Program Overview

---

Postgraduate Research

Study

• Research areas
• Course types
• Find a supervisor
• Fees & funding
• How to apply
• King's Doctoral College

Basic & Medical Biosciences Research MPhil/PhD/MDRes

Key information

Award:

• MPhil
• PhD
• MDRes

Study mode:

• Full time
• Part time

Campus:

• Denmark Hill Campus
• Guy’s Campus

The research focus of the School of Basic and Medical Biosciences is to answer fundamental questions about biology in health and disease. Clinical and discovery scientists collaborate in a multi-disciplinary environment on a range of exciting and innovative areas spanning the analysis of stem cell programming, molecular biophysics and genetics of human disease through to the development of innovative new technology, therapies and clinical trials.

Our cross-disciplinary approach enables us to tackle emerging, cutting-edge questions in areas such as human physiology, cancer, dermatology, diabetes, liver failure, genetic diseases, ageing, and pain.

The School of Basic and Medical Biosciences brings together five internationally renowned research departments; Centre for Human and Applied Physiology (CHAPS), Centre for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine (CSCRM), Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics (MMG), Randall Centre for Cell and Molecular Biophysics (Randall), St John’s Institute of Dermatology (St John’s).

Studentships

Our studentships are regularly advertised on Find A PhD and Funding Opportunities webpages.

How to apply

1. Application procedure

Studentships will be advertised in findaphd.com, Naturejobs, the College’s Health Schools Studentships website or on

All applicants are required to complete the KCL online application form. Short-listed applicants will be interviewed by at least two academics. Proposed research projects must be approved by the School Postgraduate Research Committee before an offer can be made.

Please do not complete an application form until you have spoken with and have confirmation from your preferred supervisor. Information about research staff can be found on the King’s Research Portal.

2. Personal statement and supporting information

You will be asked to submit the following documents in order for your application to be considered:

• Personal Statement: Yes. A personal statement is required. This can be entered directly into the online application form (maximum 4,000 characters) or uploaded as an attachment to the online application form (maximum 2 pages).
• Research Proposal: Yes. The proposal should explain in some detail precisely the field of study that you want to contribute to and current research gaps, what you want to do and how you propose to do it. For advice on how to write an application, please visit the following page.
• Previous Academic Study: Yes. A copy (or copies) of your official academic transcript(s), showing the subjects studied and marks obtained. If you have already completed your degree, copies of your official degree certificate will also be required. Applicants with academic documents issued in a language other than English, will need to submit both the original and official translation of their documents.
• References: Yes. Two references are required with at least one academic. Professional references will be accepted if you have completed your qualifications over five years ago. References cannot be from the prospective PGR supervisors.
• Other: Optional. You may also wish to include a CV (Resume) or evidence of professional registration as part of your application.

3. Joint PhDs - Application advice

Applicants for the Joint PhD programme must contact the relevant departments at both universities before submitting an application in order to discuss the suitability of their topic for the joint programme and to locate potential supervisors. Applications should initially be submitted to the proposed home institution only, ie where the student will start and finish their programme. Students should note that acceptance onto the programme may take slightly longer than for single-institution PhDs because of the additional steps involved.

Applicants who choose King’s as their home institution should apply through the online system, selecting the appropriate Joint PhD option from the drop-down list. In addition to the standard supporting documentation, applicants should submit a travel plan form indicating how they intend to divide their time between the two partner institutions. Students must spend at least 12 month in each institution, details of which can be found in the ‘Notes’ section of the travel plan form.

It is recommended that students submit applications for the Joint PhD programme by the end of March to begin the following September.

The programme will be jointly awarded, so will result in one qualification awarded equally by both partners. Applications must be approved by both universities, so the process can take slightly longer than for a single PhD.

The Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine offers the following joint PhD degree programmes, which you can select on the Admissions Portal:

• Clinical Medicine Research with University of Hong Kong MPhil/PhD
• Life Sciences and Medicine Research with National University of Singapore MPhil/PhD
• Medicine Research with Hong Kong University MPhil/PhD
• Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Science Research with Pontifical Catholic University of Chile MPhil/PhD
• Pharmaceutical Discovery, Development and Use with University of Sao Paulo MPhil/PhD
• Cardiovascular Science with Georg-August-Universitat Gottingen MPhil/PhD
• Metabolic Disease with Technische Universitat Dresden MPhil/PhD

4. Application closing date

We encourage you to apply as early as possible so that there is sufficient time for your application to be assessed. We may need to request further information from you during the application process. In addition, if you receive an offer, this programme requires all non-EU/EEA/Swiss nationals (with some exceptions) to have an ATAS certificate before they can enrol at King’s and this can take some time. We therefore advise applying as soon as possible to avoid any delay in obtaining this certificate.

