Full funding: Imperial College London President’s PhD Scholarships 2023-24

The President’s PhD Scholarships provide a generous financial package and bespoke support for PhD students

If you are a high performing undergraduate or Master’s student and have a strong desire to undertake a PhD programme at a world-class research institution, a President’s PhD Scholarship could provide you with the outstanding opportunity to receive full funding for tuition fees and a generous stipend for a 3.5 year PhD place at Imperial College London.

The President’s PhD Scholarships allow students to undertake a research project of their choosing with the support of an excellent supervisor, alongside cohort-building opportunities with other President’s PhD Scholars.

For 2023-24, candidates applying to the President’s PhD Scholarships will also be considered for the Sir Michael Uren Engineering Scholarship and the Sir Michael Uren Medicine Scholarship, which support interdisciplinary research across medicine and engineering. These scholarships provide the same support package as the President’s PhD Scholarships. 

What does the scholarship cover?

Each of the 50 scholarships available provides the following support during the 3.5 years of study:

• Full funding for tuition fees
• A stipend of £22,900 (2023-24 rate) per annum to assist with living costs 
• A consumables fund of £2,000 per annum for the first 3 years of study
• A programme of bespoke opportunities and events delivered by the Graduate School

You will also have access to the full range of support available to postgraduates at Imperial, including tailored support for disabled and international students, and the wider Graduate School programme of professional skills courses.

Who can apply?

This competitive scheme has higher than usual eligibility requirements (see eligibility criteria below), attracting candidates that show excellent academic performance and promising research potential. We accept applications from talented candidates from Imperial College London, the UK and worldwide. There are no restrictions on nationality.

Both full-time and part-time study on the scholarship is available. 

We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and nationalities, as we recognise that diversity not only benefits Imperial but also helps the sector to better represent the communities that we serve.

Eligibility

Academic criteria

1. Candidates must be in receipt of, or due to receive, a first class or equivalent in an undergraduate or integrated masters degree; and/or  
2. Candidates with a standalone Master’s qualification must have achieved a distinction or, where this has yet to have been achieved, be able to provide evidence of high performance that will lead to a distinction.  

This allows candidates who have demonstrated excellence at Masters level, but not achieved a first class undergraduate degree, to be able to apply to the scheme. Candidates with only a single undergraduate degree or integrated Master’s must still must be in receipt of, or due to receive, a first class or equivalent.

Candidates with degrees from overseas institutions should check with the relevant Admissions team if their scores/grades are equivalent to the scholarship entry criteria.

Other criteria

1. Applications are accepted from talented candidates from Imperial College London, the UK and worldwide. There are no restrictions on nationality, although some departments may be unable to support international candidates.
2. The scheme is only open to new PhD applications. Current registered Imperial PhD students are not eligible to be considered for a President’s PhD Scholarship.

How to Apply?

The President’s PhD Scholarship scheme considers applications at three points across the academic year (see ‘Timing’).

Prior to applying you must have made contact with a supervisor in an academic department at Imperial College London who has agreed to supervise your research project. Please note that supervisors are limited to supervise one scholar at any time. Please review the President’s PhD Scholarships – Unavailable Supervisors page for more information.

There is not a specific scholarship application form.  You should submit your application for admission to study at Imperial through our online admissions system and your department will put you forward for the scholarship based on academic merit and potential. Queries about the online admissions system should be referred to the relevant Admissions team.

Scholarship-specific instructions for the admissions process are below; you must also meet any additional application requirements stated by your department of choice.

Scholarship-specific admissions instructions

1. For the 2023-24 academic year, the earliest start date for funded places is 1 August 2023, the latest start date is 1 November 2023.
2. When prompted by the admissions system for a personal statement you must include a 2-page document, the first page a personal statement (motivations for applying to Imperial and the scholarship, and any other supporting information not included elsewhere on the form that you feel will enhance your application) and the second your research proposal. You may submit updated versions of this statement if required following application submission if your department shortlists you for the scholarship. You are encouraged to write in the first person. 
3. When prompted by the admissions system for the names of two academic referees, these should not include your proposed PhD supervisor. You are encouraged to share this guidance with your two referees, noting, in particular, the recommendation to use ‘they/them’ language (rather than gender pronouns).
4. To be considered for the President’s PhD Scholarship scheme, you must select this option in the funding section of the additional questions tab within the online admissions system.

Review and Selection

50 scholarship places are available. Applications will be reviewed by a two-stage process:

1. Candidates meeting or predicted to meet the eligibility criteria will be reviewed by the Department to which they have applied. Departments will select a shortlist of candidates to present to the College Selection Panel for consideration. 
2. The final decision will be made by the College Selection Panel. The members of the panel are the Vice-Provost (Research), the Director of the Graduate School, and the Faculty Vice-Deans for Research. Imperial recognises excellence in all our Faculties and as such allows some offers to be made at Faculty level:
   1. A Faculty allocation stage will score and rank candidates in Departmental shortlists, making initial offers to the most promising candidates. Faculty Vice Deans present these candidates with justification for offers at the College Selection Panel.
   2. The College Selection Panel makes additional offers from a ring-fenced allocation to candidates that meet widening participation or other strategic alignment goals. 

Candidates are assessed by the Faculties and College Selection Panel against the following criteria:

1. Academic excellence – as demonstrated by past academic results and by transcripts, relative class position, awards and distinctions. 
2. Research Potential – as demonstrated by the candidate’s research experience to date, their interest in discovery, the research plan and its potential contribution as described in their research proposal and the departmental statement, which also reflects on performance at interview. 

Successful candidates will receive written confirmation of their scholarship. Any offer of a PhD place will be conditional on the candidate receiving the predicted qualifications.

Applicants not selected for the scholarship will automatically be considered for a standard PhD.