKRI funded studentships to international students. Successful applicants, both home and international, will receive a full studentship award to include a stipend and fees at the home level.
To fund the difference between home and international tuition fees, we have a very limited number of international student scholarships available to support the difference between the home tuition fee and the international tuition fee. This allocation is highly competitive, and we encourage applications.
Overseas fee status candidates will need to have applied to their by 31st January 2027, noting and applying by individual project deadlines, in order to be considered for one of the Overseas Student ICB CDT Scholarships.
Overseas/international students are also welcome to self-fund and join our cohorts or apply with scholarships. In this instance, students will need to design their PhD research project with their supervisors. Some scholarship examples are:
Imperiaoffers a Scholarships search tool which may be of use.
UK eligibility
To be classed as a home student, candidates must meet the following criteria:
- Be a UK National (meeting residency requirements), or
- Have settled status, or
- Have pre-settled status (meeting residency requirements), or
- Have indefinite leave to remain or enter
For a full description on eligibility criteria, please read the following documents and guidelines:
- Terms and conditions of training grants (PDF, 852KB) (April 2018), EPSRC.
- The education regulations 2007.
- Training Grant Guide (PDF, 231KB), EPSRC.
- ImperiaCollege fee status webpages
- The announcing the change in international student eligibility
Date last reviewed: 2 November 2026
Date last updated: 2 November 2026
