Excellence in Diversity Fully-funded PhD Scholarships for UK-domiciled students from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic backgrounds

In the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health at The University of Manchester, we are committed to improving the diversity of students and staff. We actively encourage and support careers in research and higher education, and embed Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) principles to ensure a positive and inclusive research environment.

Our Excellence in Diversity PhD Scholarships provides fully funded PhD studentships for candidates from groups under-represented in postgraduate research.

The scholarships will support those who demonstrate the potential for research and academic excellence and possess a high motivation for postgraduate research.

Applications for our Excellence in Diversity PhD Scholarships for October 2026 are now open and will close on 9 November 2025.

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Why apply for the Excellence in Diversity Scholarship?

• Fully funded scholarship: Receive comprehensive funding covering your PhD tuition fees and an annual tax-free stipend for 3.5 years.
• Application and admissions support: Receive support identifying a project you’re passionate about and connecting with a supervisory team across any of our three Schools.
• Prestige: Become affiliated with one of our major funded PhD programmes, enhancing your academic and professional profile.
• End-to-end guidance: Benefit from dedicated support and guidance throughout your PhD journey, from application to graduation.
• Community engagement and mentorship: Take part in enriching community engagement, peer mentorship activities and networking to foster professional and personal growth.

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Who is eligible?

These scholarships are open to UK-domiciled applicants who qualify for home fee status and who:

• Hold, or are about to obtain, a First or Upper Second class UK honours degree (or international equivalent) in an appropriate area of science, engineering or technology
• Are from one of the following groups currently under-represented in postgraduate research:
  - Asian/Asian British - Bangladeshi
  - Asian/Asian British - Indian
  - Asian/Asian British - Pakistani
  - Asian/Asian British background - Mixed
  - Black/Black British - African
  - Black/Black British - Caribbean
  - Black/Black British background - Mixed

As with all of our postgraduate research programmes, we actively encourage applicants from diverse career paths and backgrounds, and support applications from those returning from a career break.

Discover more at our webinar

Join our webinar on Thursday, 23 October 2025 to learn more about our Excellence in Diversity PhD Scholarship, find out how to apply and ask any questions you have.

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Next steps

1. Check if you meet our eligibility criteria listed above
2. Register for our webinar to learn more about the scholarship
3. Apply online

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Key dates

Webinar for prospective applicants: Thursday, 23 October 2025

Deadline for applications: Friday, 9 November 2025