Wellcome is investing in a major new generation of Doctoral Programmes for Healthcare Professionals, with successful programmes expected to recruit their first fellows for autumn 2027.
The initiative is designed to train the next generation of healthcare-professional academics in world-leading research environments across the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland.
Wellcome expects to fund approximately:
12 doctoral programmes
with an average award value of approximately:
£12 million per programme.
Each successful programme will receive funding for five intakes of three to five fellows, with each individual doctoral fellowship lasting three years.
Funding for recruited fellows will include PhD/DPhil registration fees at the home-student rate, applicable college fees and salaries appropriate to clinical status.
Additional funding will contribute toward research expenses, professional training, conference and collaborative travel, career development and certain overseas allowances.
However, prospective PhD students need to understand an important distinction:
Individuals cannot currently apply directly to Wellcome for their own PhD through this funding call.
The institutional funding competition closed on 10 February 2026. Successful programmes are intended subsequently to recruit eligible healthcare professionals, with the first cohort starting in autumn 2027.
Wellcome Doctoral Programmes 2027 Overview
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Funder | Wellcome |
| Scheme | Doctoral Programmes for Healthcare Professionals |
| Focus | Healthcare-professional doctoral research training |
| Programme Funding | Approximately £12 million average award |
| Expected Programmes Funded | Approximately 12 |
| Fellow Intakes | Five |
| Fellows Per Intake | 3–5 |
| First Fellow Intake | Autumn 2027 |
| Individual Fellowship Duration | 3 years |
| PhD/DPhil Fees | Home-student registration fees covered |
| College Fees | Covered where applicable |
| Fellow Salary | Covered according to clinical status |
| Research Expenses | Contribution provided |
| Training Costs | Contribution provided |
| Conference/Collaborative Travel | Contribution provided |
| Career Development | Supported |
| Clinical Skills Time | Included |
| Individual Applications to Current Call | Not permitted |
| Institutional Application Deadline | 10 February 2026 |
| Current Institutional Call | Closed |
| Funding Decision | July 2026 |
What Are Wellcome’s Doctoral Programmes for Healthcare Professionals?
Wellcome created the funding call to support doctoral programmes that train the next generation of healthcare-professional academics.
The programmes are intended to provide outstanding research training in supportive and inclusive environments while exploring innovative approaches to academic career progression.
A central goal is to help retain talented healthcare professionals in careers combining:
Clinical practice and research.
Wellcome views doctoral training as an important entry point into the academic career pathway for healthcare professionals.
Who Is the Programme Designed For?
The future doctoral fellowships are designed for healthcare professionals.
All fellows recruited onto a Wellcome-funded programme must remain registered with an appropriate professional regulatory body in either:
United Kingdom
or
Republic of Ireland
for the duration of their fellowship.
This is an important eligibility condition.
The scheme is therefore not a general international PhD scholarship open to healthcare professionals worldwide regardless of professional registration.
Which Healthcare Professionals Could Be Eligible?
Wellcome states that programmes should generally be open to healthcare professionals registered in the UK or Republic of Ireland.
Examples given include:
- Doctors
- Veterinarians
- Dentists
- Clinical psychologists
- Nurses
- Midwives
- Allied health professionals
Individual programmes can also be designed around the needs of a particular profession or specialty.
For example, a programme could specifically focus on:
- Nurses
- Physiotherapists
- Primary care professionals
- Another eligible professional or specialty group
Eligibility for an individual 2027 fellowship will ultimately depend on the recruitment criteria of the successful doctoral programme.
First Doctoral Fellows Expected in Autumn 2027
Wellcome expects successful programmes to organize recruitment so that their first fellows begin training in:
Autumn 2027.
This is particularly important for prospective students.
The February 2026 deadline was not a deadline for students seeking 2027 PhD places.
It was the deadline for established research teams and eligible institutions seeking Wellcome funding to establish or renew doctoral programmes.