The final application deadlines are detailed below; on these dates, the programme will close at 23:59 (UK time) and we will open for the corresponding intake in 2026 soon after the same intake has passed in 2025.

• February 2025 entry – 20 October 2024 for Overseas fee status and 20 November 2024 for Home fee status
• June 2025 entry – 20 March 2025 for Overseas fee status and 11 April 2025 for Home fee status
• October 2025 entry – 25 July 2025 for Overseas fee status and 25 August 2025 for Home fee status
• February 2026 entry – 20 October 2025 for Overseas fee status and 20 November 2025 for Home fee status
• June 2026 entry – 20 March 2026 for Overseas fee status and 11 April 2026 for Home fee status

Please note that funding deadlines may be earlier than the application deadlines listed above.

Fees or Funding

UK Tuition Fees 2024/25

• Full time tuition fees:
  • £6,936 per year (MPhil/PhD)
  • £6,936 per year (MPhil/PhD Clinical)
  • £6,936 per year (MDRes Clinical)
• Part time tuition fees:
  • £3,468 per year (MPhil/PhD)
  • £3,468 per year (MPhil/PhD Clinical)
  • £3,468 per year (MDRes Clinical)

International Tuition Fees 2024/25

• Full time tuition fees:
  • £30,240 per year (MPhil/PhD)
  • £58,470 per year (MPhil/PhD Clinical)
  • £58,470 per year (MDRes Clinical)
• Part time tuition fees:
  • £15,120 per year (MPhil/PhD)
  • £29,235 per year (MPhil/PhD Clinical)
  • £29,235 per year (MDRes Clinical)

UK Tuition Fees 2025/26

• Full time tuition fees:
  • £7,500 per year (MPhil/PhD)
  • £7,500 per year (MPhil/PhD Clinical)
  • £7,500 per year (MDRes Clinical)
• Part time tuition fees:
  • £3,750 per year (MPhil/PhD)
  • £3,750 per year (MPhil/PhD Clinical)
  • £3,750 per year (MDRes Clinical)

International Tuition Fees 2025/26

• Full time tuition fees:
  • £32,400 per year (MPhil/PhD)
  • £62,600 per year (MPhil/PhD Clinical)
  • £62,600 per year (MDRes Clinical)
• Part time tuition fees:
  • £16,200 per year (MPhil/PhD)
  • £31,300 per year (MPhil/PhD Clinical)
  • £31,300 per year (MDRes Clinical)

These tuition fees may be subject to additional increases in subsequent years of study, in line with King's terms and conditions.

Study environment

Base campuses

Denmark Hill Campus

Home to the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience.

Guy’s Campus

The Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences, and the Institute of Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience are based at the riverside Guy's Campus, next to the Shard.

PhD students work alongside staff researchers and are supervised by two members of academic staff. Each student has a dedicated Thesis Progression Committee that monitors the student’s progress and gives advice and support. Students meet with their committee, and report on their progress, every six months. Each student is also assigned a postgraduate co-ordinator who is attached to the department in which they are based.

Broadening horizons and wider participation is actively encouraged with the opportunities to visit universities abroad via the Global Research Grant, engage with policy makers through events like ‘Voice of the Future’, and to get involved with training the next generation of scientist through school schemes like K+ and shadow a scientist.

There is a vibrant student society with opportunities to get involved in student organised social activities, both within departments and across the School.

Each department has student representatives who meet regularly with the School PGR Lead, Department PGR Coordinators and Operations Officer Education to discuss and implement ways to enrich the student environment. One such development has been establishing an annual School Careers day for both PhD students and research staff.

Based at Guy’s and Denmark Hill campuses with over 450 staff, we educate and train the next generation of researchers, clinicians, and healthcare professionals.

Our research investigates human health at all resolutions, from the molecular mechanisms underlying disease to clinical trials and medical applications.

Head of School

• Head of School: Professor Mathias Gautel
• School Postgraduate Research Lead: Dr Baljinder Mankoo

Partner organisations

• Francis Crick Institute
• BHF Centre of Research Excellence
• School of Cardiovascular Medicine and Science
• Department of Chemistry
• Department of Mathematics
• Department of Physics
• Dimbleby Cancer Care
• School of Immunology & Microbial Sciences
• Nikon

Entry requirements

UK requirements

• A minimum 2:1 undergraduate Bachelor’s (honours) degree

If you have a lower degree classification, or a degree in an unrelated subject, your application may be considered if you can demonstrate significant relevant work experience, or offer a related graduate qualification (such as a Masters or PGDip).

