Funding, Eligibility & How to Apply

 

Applications for the programme have now closed and there are no further recruitment rounds for these fellowships.

 

Funding

Funded by Wellcome and King’s College London.

Each fellow receives the following funding:

  • Three years salary (FT) matching current NHS pay grade as appropriate

  • University fees paid in full

  • Research Expenses of £50,000

  • Travel Expenses of £2,500

  • Training Costs of £2,500

Further information relating to these funds and additional funding opportunities can be found in the 'What we offer' section of the Wellcome Trust website.

Eligibility

 

  • This programme is intended to support healthcare professionals seeking to combine a clinical and academic career. Applicants seeking to undertake a PhD who are not health professionals should not be considered for the Programme. Please see other King’s PhD studentships in science available at this link.

  • Applicants must be practicing health or social care professionals and be registered with a national professional regulatory body (e.g. the General Medical Council, Nursing and Midwifery Council, Health and Care Professions Council, British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies) in the UK/Republic of Ireland.

    • Medical graduates must be registered on a UK/Republic of Ireland specialist training programme or must be a registered GP.

    • This programme is not permitted to recruit applicants to undertake an intercalated MD/PhD. All fellows must have completed their undergraduate degree and be registered with the relevant professional body.

Please note: If your first language is not English you must be able to provide recent evidence that your spoken and written command of the English language is adequate for the PhD programme. Please see further information on the English language entry requirements for study at King's here.

  • Our definition (as defined by King's and Wellcome) of a health professional is an individual who is registered with a national professional regulatory body in the UK or Republic of Ireland. This would include, but not be limited to, the following professions:

    • Allied Health Professionals (Art Therapists, Chiropodists/Podiatrists, Chiropractors, Dieticians, Drama Therapists, Music Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Operating Department Practitioners, Orthoptists, Osteopaths, Paramedics, Physiotherapists, Prosthetists and Orthotists, Radiographers and Speech and Language Therapists)

    • Dentists, Dental hygienists, Dental nurses and Dental therapists

    • Healthcare scientists (in life sciences, physiological sciences, physical sciences and biomechanical engineering, and bioinformatics)

    • Non-medical Public Health specialists

    • Nurses, Midwives, Health Visitors

    • Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians

    • Pharmacists and Pharmacy technicians

    • Social workers

    • Psychologists

    • Physician associates, if registered with the RCGP

  • Below is a list of the most common eligible professional bodies, but there may be other professional registrations that are eligible also. Please get in touch if you are unsure about your eligibility.

    General Medical Council (GMC)

    • Doctors

    Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)

    • Nurses

    • Midwives

    • Nursing Associates

    • Health Visitor

    Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)

    • Allied Health Professionals (Art Therapists, Chiropodists/Podiatrists, Dieticians, Drama Therapists, Music Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Operating Department Practitioners, Orthoptists, Osteopaths, Paramedics, Physiotherapists, Prosthetists and Orthotists, Radiographers and Speech and Language Therapists)

    • Biomedical Scientists

    • Clinical Scientists

    • Hearing aid dispensers

    • Practitioner Psychologists (Practitioner psychologist, Registered psychologist, Clinical psychologist, Forensic psychologist, Counselling psychologist, Health psychologist, Educational psychologist, Occupational psychologist, Sport and exercise psychologist)

    British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP)

    • CBT Therapists

    • Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners

    • Children’s Wellbeing Practitioners

    • Education Mental Health Practitioners

    British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)

    • Counsellors

    • Psychotherapists

    General Dental Council (GDC)

    • Dentists

    • Dental care professionals (dental nurse, dental technician, dental therapist, dental hygienist, orthodontic therapist and clinical dental technician)

    General Chiropractic Council (GCC)

    • Chiropractors

    General Optical Council (GOC)

    • Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians

    General Osteopathic Council (GOsC)

    • Osteopaths

    General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)

    • Pharmacists

    • Pharmacy technicians

    Social Work England

    • Social workers

    Scottish Social Services Council

    • Social workers

    Social Care Wales

    • Social workers

Application Process

Applying to this programme is a three-stage process.

This is Stage 1 consisting of completing an online application form to inform us of your qualifications and relevant experience, your motivation for applying and your future career plans.

Successful candidates will be invited to identify supervisors from the supervisory pool and develop a project and training plan to present to the selection panel at Stage 2.

The applications will be reviewed and successful candidates will be invited to panel interviews in Stage 3.

Applicants who are offered the fellowship will be invited to submit an application via King's Apply where final checks on their academic qualifications, English language requirements and fee status will be made. Completing this final process is required for applicants to be awarded the fellowship.

Selection Criteria

 
 

Stage 1

Key Criteria

  • Aiming to pursue a clinical academic career.

  • Show a clear understanding of how research will progress knowledge within the field of mental health.

  • Research experience and potential: demonstrated, for example, through undergraduate or postgraduate research project experience or training, informal placements, workplace roles, clinical service improvement, transformation or audit projects, or academic training positions for health professionals.

 

Stage 2 & 3

Critical Thinking

  • Demonstrated capacity to think critically.

Personal development

  • Developed training plans to develop the skills to underpin a future research career.

Project 

  • Have worked with their supervisors to develop a clear and significant research question and feasible project. 

Communication and engagement skills 

  • Show awareness of the context of their research in reference to societal and ethical issues.

  • Understand the importance of public engagement activities and have an interest in developing relevant skills and experience with the involvement of experts. 

Widening Participation

We encourage applications from fellows from diverse backgrounds

We actively welcome applicants from three under-represented groups in line with the EDI initiatives within this programme:  

  • People with lived experiences of mental health difficulties face continued discrimination in addition to the challenges related to their mental health.  

  • People from diverse racial and ethnic groups are starkly under-represented within academia and clinical research – the lack of diversity in academia likely begets a lack of diversity among research participants.  

  • Nurses, midwives and professionals allied to health are under-represented in academic careers in mental health at all levels. We strongly encourage participation from staff in these groups to ensure a programme of research that reflects the needs of service users and staff at the frontline of mental healthcare.

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