Successful programmes will subsequently recruit their own fellows.
Approximately 12 Programmes Expected to Receive Funding
Wellcome expects to support approximately:
12 programmes.
The exact number and final funding allocation depend on the outcomes of the funding process.
The scale of funding is significant because the scheme is designed to support multiple cohorts rather than individual one-off PhD awards.
Average Award of £12 Million
Wellcome states that the exact amount awarded will depend on the:
- Size of the proposed programme
- Scope of the programme
However, it expects an average award value of approximately:
£12 million.
This should not be interpreted as a £12 million scholarship for an individual student.
The award goes to a successful doctoral programme and supports multiple fellows, programme cohorts and eligible costs.
How Many Fellows Will Be Funded?
Wellcome will provide funding for:
Five intakes
of:
Three to five fellows per programme.
This means an individual funded programme could potentially train approximately:
15–25 fellows
across its five cohorts, depending on its approved recruitment plan.
With approximately 12 programmes expected to receive support, the initiative represents a substantial investment in healthcare-professional research training.
How Long Is Each Fellowship?
Each individual doctoral fellowship will last:
3 years.
This includes dedicated time for fellows to maintain their clinical skills.
Wellcome permits up to:
0.2 FTE
for maintaining clinical skills, increasing to:
0.4 FTE for craft specialties.
This structure recognizes that participating healthcare professionals need to maintain connections with clinical practice while developing as researchers.
What Funding Will Individual Fellows Receive?
Wellcome has confirmed several important costs that will be covered for fellows recruited by successful programmes.
PhD/DPhil Registration Fees
Funding will cover:
PhD/DPhil registration fees at the home-student rate.
This is an important qualification.
The source does not state that Wellcome will universally pay an international tuition-fee rate for every future fellow.
College Fees
Where applicable, funding will cover:
College fees.
This may be relevant at institutions where doctoral students have additional college-related fees.
Fellows’ Salaries
Wellcome will provide:
Fellows’ salaries, as appropriate to clinical status.
There is no single universal annual salary stated in the scheme information.
The programme application asks institutions to identify the professions they expect to recruit and the relevant pay scales.
Therefore, an article should not advertise a specific salary figure for every fellow.
Research Expenses
Wellcome will also make a fixed contribution toward:
Research expenses.
These can include:
- Materials
- Consumables
This funding helps fellows undertake the practical research associated with their doctoral projects.
Training Funding
Funding also contributes toward professional and research training.
This can include:
- Technical skills
- Discipline-specific skills
- Transferable skills
The scheme therefore aims to provide broader professional development alongside doctoral research.
Conference and Collaborative Travel
Wellcome will contribute toward travel for:
- Conferences
- Meetings
- Collaborative activities
This can help fellows participate in research networks and develop collaborations during their doctorate.
Career Progression Support
Career development is one of the distinctive features of the programme.
Wellcome requires programmes to provide specific support for fellows during:
- Pre-doctoral transition
- Post-doctoral transition
- Career progression
The overall block award will include a:
Career progression fund
budgeted at the equivalent of:
Six months of fellows’ salaries.
Programme directors will have discretion over how this funding is used to support fellows’ career development.
Overseas Allowances
Wellcome also allows funding for overseas allowances for fellows who spend:
12 months or more
outside the UK and Republic of Ireland.
The exact amount is not specified in the supplied scheme information.
What Research Areas Can Be Supported?
The doctoral programmes can support research across a broad range of disciplines, provided the research remains within Wellcome’s Discovery Research remit.
Potential areas include:
- Science
- Technology
- Engineering
- Mathematics
- Experimental medicine
- Humanities
- Social science
- Clinical sciences
- Allied health sciences
- Population health
Programmes may have a specific disciplinary focus or bring multiple disciplines together around a cross-cutting research theme.
Can Programmes Work With Industry?
Yes.
Wellcome states that programmes can include:
Collaborations with industry.