Equivalent International qualifications

Select a country

• Afghanistan
• Albania
• Algeria
• Andorra
• Angola
• Anguilla
• Antigua & Barbuda
• Argentina
• Armenia
• Aruba
• Australasia
• Australia
• Austria
• Azerbaijan
• Bahamas
• Bahrain
• Bangladesh
• Barbados
• Belarus
• Belgium
• Belize
• Benin
• Bermuda
• Bhutan
• Bolivia
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Botswana
• Brazil
• British Virgin Islands
• Brunei
• Brunei Darussalam
• Bulgaria
• Burkina Faso
• Burundi
• Cambodia
• Cameroon
• Canada
• Cape Verde
• Cayman Islands
• Central African Republic
• Chad
• Chile
• China
• Colombia
• Comoros
• Cook Islands
• Costa Rica
• Cote d'Ivoire
• Croatia
• Cuba
• Cyprus
• Czechia (Czech Republic)
• Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Denmark
• Djibouti
• Dominica
• Dominican Republic
• East Timor
• Ecuador
• Egypt
• El Salvador
• Equatorial Guinea
• Eritrea
• Estonia
• Eswatini
• Ethiopia
• Falkland Islands
• Fiji
• Finland
• France
• Gabon
• Georgia
• Germany
• Ghana
• Gibraltar
• Greece
• Grenada
• Guatemala
• Guinea
• Guinea-Bissau
• Guyana
• Haiti
• Home Fee Status Students
• Honduras
• Hong Kong SAR
• Hungary
• Iceland
• India
• Indonesia
• Iran
• Iraq
• Ireland
• Israel
• Italy
• Jamaica
• Japan
• Jordan
• Kazakhstan
• Kenya
• Kiribati
• Kosovo
• Kuwait
• Kyrgyzstan
• Laos
• Latvia
• Lebanon
• Lesotho
• Liberia
• Libya
• Liechtenstein
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Macau
• Madagascar
• Malawi
• Malaysia
• Maldives
• Mali
• Malta
• Marshall Islands
• Mauritania
• Mauritius
• Mexico
• Micronesia
• Moldova
• Monaco
• Mongolia
• Montenegro
• Montserrat
• Morocco
• Mozambique
• Myanmar
• Namibia
• Nauru
• Nepal
• Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Nicaragua
• Niger
• Nigeria
• North Korea
• North Macedonia
• Norway
• Oman
• Pakistan
• Palau
• Palestine
• Panama
• Papua New Guinea
• Paraguay
• Peru
• Philippines
• Poland
• Portugal
• Puerto Rico
• Qatar
• Republic of the Congo
• Romania
• Russia
• Rwanda
• Samoa
• San Marino
• São Tomé and Príncipe
• Saudi Arabia
• Senegal
• Serbia
• Seychelles
• Sierra Leone
• Singapore
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Solomon Islands
• Somalia
• South Africa
• South Korea
• South Sudan
• Spain
• Sri Lanka
• St Kitts and Nevis
• St. Helena
• St. Kitts & Nevis
• St. Lucia
• St. Vincent & the Grenadines
• Sudan
• Suriname
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• Syria
• Taiwan
• Tajikistan
• Tanzania
• Thailand
• The Gambia
• Togo
• Tonga
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Tunisia
• Türkiye
• Turkmenistan
• Turks and Caicos Islands
• Tuvalu
• Uganda
• Ukraine
• United Arab Emirates
• United Kingdom
• United States of America
• Uruguay
• Uzbekistan
• Vanuatu
• Venezuela
• Vietnam
• Wales
• Yemen
• Zambia
• Zimbabwe

English language requirements

English language band: D

To study at King's, it is essential that you can communicate in English effectively in an academic environment. You are usually required to provide certification of your competence in English before starting your studies.

Nationals of majority English speaking countries (as defined by the UKVI) who have permanently resided in this country are not usually required to complete an additional English language test. This is also the case for applicants who have successfully completed an undergraduate degree (of at least three years duration), a postgraduate taught degree (of at least one year), or a PhD in a majority English speaking country (as defined by the UKVI) within five years of the course start date.

For information on our English language requirements and whether you need to complete an English language test, please see our English Language requirements page.