The British Pharmacological Society has opened its PhD Funding Programme for awards starting in 2027. It funds up to five students a year to do a three-year PhD in pharmacology or therapeutic innovation at a UK or Irish institution, with each award worth over £100,000. If you’ve got a dementia drug discovery or therapeutics project in mind, and a supervisor ready to back it, this one is well worth a look.
Applications close on 31 October 2026, so if you’re interested, start now.
Two awards, one application
The programme brings together two awards. The AJ Clark Studentship has been running since 1987 and is named after Alfred Joseph Clark, the British pharmacologist whose ideas underpin much of modern pharmacology. The Sir David Jack PhD Scholarship is newer, launched in 2026 thanks to a donation from the family of Sir David Jack, and will fund around 40 students over the next ten years.
You don’t have to pick between them. You put in a single application and, if you’re successful, the Society decides which of the two you’re awarded.
What the award covers
Each award supports a three-year PhD and includes:
- A stipend of £21,805 a year if you’re studying outside London, or £23,805 in London (2026/27 rates)
- Research costs of up to £10,000 a year
- Up to £1,500 a year to attend meetings and conferences outside the Society’s own events
- Course fees at the UK ‘Home’ student rate
Who can apply
You’ll need a degree in pharmacology or a related discipline, and you must be planning PhD research in pharmacology and/or therapeutic innovation at a recognised institution in the UK or Ireland.
International students can apply, but because fees are only covered at the Home rate, your Head of Department has to explain how the international fee difference will be paid. Get that conversation going early, it’s not something to leave to the last week.
Your primary supervisor is expected to be a member of the British Pharmacological Society, or to join. The award can’t be used to top up a PhD that has already started or is only partly funded, so this is for new projects only.
What the panel looks for
Applications are judged on four things: your motivation for applying, your academic record, the quality of the project proposal, and how relevant the project is to pharmacology and/or therapeutic innovation. That last point is where a dementia project needs to make its case clearly, so frame your proposal around the pharmacology, whether that’s a drug target, a mechanism of action or a route to new treatments.
Because you’re submitting a project proposal, you’ll need a supervisor and a project lined up before you apply. If you’re still at that stage, our advice on assessing and approaching a new lab is a good place to start, and if you’re weighing up your options more broadly, have a look at the different types of doctorate.
How to apply
The application is made by the student, not the supervisor. Download the official application form from the BPS website, complete it, and upload it through the Society’s online portal.
The Society is strict on this: applications that don’t use the official form, or that use an incomplete or modified version of it, won’t be considered. So don’t reformat it, and fill in every section.
Past recipients have gone on to lectureships, industry science roles and labs of their own, so it’s a well-trodden route into a pharmacology career.
Deadline
Applications for 2027 awards close on 31 October 2026.
Full details, the application form and the link to apply are on the British Pharmacological Society PhD Funding Programme page. You can also read the Society’s announcement of the 2027 programme, which includes stories from previous recipients.
Visit funding web page
(https://www.bps.ac.uk/membership-community/prizes-awards-grants-bursaries/prizes-awards-grants/article/phd-funding-programme/)