Doctoral Programmes for Healthcare Professionals
This scheme funds doctoral programmes to deliver outstanding training in discovery research to registered healthcare professionals in the UK, in supportive and inclusive research environments.
Scheme at a glance
- Lead applicant career stage:
- Administering organisation location:
- UK
- Frequency:
- One-off
- Funding amount:
The exact amount awarded will depend on the size and scope of the programme proposed. We expect to fund approximately 12 programmes with an average award value of £13 million.
- Funding duration:
Five annual intakes of up to 5 fellows starting in autumn 2027.
- Coapplicants:
- Accepted
Full guidance will be published when this call opens for applications in early October 2025. We are not able to answer queries or provide further information until this time.
Who can apply
The proposed programme must have one director, who is the lead applicant. It can also include co-directors. Directors and co-directors do not have to be based at the same institution as each other.
Your experience
The lead applicant must:
- Have a permanent, open-ended or long-term rolling contract, or the guarantee of one at an eligible host organisation in the UK. The contract can be academic or clinical and should not be conditional on receiving this award.
- Be recognised as a research leader in their field.
- Have a strong track record of providing research training to healthcare professionals.
- Have a strong track record of positively influencing research and training culture.
What you can do to prepare
- Familiarise yourself with the Discovery research remit.
- Consider whether to partner with other institutions to collaborate on an application.
- Consider whether to propose a disciplinary, subject, or professional focus for your proposed doctoral programme, for example a doctoral programme for nurses, or focused on a specific topic within Discovery research.
- Consider how to embed a positive research culture within your proposed programme.
- Consider how you will build appropriate support into your programme to support the career progression of your fellows. For example:
- pre-doctoral training in research skills
- post-doctoral support for career management alongside healthcare practice
- integration of cross-disciplinary and cross-sector opportunities
Application process timeline
You must submit your application by 15:00 GMT on the deadline day. We don’t accept late applications.
Opening soon
- October 2025
Applications open
- TBC October 2025
Information webinar
Registration coming soon
- 10 February 2026
Application deadline
- March 2026
Shortlisting
- May 2026
Interviews
- July 2026
Decision