About the funding
The South West Biosciences Doctoral Training Partnership (SWBio DTP) provides funding for new doctoral students in science.
Find out more about the funding available.
How to apply
Find a project
You will first need to find an available project that you are interested in.
You can apply for more than one project; however, supervisors may take into account your interest and commitment to their particular project.
Make an application
You should apply online for a PhD in Biosciences (Biology & Biochemistry).
All candidates are required to apply on the application form for the PhD programme in Biosciences (Biology & Biochemistry). However, candidates who are successful in obtaining an offer for a project in Health, Pharmacy & Pharmacology, Chemistry, Mathematical Sciences or Physics will be transferred to the appropriate programme at the point of offer.
As part of your application you will need to provide supporting information and documents.
You must identify your application as being for the SWBio DTP. In the ‘Funding your Studies’ section of the application form, please select ‘SWBio DTP’ from the first drop-down menu. In the ‘Your PhD project’ section, please quote the project title and supervisor name in the appropriate fields. Failure to complete these steps will cause delays in processing your application and may cause you to miss the deadline.
Home applicants
It may be possible to accommodate requests for part-time study, even though the application form is for a full-time programme. You should discuss this with the lead supervisor of your chosen project(s) before you apply and make it clear in the ‘Your PhD project’ section of the application form that you would like to study part-time.
Overseas applicants
Unfortunately, due to the complexities and restrictions associated with visa for part-time studies, we are currently unable to accept part-time applications from international candidates.
Applying for multiple projects
Should you wish to apply for more than one project at Bath (up to a maximum of three projects), you may do so within the same application but you should ensure you quote each project title (and intended supervisors) in order or preference in the appropriate boxes within the Your PhD project section and, IMPORTANTLY, you should upload a separate (clearly labelled) personal statement for each one, outlining your interest and suitability for that particular project.
Supervisors consider each application for a project separately.
Equality, diversity and inclusion
We want to support diverse and inclusive work environments. We therefore welcome applications from individuals regardless of their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, age, gender, or disability status. We welcome applications from individuals who have previously studied at any recognised Higher Education Institute and from a range of career paths (please refer to the SWBio DTP academic criteria for eligibility), including individuals who have previously trained in the sciences and are wanting to return to scientific research.
We particularly encourage applications from BAME (Black, Asian and minority ethnic) and mature (this is classed as 30 plus years) individuals as these backgrounds are currently underrepresented within our student cohort.
If you have circumstances that you feel we should be aware of that have affected your educational attainment, then please feel free to tell us about it in your application form. The best way to do this is a short paragraph at the end of your personal statement.