Submit a PhD Studentship Application

• A first/upper second-class undergraduate honours degree (or equivalent from a non-UK university) in a relevant subject
• UK, EU and International student applications all welcome
• Research experience as part of, or outside of, a university degree course, or a master’s degree in a relevant subject

• Tax and national insurance free stipend (living allowance) £21,000 (GBP) per year
• University of Manchester home and international tuition fees (where appropriate)

• International/EU students University tuition fees are included in our funded PhD studentships for the duration of study.  Stipend (living costs) are set by CRUK and are the same for all students regardless of nationality
• Please note we are unable to reimburse the cost of student visa application or immigration health surcharge
• For further information on your residency and tuition fee status, please visit the UK CISA page here
• Further University of Manchester guidance on student visa applications: https://www.studentsupport.manchester.ac.uk/immigration-and-visas/

• Click here to submit your application
• CVs and transcripts will not be accepted as a formal application
• Please complete all sections of the application form in full
• Please complete the equality, diversity and inclusion form
• You will need to register an account on the online PhD recruitment portal using your current email and chosen password before you can make an application.  You can save your application form and return to complete later but please ensure you save your progress at the end of each section of the application to be able to view/edit.  If you forget your password, press “reset password” button at the login stage and you will receive an email asking you to reset your password.

The information you provide on your education, results, skills and experience are essential deciding factors on whether you are shortlisted for interview.  Please be concise but include sufficient information about yourself to allow us to build up a picture of who you are, and what inspires you to want to do a research degree.

Please provide your full surname and first names and current (term time/University) and permanent (home) addresses if these differ.

If we have more than one project advertised on our website, please list your top three projects of interest in preferential order from first to last (1-3).

UK, EU and international applicants are required to complete this section.

Please complete this section with your qualifications from age of 16 onwards, current highest degree gained or expected grade.  Non-UK applicants should give subjects and grades for their country’s education and examination system. If you have grade equivalents to UK education, please use these in your application.  We want to know what your main subjects currently are or were, and how well you did in them. We are particularly interested in your overall end of year marks, your research experience, and how this has affected your thinking.  If a section on the form is not relevant, please indicate this on the form.

If you have not yet completed your undergraduate degree, please give grades to date and indicate your end of course date on the form with your predicted graduation grade.  Postgraduate qualification only needs to be completed by those having completed or are currently studying for master’s.   The “Highest Qualification” means your “Overall” Highest Academic Qualification you have gained or expected to gain, NOT individual subject; e.g. if you have 11 GCSEs, 3 A levels, a BSc and an MPhil then you only need to mark the M.Phil as the “highest Qualification”.  If you are predicted a First or 2:1 in an undergraduate degree or a Distinction/Merit at master’s level then this will be your current highest qualification.

Applicants from outside the UK will often need to meet specific English language requirements to be able to study at The University of Manchester. We do not require documentation relating to your English Language skills during the CRUK Manchester Institute application process and is not a pre-requisite for making your initial application.

However, if you are successful and are offered a studentship place, you will need to provide English Language certification in advance of completing University registration and receiving an unconditional offer.  For further information on your country’s specific English language requirements, please click here.  If you are an international student and have completed or about to complete your undergraduate or master’s degree in a predominantly English speaking country, then an IELTS certificate is not required for University registration.

This information is only relevant if you have held any positions outside of your academic studies.  This could be full or part time paid work, or any voluntary/charity work.

Please tell us how you like to spend your spare time, non-academic hobbies/interests and details of any activities or social memberships etc.

We are looking for a concise summary (no more than 500 words) on your academic interests and career aspirations.  You may want include a short-constructed description of a completed or ongoing current undergraduate or master’s project/or any industrial placement as part of your studies.

Please pay particular attention to this section and tell us why you want to do a PhD, and why in particular you are applying to the CRUK Manchester Institute to support your application.

Upon PhD application submission, automated emails will be sent to your referees.  Please ensure you have listed and transcribed email addresses correctly, you will be unable to edit your form once submitted.  One of your referees must be your current or most recent employer/supervisor/tutor and at least one must be able to comment on your university academic record or should have directly supervised your academic work and be able to comment on your academic record or previous research experience.   We require details for a minimum of two and maximum of three referees.  References will aid the shortlisting process.  Referees will continue to have access to the PhD recruitment portal two weeks post-interview enabling upload of references.  We require a minimum of two references for University of Manchester registration if you are successful in your application.

Please check you have provided all necessary information before submitting your application and all email addresses are correct.  You will be unable to edit any details once you have submitted your application.  If you have not completed all sections, you will be unable to submit the application.

This is important information – please complete this section on how you heard about our studentships, selecting all that apply.  This is not a trivial question and plays an important indicator for our future advertising therefore your cooperation in completing this section is appreciated.

All applications will be considered equally irrespective of ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender, religion/belief, age and nationality. To help the CRUK Manchester Institute monitor equality, diversity and inclusion, you will be asked to complete and submit an EDI monitoring form during the application process.

We collect equal opportunities monitoring data on all PhD applicants to monitor our progress in promoting and implementing any changes required to our Equality and Diversity policies, practices and services.  All personal information will be treated in the strictest confidence and in accordance with the principles of the Data Protection Act 1998 and Equality Act 2010.  The data used for statistical monitoring will be anonymised and published in a way that does not allow individuals to be identified.  Your equal opportunities information will not be shared and will not form any part of the selection process or divulged to members of the selection, recruiting or interview panels.  Completion of the form is mandatory, and your application will not be accepted without an EDI.  However, you will have the option to ‘prefer not say’ on any of the questions.

Applicants do not need to provide a CV, transcripts or English Language certificates during the application process.  If you are successfully offered a studentship, this information will be required when registering with the University of Manchester, UK.

Students will be based with the research group PI/supervisor in one of our two sites at the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute: the new Paterson Building and the Oglesby Cancer Research Building, which forms part of the Manchester Cancer Research Centre, Withington, Manchester, M20 4BX, UK.

Successful students will register with The University of Manchester in September however, in some cases, it may be appropriate for students to start earlier at available academic entry points in January or April.

If current available studentships are unfilled during the first round of interviews, advertisements and further recruitment rounds will be advertised on our webpages.

We may also have available studentships throughout the year so please continue to check our web pages.