PhD FAQs and funding

Applications for PhDs are invited from talented graduates or final year undergraduates.

Studentship funding is typically for a period of up to four years, and comes from the ICR and funding bodies such as The Medical Research Council, Cancer Research UK, industrial partners, and other charities.

You are welcome to apply wherever in the world you are currently based. We particularly welcome British applicants from Black and ethnic minority backgrounds, as they are underrepresented at PhD level, both within the ICR and nationwide.

You can apply for multiple recruitment rounds, and you can apply where you have been previously unsuccessful. Your application will not be disadvantaged in either case.

For full details of our academic and English language eligibility criteria, please see below.

PhD application process

Full-time / part-time

Our PhD places are usually offered on a full-time basis. In rare cases, where a student's personal circumstances make part-time study more appropriate, this may be allowed at the discretion of the primary supervisor and Deputy Dean. However, owing to the fast pace of our research, this may not be feasible for some projects. 

Studentship funding is typically for a period of 4 years. There are 2 exit points:

• MPhil: successful completion of first year, including upgrade report and transfer viva
• PhD: successful completion of research project, including thesis submission and final viva

The majority of our students are registered at the ICR, which leads to an award of a PhD from the University of London.

If you are registered at another university (e.g. Imperial College London) you may receive an award from a different institution.

The majority of our students are taught at The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), University of London. The ICR is regulated by the Office for Students.

If you are registered at another university, you may experience teaching elsewhere.

Initially, students are registered for an MPhil. After the first year, an upgrade report and oral examination takes place (known as a transfer viva). Successful students will then be transferred onto PhD registration. 

During years 2 and 3, students' work continues to be reviewed to ensure good progress. See Academic Support for more information.

At the end of the PhD programme (4 years), students will be expected to submit their thesis (~100,000 words) and a final viva takes place.

Possible outcomes from the PhD viva include:

• pass with no corrections,
• pass with minor corrections,
• resubmission of thesis (with or without a further oral examination),
• further oral examination required,
• fail (student may be considered for award of MPhil)

All supervisors receive formal training in research degree supervision and attend periodic update sessions. Every supervisory team must include an experienced member of Faculty or Honorary Faculty. 

Studentships are awarded to supervisors based on a number of factors including previous performance and success rate.

Standard working hours are expected at a minimum (9.30am–5.30pm, with an hour for lunch), although it is understood that the nature of the work requires flexibility and that students may need to work outside these hours. A student and supervisor should agree on what are acceptable working hours.

The total annual leave entitlement for full-time students is 30 days per annum plus public and ICR holidays. It is the responsibility of the student to arrange mutually convenient dates with her/his supervisor(s).

If a student expects to be absent they must inform their supervisor. See the MPhil and PhD Code of Practice for details about absence through prolonged illness and interruptions of study.

The ICR has two dedicated research sites - in Chelsea and Sutton. Our PhD students work in a unique multidisciplinary environment alongside world leaders in cancer research and clinicians from The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, and with access to state-of-the-art facilities and the support of expert technical staff.

You must submit your thesis within 4 years. Exceptions to this rule can only be made in very rare circumstances. See the MPhil and PhD Code of Practice for more details.

All key documents can be found on the student resources page.

E-learning

Our e-learning resources enable PhD students to develop the background knowledge and skills that are necessary to excel in cancer research. You can structure your e-learning around your research experiments at a time and location convenient to you.

Highlights include:

• Perspectives in Oncology - designed to create a common grounding in basic cancer knowledge, including modules in cancer epidemiology, cancer genetics, cell biology, bioinformatics, medical physics, structural biology, cancer treatment and drug development.
• The Skills website (formerly known as Lab Book) - helps PhD students to develop transferable skills, such as time management, scientific writing and presenting their work.
• Nature Masterclasses - an online course in scientific writing and publishing. Many of the sections covered on the site will help with writing a thesis, particularly Elements of Writing Style.

To find out more about our e-learning resources, see our E-learning webpage.

Libraries

The ICR’s library and information service are available to support your academic work while you study with us. You will have access to all of our electronic resources, databases and e-books.

There are libraries in both Chelsea and Sutton. There is 24-hour access for registered users. The physical environment at both sites provides a pleasant working space, with the opportunity for students to browse the collections and study in a quiet area.

There are dedicated PhD study rooms, with PCs and printing facilities available, as well as plug sockets, network ports and wireless access for laptop use.

To find out more about our libraries, see our library and information services webpage.

Training courses

The ICR’s Learning and Development Team run a variety of courses throughout the year. Workshops cover a range of topics including statistics, scientific writing, obtaining research funding and project management. This training is recorded online, via individual student personal development plans.

To find out more about our training courses, see our training and development webpage.

Career support

You will have access to professional careers consultants from the University of London careers service, who offer on-site workshops and webinars on CV preparation, interview skills, and employment search techniques, including the use of LinkedIn.

We run careers sessions to help PhD students who wish to navigate an academic career path. Popular sessions include obtaining fellowship funding, preparing for academic interviews, and writing research for publication.

We also arrange careers events, such as the annual student conference and the biennial researcher careers conference. These conferences give PhD students the opportunity to meet with a wide range of science career professionals, both inside and outside of academia.

To find out more about our careers’ sessions and events, see our career support webpage.

The majority of our science PhD projects are fully funded studentships, which cover:

• tuition fees
• project running costs
• a tax-free stipend for living expenses (currently £25,000 per year for ICR-funded projects)

Students applying with their own funding in place will pay tuition fees and project running costs.

For more information, read our tuition fees guidance:

Tuition fees guidance

Tuition fees cover aspects of study such as registration, tuition, supervision and examination. They are paid each year as part of registering on a degree programme.

Your tuition fee will differ depending on the programme you study, and whether you are a home or EU / overseas fee-paying student, and whether you are studying full-time or part-time.

You can find tuition fees for PhD / MPhil students on our tuition fees webpage. This page is updated each spring, once we have set our tuition fees for the upcoming academic year. 

Applicants for Science PhDs are able to apply for studentships that pay for tuition fees, research expenses, and provide a tax-free stipend for living expenses.

See our PhD studentship projects for more information.

As well as your tuition fees, you will also need to meet your own living costs and travel expenses. These costs will vary depending on your personal circumstances, and whether you have a PhD studentship or are self-funding your studies.

You may find yourself travelling during peak-times when travelling to the ICR's sites in Chelsea and Sutton. This involves paying higher fares on public transport – see Transport for London for more information.

There are no compulsory elements of this course that entail additional costs beyond tuition fees and living costs.

However please note that, depending on your choice of research topic and the research required to complete it, you may incur additional expenses such as conference fees (if you decided to publish and present your work).

If you do not have a studentship to cover conference costs, you may be able to apply for small grants to help you cover some of these expenses.