The British Heart Foundation funds studentships for medical students on university MBPhD programmes who want to spend their PhD years in cardiovascular research. If you supervise MBPhD students, or you’re one of them, it’s worth knowing about. The next deadline is 13 January 2027.
The BHF funds research into heart and circulatory diseases, and that remit takes in the vascular side of brain health, including stroke, small vessel disease and vascular dementia.
Who can apply
Students can’t apply on their own. The student must be pre-selected by their university’s MBPhD programme directorate, and the application is then made by the established investigator who will supervise them. The primary supervisor must give at least 10% of their time to supervision and hold a post at the host institution for the whole studentship, and a second supervisor should be named too.
What it covers
Studentships run for two to three years, depending on the university’s scheme. The award can include:
- A stipend at current BHF rates.
- Tuition fees at the standard home rate (excluding college fees), subject to a cap.
- Research consumables tied to the project, usually under £18,000 a year.
- Up to £3,000 over the award for travel to present at or attend scientific meetings.
Deadlines and decisions
The next deadline is 13 January 2027 at 17:00, by which point the application must be fully submitted after sign-off from your Head of Department and Administrative Authority, so build in time for that. Miss it and your application rolls over to the following round, which closes on 16 June 2027. The Clinical Fellowships Committee decides after external peer review.
How to apply
Applications go through the BHF’s online system at researchgrants.bhf.org.uk. The case for support is a single PDF in Arial 12, and the BHF rejects applications in any other font size before they’re considered, so check the formatting rules in the scheme guidance carefully. Alongside the case for support, you’ll need the student’s CV, a letter from the faculty tutor of clinical sciences, supervisor and collaborator letters, and a copy of the university’s scheme rules.
Read the full details and apply
Visit funding web page
(https://www.bhf.org.uk/for-professionals/information-for-researchers/what-we-fund/mbphd-studentships)