Applications for the 2018 Crick PhD Programme are now open. The application deadline is 12:00 noon (GMT) on Tuesday 14 November 2017.
The Francis Crick Institute is a unique partnership between the Medical Research Council (MRC), Cancer Research UK, Wellcome, UCL (University College London), Imperial College London and King’s College London.
PhD Eligibility:
We are looking for talented and motivated graduates, with backgrounds in biological or biomedical sciences, physics, chemistry, mathematics and/or computer science who have decided that they want to do a PhD. Our standard eligibility criteria are:
- Hold or expect to gain a first/upper second-class honours degree or equivalent in a relevant subject
- Have appropriate research experience as part of, or outside of, a university degree course and/or a Masters degree in a relevant subject
- Are able to satisfy the Crick English Language requirements (see FAQs).
Students of all nationalities can apply for the Crick PhD programme.
Applicants should note, however, that restrictions may apply to some PhD projects. Any eligibility restrictions for specific projects will be noted on that project page.
PhD Funding:
All students starting on the Crick PhD programme, irrespective of nationality, will be awarded a tax-free stipend to cover the cost of living. University tuition fees will
also be covered. Funding is available from the following sources:- Crick Studentships. Students of all nationalities are eligible for these studentships.
- Crick/Imperial College London, Crick/King’s College London and Crick/UCL Joint Studentships. Students awarded joint studentships will work on a collaborative PhD project. They will follow the Crick PhD programme and be based between the Crick and their research group at Imperial College London, King’s College London or UCL. Most of these joint Crick-University studentships are open to students of all nationalities, however some may have restrictions. Details of any specific eligibility requirements will be on the specific project page.
- External funding: Some PhD projects are supported by external funding. Details of any arising eligibility requirements will be noted on the specific project page.
PhD Candidate Instructions:
Please read the candidate instructions carefully before completing your application.
Registering to apply
You must register online and activate your account before you can fill in the application form. When you have registered you will be sent an activation link by email.
You will be asked to provide a valid email address – please type this in carefully as the account activation link will be sent to this email address. Please note that these emails sometimes get blocked by email/university security systems or end up in spam folders, so please check your spam/junk folder.
Please make sure that your email address is one that you will check regularly throughout the application process as this will be how we will contact you.
Completing the application form
The online application form has 11 sections: Personal Details, Project Choice, Education, Experience, Statement, Other Details, References, Equal Opps, Declaration, Ask A Question/Messages, and Candidate Instructions.
You can move from section to section by clicking on the left-hand links. You can save your progress so you can return to and complete the form at a later date. However, if you move to a new section of the form without completing all required fields and hitting the ‘save’ button, changes will be lost.
The deadline for applications to the 2018 Crick PhD programme is 12:00 noon (GMT) on Tuesday 14 November 2017, when the online application site will close. However, you are encouraged to submit your application as soon as possible, to allow sufficient time for your referees to supply their references. Please note that the deadline for references is 12 noon (GMT) Tuesday 21 November 2017.
Completing “Personal Details” section
Fill in your name in the correct format, capitalising the appropriate letters (e.g. Joe Bloggs instead of joe bloggs), as this will be used in all future correspondence with yourself and your named referees.
If possible please provide a telephone number that you will be contactable on during the interview programme.
Completing “Project Choice” section
You will be applying for a position on the Crick PhD Programme and we will ask you to select your preferred group leaders/PhD supervisors on the application form.
Before completing the application form, please read about the group leaders recruiting PhD students to start in September 2018 and their PhD positions and view their recorded talks.
When you complete the application form:
- you will be asked to select up to a maximum of 6 project group leaders.
- you will be asked to give each group leader a rank of 1 or 2, 1 being your most preferred choice(s). You can have more than one group leader ranked 1 and 2.
Completing “Education” section
Please complete carefully, giving as much information as possible.
If you are studying/have studied at a non-UK university, please give your university’s standard name in English.
If you are studying/have studied for an integrated bachelors and masters degree, please enter this in the undergraduate section. We will know from the title that the masters is integrated.
In the section on your courses/modules taken, please state each course/module with credits and marks/grades in order to give us as complete information as possible. Please enter each course/module as a new paragraph. If you are studying/have studied at a non-UK university, please detail your grades and provide information about your university’s grading system.
Note: you can re-size the text boxes to make them larger by using the drag handle in the bottom right hand corner of the text box (note that some browsers, e.g. Internet Explorer, have a scrollbar instead).
Completing “Experience” section
Please list any relevant research experience that you have, either as part of or outside of a university degree course, starting with the most recent. Include details of host lab(s), supervisor, dates, brief description of project(s) and your work on the project(s).
Note: you can re-size the text boxes to make them larger by using the drag handle in the bottom right hand corner of the text box (note that some browsers, e.g. Internet Explorer have a scrollbar instead).
Completing “Statement” section
Please pay particular attention to this section and tell us why you want to do a PhD and why you are making this application. Please note there is a maximum limit of 400 words.
Note: you can re-size the text boxes to make them larger by using the drag handle in the bottom right hand corner of the text box (note that some browsers, e.g. Internet Explorer, have a scrollbar instead).
You will be asked to upload a copy of your CV – this must be a PDF (.pdf) file that is no larger than 2MB.
Completing “Other Details” section
This section is to provide additional information about yourself and to help us advertise our PhD programme in the future.
Completing “References” section
We will request references from 2 or 3 scientists/academics who are familiar with your academic work and/or research experience and who can judge your potential as a PhD student.
Please select your referees carefully: one must be your current or most recent employer/supervisor, at least one must be able to comment on your university academic record, and at least one must be able to comment on your previous research experience.
Please ensure that your referees’ contact details, especially their email addresses, are accurate and enter only one email address per referee. If you have copied and pasted your referee’s email address, please ensure that there are no spaces before or after the address. We will contact your referees by email as soon as you submit your application, asking them to complete an online reference form. When you submit your application please contact your referees to confirm that they have received our reference request email (these emails sometimes get blocked by university security systems or end up in spam folders).
The deadline for reference receipt is 12:00 noon (GMT) Tuesday 21 November 2017. Your application may be considered if references are not received by the deadline, however, we will not invite any applicants to interview without 2 references in place.
Please help your referees meet this deadline by informing them of your application, and encouraging them to submit their reference soon after receipt of our email. You and your referee will receive an acknowledgement email once each reference has been submitted.
NOTE: if you leave your application until the closing date your referees will only have a short time to return your reference.
Completing “Equal Opps” section
This section is for equal opportunities monitoring purposes and the information you provide will be anonymised and will not be available to recruiting group leaders.
Completing “Declaration” section
Please review your application carefully and complete any missing fields. Once all the mandatory fields are completed, you will be able to submit by clicking the submit button at the bottom of the screen.
Once you have submitted your application you will not be able to make further changes. You will be sent an email confirming that you have submitted your application. Please note that these emails sometimes get blocked by email/university security systems or end up in spam folders, so please check your spam/junk folder.
“Ask A Question / Messages” section
If you have any questions about completing the application form, which you cannot find an answer to on our PhD Programme webpages, you can submit a question to us here. We will endeavour to respond within 2 working days. You will receive an email with our response, and be able to log into your application where the response will be recorded (click on the ‘view’ button next to your original message). You will be able to access this section of the form when your form is partially completed and after you have submitted it.
“Candidate Instructions” section
Clicking on the ‘Candidate Instructions’ section will take you to this webpage.
APPLY NOW (link opens in new tab)
