About the DTP
The University of Manchester is one of the largest and most successful centres for biological and biotechnological focussed research and training in Europe. Researchers span the Faculties of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Life Sciences and Medical and Human Sciences and receive more BBSRC funding than any other university in the UK.
We are pleased to announce that The University of Manchester has been successful in our bid for DTP status and will be a host institution from September 2012. The DTP will provide 63 fully-funded PhD studentships over 3 years, commencing September 2012. Recruitment is now well underway for the studentships, and we anticipate making the first offers for awards to applications in February 2012.
We are still accepting applications for our 2012 studentships; you are encouraged to submit an application as soon as possible. These fully-funded studentships are available in a range of academic disciplines, commencing in September 2012. The studentships provide funding for fees and stipend at the Research Council UK rate (eligible UK/EU applicants, see Eligibility).
Projects will be supervised by an inter-disciplinary team of academic staff.
To view projects on offer, please select a discipline, or click on Show all:
DTP Programme Overview
All DTP projects are designed to provide multidisciplinary challenges for students with backgrounds including bioscience, biomedical, mathematical and physical sciences. The focus will be on ‘Interdisciplinary Training’, ‘Enabling New Ways of Working’ and development of ‘Niche Skills’. Expert training in one discipline will be supplemented by cross disciplinary training in others, enabling students to draw on a range of technologies and approaches to address biological questions.
The programme structure will be tailored to the individual student’s background, training needs and the nature of the research project. The PhD thesis must be submitted within 4 years of starting the programme.
- Students with little previous research experience will carry out one 6-month and one 4-month lab rotation in the co-supervisors’ respective labs, gaining valuable skills and initial data for their project, which will continue into year 2.
- Students with or without prior research experience but whose project is highly challenging and cross-disciplinary (e.g. Systems Biology projects) will receive additional training during the first 6 months, based on our highly successful training developed for the Systems Biology Doctoral Training Centre. The aim is to equalise the knowledge base of students with differing backgrounds. This will be followed by two 3-month lab rotations (one wet and one dry) in the co-supervisors’ respective labs, ensuring that students are fully immersed in the culture of both. After year 1 they will have a further 3 years to complete the project started during the rotations.
- A small number of exceptional applicants with at least 1 year’s previous research experience will start their PhD research project on day 1, in parallel with taught modules described below.
- In the first 6 months all students will undertake formal core research training in ‘New Approaches to Bioscience & Biotechnology’. This will include a mixture of on-line and face-to-face modules relating to ‘Enabling New Ways of Working’ - including systems approaches, student-led seminars and practical workshops, supplemented by keynote lectures from high profile researchers.
- Students will select further modules in subject-specific skills relating to their chosen project, including: bioinformatics & next generation -omics; bioimaging; analytical chemistry & bioprocessing; systematics & evolutionary biology; in vivo skills. These optional modules will also be made available to 2nd and 3rd year students who develop a need for further training.
- In year 2/3, students will be required to undertake a 3 month Professional Internship Placement (PIP) in an area independent of their research project to gain a perspective of different career pathways and postgraduate employability e.g. business, industry, education, health, policy and the media.
A bespoke graduate skills training programme is designed to provide research and transferable skills linked to academic progression, personal development and career aspirations.
Each DTP cohort will be assigned a PG Tutor who will be responsible for academic support and development for the duration of the programme.