Commercial organizations cannot serve as the administering organization or coapplicants for this particular call, but collaborators can be based at commercial organizations.
Can Programmes Have International Collaborators?
Yes.
The scheme allows collaborations with eligible organizations:
Anywhere in the world.
However, this does not change the professional-registration requirement applying to healthcare professionals recruited as fellows.
Who Applied for the Institutional Funding?
The original funding competition was designed for teams of:
Established researchers.
The lead applicant serves as the lead Director of the proposed doctoral programme.
Up to:
Seven coapplicants
could participate as programme co-directors.
Together, these applicants form the programme leadership team.
Where Must the Lead Institution Be Based?
The lead applicant must be based at an eligible host organization in:
The United Kingdom.
The administering organization must also be UK-based and capable of signing Wellcome’s grant conditions.
Consortium coapplicants can be based at eligible organizations in:
- United Kingdom
- Republic of Ireland
Eligible Institutions
An administering organization can be a:
- Higher education institution
- Research institute
- Healthcare organization
- Not-for-profit research organization
- Non-governmental research organization
If the administering organization does not award degrees, it must participate in a consortium that includes a degree-awarding organization.
Commercial organizations cannot act as administering organizations or coapplicants for this call.
Who Could Not Apply to the Funding Call?
Wellcome explicitly states that applicants should not apply if they are:
Looking for funding to do their own PhD/DPhil.
The institutional call was also unsuitable for teams unable to demonstrate sufficient capacity to deliver the proposed programme.
There were additional restrictions concerning the number of applications on which individuals could participate.
Can Individual PhD Students Apply Now?
Not through this institutional funding call.
Wellcome states clearly:
The call will not directly fund individual fellows.
Prospective healthcare-professional doctoral candidates should therefore not submit their own research proposal to this closed funding scheme.
Instead, the important next stage will be recruitment by the doctoral programmes that receive Wellcome funding.
What Should Prospective 2027 PhD Applicants Watch For?
Healthcare professionals interested in a Wellcome-funded doctorate should watch for announcements identifying:
- Successful funded programmes
- Participating universities
- Participating healthcare organizations
- Available doctoral fellowships
- Individual programme eligibility
- Fellow recruitment dates
- Research themes
- Application deadlines
- Required qualifications
- Application procedures
These details will become much more important to prospective fellows than the closed institutional competition.
Professional Registration Requirement
A major eligibility requirement is professional registration.
All recruited fellows must be registered with a professional regulatory body in:
UK or Republic of Ireland
for the duration of the fellowship.
The programmes must not provide training under this funding to healthcare professionals who are not appropriately registered in one of these countries.
Are International Healthcare Professionals Eligible?
This scheme should not be advertised simply as a worldwide fully funded PhD opportunity.
Wellcome’s requirement is based on professional registration rather than merely nationality.
Fellows recruited onto funded programmes must be registered with an appropriate professional regulatory body in the UK or Republic of Ireland throughout their fellowship.
Future applicants should check the specific recruitment rules of each funded programme.
How Programmes Are Assessed
Wellcome assesses proposals across three major categories.
Training Programme — 50%
This is the largest assessment component.
Reviewers consider areas including:
- Strategic case for the programme
- Ambition and vision
- Research training
- Integration with clinical practice
- Connections with healthcare systems
- Fellow development
- Mentoring
- Career transitions
- Research environment
- Positive research culture
- Cohort building
Team Skills and Experience — 25%
Wellcome considers:
- Research contributions
- Research training experience
- Contributions of individual applicants
- Quality of the supervisory pool
- Development of programme leadership
Programme Management — 25%
Assessment also considers:
- Recruitment strategy
- Equality, diversity and inclusion
- Institutional support
- Collaborator commitments
- Programme management
- Student wellbeing
- Monitoring
- Supervision quality
Why Wellcome Created the Programme
Wellcome highlights concerns about declining numbers and proportions of healthcare professionals who are active in research.
