Postgraduate research

Funded opportunities

Listed below are the funded studentship opportunities which are currently accepting research student applications.

College of Life Sciences

Please read the studentship adverts for eligibility criteria, funding and application process.

Cardiovascular Sciences:  Uptake of AAA screening in men from different -under-served groups: Preferences, enablers and barriers

  • Supervisor: Professor Matt Bown
  • Start date: 1 October 2025
  • Closing date: 27 April 2025

Cancer Studies: A multimodal fine-funded foundation model to support precision medicine of mesothelioma

  • Open to UK applicants only
  • Supervisors: Professor Dean Fennell, Professor Hiuyu Zhou, Professor Hongyi Yang
  • Start date: 1 October 2025
  • Closing date: 27 April 2025

Respiratory Sciences: PKN2's Role in Airway Remodelling Mechanisms in Severe Asthma

  • Funding: open to UK applicants only
  • Supervisors: Dr Katy Roach and Professor Dominick Shaw
  • Start date: 22 September 2025
  • Closing date: 28 April 2025 (Interviews on 22 May 2025)

Genetics: Fight for Sight Studentship - Exploring Therapeutic Interventions for Infantile Nystagmus

  • Supervisors, Dr Mervyn Thomas, Dr William Norton, Dr Ko-Fan Chen
  • Start date: 22 September 2025
  • Closing date: 11 May 2025

The Leicester Lifestyle and Health Research Group (LLHRG) PhD studentship

  • Projects
    • Prof Leigh Breen: Novel nutritional and pharmacological interventions to optimise healthy weight loss in older adults with obesity.
    • Dr David Clayton: Determining the optimal timing of exercise and food intake to enhance health outcomes.
  • Start date: 22 September 2025 (latest start date 1 February 2026)
  • Closing date: 12 May 2025 

Molecular and Cell Biology PhD for January 2025 Master's students

  • Available for 2026 entry for students who register on the University of Leicester Master's MSc Cancer Cell and Molecular Biology or MSc Molecular Genetics January 2025 intake.

Self funded projects

Open to overseas applicants who can fund their own study or hold their own external sponsorship. For further information about the available projects please click on the subject page links.

Projects open until filled unless stated

Population Health Sciences 

  • Dr Sharmin Shabnam: Personalising thresholds of risk factor control for prevention of cardiovascular disease in subjects with diabetes
  • Dr Dimitrios Papamargaritis: Harnessing mechanistic technologies and real-world clinical data to advance the interdisciplinary field of obesity and cancer prevention
  • Dr Rupert Major: Patient support for decision making in relation to arterio-venous fistula formation before dialysis and ligation after a successful transplant: a mixed-methods study (open to UK and overseas)

Respiratory Sciences

  • Dr John E. Pearl: Survey of clinical non-tuberculous mycobacteria isolates for mycobacteriophages: their presence, diversity and potential role in disease
  • Dr Natalie Garton: Rhodococcus equi lipid bodies: Targeting the pathogen’s fat reserves for infection control
  • Professor Andrea Cooper: Stratification of TB risk by immunophenotyping and expression of key diagnostic markers
  • Professor Galina Mukamolova: Development of novel therapeutic strategies to target Mycobacterium tuberculosis virulence

Healthcare

  • Professor Joseph Manning: Reducing pressure injury in critically Ill hospitalised infants, children and young people: An intervention bundle development and feasibility testing study
  • Professor Debi Bhattacharya: Development and evaluation of a theory and evidence-based model for normalising Self-Administration of Medicines (SAM) in hospital
  • Professor Joseph Manning: Paediatric to Adult intenSive care tranSition for chronicAlly critically ill younG pEople: The PASSAGE Study
  • Dr Linda Birt: Advance care planning conversations in care home, understanding resident and family experiences
  • Dr Sion Scott: An intervention to facilitate deprescribing for people with intellectual disability

College of Science and Engineering

Studentships will show here as and when available.

Please check eligibility for each individual project.

Chemistry: Short-loop recycling of LIB cathode and Anode Materials Using Oil Nanoemulsions  (UK applicants only)

  • Supervisors: Dr Jake Yang and Professor Andy Abbott
  • Start date: 22 September 2025
  • Closing date: 28 April 2025

Chemistry: Novel chemical reprocessing of critical metals in sustainable technologies (UK applicants only)

  • Supervisors: Dr Jake Yang and Professor Andy Abbott
  • Start date: 22 September 2025
  • Closing date: 28 April 2025

Chemistry Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) studentship:  Chemical energy conversion in biology studied using advanced spectroscopic and structural tools 

  • Supervisor Dr Philip Ash
  • Start date: 22 September 2025
  • Closing date: 30 April 2025

Engineering: 3D Computer Vision Microstructure Modelling and Characterisation of Fusion Materials subjected to Simultaneous Creep and Irradiation

  • UK applicants only
  • Supervisors: Dr Yang Liu, Prof Simon Gill, Prof Bo Chen
  • Start Date: 22 September 2025
  • Closing Date: 10 April 2025

EPSRC DigitalMetal CDT studentships

  • Start: 25 September 2025
  • Closing date: 30 April 2025

College of Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities

History: PhD in the field of holocaust and genocide studies and/or Jewish history 

  • Funding: UK Fee Waiver only
  • Supervisors: Dr Svenja Bethke and  Dr Paul Moore
  • Start Date: 1 October 2025
  • Closing Date: 30 April 2025

Archaeology and Ancient History: AHRC funded - Contextualising Roman coinage from Camulodunum: an exploration of economy and identity in Britannia’s first capital

  • Supervisors: Dr Philippa Walton (University of Leicester) and Glynn David (Colchester Museums)
  • Start date: 1 October 2025
  • Closing date: 25 May 2025

College of Business

Fee waivers available at UK or overseas fee levels

The waivers will be awarded to the top full-time, on-campus applicants to our PhD in Economics and PhD in Management as part of the regular recruitment process for the 2025/26 academic year.

For the PhD in Economics, only applications submitted by 30 June 2025 will be considered for a fee waiver for September 2025 start, which is the programme’s sole intake period for the 2025/26 academic year.

For the PhD in Management, applications submitted by 30 June 2025 will be considered for a fee waiver for the September 2025 start.  Applications received after this date may be considered for a fee waiver for the January or May 2026 intake.

To apply please refer to the Economics and Management web pages for application advice and links to the online application system. Please complete and upload your research proposal form and all requested supporting documents with your application.

 

Please note:

Applicants holding offers will have already been considered for the fee waivers and should not re-apply

The fee waivers are not available to current PhD students at Leicester.

Research Council Studentships

Back to top
MENU