What we don't fund

In general, we do not fund:

• scientific research outside our discovery research remit or the remit for our funding calls
• project or research costs you've already incurred
• costs to top up individual grants already awarded by another funder
• standalone travel or conference costs (although you can ask for them as part of a wider grant application)
• small grants to support short-term projects
• healthcare for patients
• the building of hospitals
• other charities if their sole intention is to redistribute the funds
• humanitarian aid or charities who give out humanitarian aid
• people who are applying for, hold, or are employed on a research grant from the tobacco industry.

We do not fund undergraduate courses. Our only scheme for undergraduates is the Biomedical Vacation Scholarship.

We do not fund the costs of Master's courses unless you're applying for a Master's Studentships in Humanities and Social Science.

We do not fund PhD studentships or fellowships directly unless you're applying for one of these schemes:

• Four-year PhD Studentships in Science
• PhD Fellowships for Health Professionals

We will fund PhD fees on these schemes:

• Wellcome Early-Career Awards – for the grantholder only, if required
• Wellcome Career Development Awards – for a research assistant employed on the grant
• Wellcome Discovery Awards – for research assistants employed on the grant.

We do not provide:

• additional funding to complete a Master's or PhD if you've already started your course
• contributions towards the cost of a PhD that isn't funded by us, such as living costs, travel and conference fees, and research costs.

We have closed our Public Engagement Fund. Instead, we are focusing on targeted investments that have specific aims. Read about our approach and how we're providing funds for public engagement.