Healthcare professionals can occupy a particularly important position because they work at the intersection of:
Clinical practice and discovery research.
Their clinical experience can help generate patient-centred research questions.
Doctoral training can provide an important route into academic careers for these professionals.
Wellcome therefore wants funded programmes to provide not only high-quality doctoral research but also strong professional development, mentoring and positive research environments.
Application Timeline for Institutions
The institutional competition followed this timetable:
4 November 2025 — Information webinar
10 February 2026 — Application deadline
March 2026 — Shortlisting
27–29 May 2026 — Interviews
July 2026 — Funding decision
The funding call is now listed as:
Closed to new applications.
When Will Students Start?
Successful programmes are expected to recruit their first fellows for:
Autumn 2027.
There will be five intakes supported under the funding scheme.
Future recruitment schedules may differ between individual funded programmes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Wellcome Doctoral Programmes for Healthcare Professionals scheme?
It is a major funding initiative supporting doctoral programmes that train healthcare-professional academics in the UK and Republic of Ireland.
How much funding is available?
Wellcome expects an average award of approximately £12 million per successful programme, depending on programme size and scope.
How many programmes will Wellcome fund?
Approximately 12 programmes are expected to receive funding.
Does each student receive £12 million?
No. The approximately £12 million figure refers to the average award to an entire doctoral programme, not an individual fellow.
How many fellows will each programme recruit?
Funding supports five intakes of approximately three to five fellows per programme.
When will the first fellows start?
The first cohort is expected to begin in autumn 2027.
How long does each fellowship last?
Each doctoral fellowship lasts three years.
Are PhD fees covered?
Wellcome will cover PhD/DPhil registration fees at the home-student rate.
Are fellows paid a salary?
Yes. Wellcome states that fellows’ salaries will be funded as appropriate to their clinical status.
What is the exact salary?
No universal salary amount is specified. Relevant pay scales depend on the professions and clinical status of recruited fellows.
Are research expenses funded?
Yes. Wellcome provides a contribution toward research materials and consumables.
Is conference travel supported?
Yes. Funding contributes toward conferences, meetings and other collaborative travel.
Are international tuition fees universally covered?
The source specifically states that PhD/DPhil registration fees are covered at the home-student rate. It does not establish universal payment of international tuition rates.
Can I apply directly to Wellcome for my PhD?
No. Wellcome explicitly states that this call does not directly fund individual fellows.
Is the funding call still open?
No. The institutional funding competition closed on 10 February 2026.
When will individual fellowship applications open?
The supplied scheme page does not provide a universal application date for prospective fellows. Successful programmes are expected to recruit their first fellows for autumn 2027.
Do healthcare professionals need UK or Irish registration?
Yes. Fellows must be registered with an appropriate professional regulatory body in the UK or Republic of Ireland for the duration of their fellowship.
Which healthcare professions can be included?
Examples include doctors, vets, dentists, clinical psychologists, nurses, midwives and allied health professionals.
Conclusion
The Wellcome Doctoral Programmes for Healthcare Professionals represent a substantial new investment in developing the next generation of healthcare-professional researchers across the UK and Republic of Ireland.
Wellcome expects to support approximately 12 doctoral programmes, with an average award of around £12 million per programme.
Each successful programme will receive funding for five cohorts of three to five fellows, and the first fellows are expected to start in autumn 2027.
For recruited healthcare professionals, each doctoral fellowship will last three years and include funding for PhD/DPhil registration fees at the home-student rate, applicable college fees and salaries appropriate to clinical status. Wellcome will also contribute toward research expenses, training, collaborative travel and career development.
Prospective students should nevertheless understand that the current Wellcome funding call is not an individual PhD scholarship competition. It was designed for established research teams and eligible institutions seeking funding to establish or renew doctoral programmes, and applications closed on 10 February 2026.
The next stage to watch will be the announcement and recruitment activity of successful Wellcome-funded programmes ahead of the autumn 2027 first intake.
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