Wellcome Trust Doctoral Fellowships for Healthcare Professionals

The Wellcome Trust Doctoral Programme for Healthcare Professionals is a grant opportunity to host and administer doctoral training programs for healthcare professionals at eligible UK or Irish institutions. This initiative aims to train future healthcare academics, fostering research excellence and retention in the UK and Ireland. The funding is for multiple cohorts, with the first intake in autumn 2027, and supports up to 12 programmes with an average award of £12 million over five cohorts. This is not a direct fellowship for individual PhD projects but for programme administration by established research teams.

What it offers

• Funding for programme administration (not individual fellowships). The exact amount varies by programme size, with an expected average of £12 million per programme over five cohorts.
• Support for diverse, interdisciplinary teams to train healthcare professionals in research.
• Flexibility for part-time applicants and consideration for career breaks.
• Collaborators can contribute expertise without meeting eligibility requirements.

Who can apply

• Lead applicant must be an established researcher with a permanent contract at a UK-based eligible institution (academic or clinical).
• Up to seven co-applicants (co-directors) can be part of the team, including those from UK or Irish institutions in consortium applications.
• Eligible institutions include higher education, research institutes, healthcare organisations, and non-profit research organisations (commercial organisations are ineligible as administering bodies).
• No direct PhD funding for applicants—this is for programme administration only.

What you'll do

• Administer and host a doctoral programme for healthcare professionals.
• Design and deliver research training aligned with professional regulatory requirements.
• Lead a diverse, inclusive research environment supporting fellows.
• Ensure programme compliance with Wellcome’s grant conditions and capacity requirements.

How to apply

• Submit an application through Wellcome’s portal, including:
  • Letters of support from all organisations.
  • Proof of eligibility (contracts, research leadership, training experience).
  • Detailed programme proposal (expertise, collaborators, training structure).
  • Consortium agreements (if applicable).
• Deadline: Not explicitly stated in the source; check Wellcome’s official timeline.

Good to know

• Collaborators are optional but must confirm willingness to participate.
• Organisations can apply as administering bodies for up to two programmes (single-institution or consortium).
• No overlap allowed between funded programmes.
• Application restrictions: Cannot fund PhDs, activities in mainland China, or if insufficient capacity is demonstrated.
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